Check your suspension bolts

[Jerry Bransford]

I just came back from a wheeling trip to Johnson Valley and lost half of Saturday to a bolt that fell out of my lower front control arm before I arrived. I think it happened on my Rubicon Trail trip but it only made noise on rough road. I found an upper rear control arm bracket had been torn off the axle and figured that was the source of the noise. I welded it back onto the axle and tightened the snot out of the various control arm bolts, apparently getting distracted and missing the bolt that was gone. The arm was positioned normally, held in place by the bracket. It was quiet on the highway but got really noisy once I got onto the dirt in JV. Stopped me cold until I finally found it and had to drive 30 minutes back into town to get a new 14mm nut and bolt. Thanks @mrblaine for the bolt size. I'll be ordering up a pair of replacement Johnny Joint washers from the www.blackmagicbrakes.com store for it.

It was shocking to me, I spent enough time under my TJ the last month fixing and tightening stuff to have spotted it, I did not. Mea Culpa.

 

[mrblaine]

I just came back from a wheeling trip to Johnson Valley and lost half of Saturday to a bolt that fell out of my lower front control arm before I arrived. I think it happened on my Rubicon Trail trip but it only made noise on rough road. I found an upper rear control arm bracket had been torn off the axle and figured that was the source of the noise. I welded it back onto the axle and tightened the snot out of the various control arm bolts, apparently getting distracted and missing the bolt that was gone. The arm was positioned normally, held in place by the bracket. It was quiet on the highway but got really noisy once I got onto the dirt in JV. Stopped me cold until I finally found it and had to drive 30 minutes back into town to get a new 14mm nut and bolt. Thanks @mrblaine for the bolt size. I'll be ordering up a pair of replacement Johnny Joint washers from the www.blackmagicbrakes.com store for it.

It was shocking to me, I spent enough time under my TJ the last month fixing and tightening stuff to have spotted it, I did not. Mea Culpa.

In the future, use red Loctite on the nuts. Even if they come loose, the nut won't leave the bolt. Also, 9/16-18 grade 8 is very likely what was in there.

 

[afitzray97]

So is a Johnny joint washer a part that wasn’t included with a Currie suspension kit? Is the bolt not secure if properly torqued? Not trying to debate this, I just honestly don’t quite understand. I thought the slot the cam bolt shifted the bolt in was not horizontal, so that the bolt would settle into one end and be adequate as long as it was tightened correctly?

 

[someguysjeep]

i deleted the pics, but will get another when able.

there is a compound that you dab onto your bolts where the nut seat intersects. it's a blue compound. when and if torque is broken from the fastener it cracks and reveals a very visible white crack.

application is a reminder that fastener was torqued. and the crack is a highly visible reference for a break in said torque.

i'll try and get a pic and name tomrw.

 

[Vinman]

i deleted the pics, but will get another when able.

there is a compound that you dab onto your bolts where the nut seat intersects. it's a blue compound. when and if torque is broken from the fastener it cracks and reveals a very visible white crack.

application is a reminder that fastener was torqued. and the crack is a highly visible reference for a break in said torque.

i'll try and get a pic and name tomrw.

I typically use a paint marker and draw a straight line across the nut and threaded portion of the bolt, a quick glance will tell me whether or not the fastener loosened off.

 

[Goatman]

It was called slippage mark paint when I was working on helicopters in the Army. Came in a little toothpaste type tube. Like some of that lipbalm comes in. A very thick paint that went over the nut, remaining bolt threads, and whatever the nut was in contact with. A regular paint pen has a different type of paint, but works fine. We had different colors for different components. Orange on the turbine, blue on the cyclic system, etc.

 

[Schmidty15]

It was called slippage mark paint when I was working on helicopters in the Army. Came in a little toothpaste type tube. Like some of that lipbalm comes in. A very thick paint that went over the nut, remaining bolt threads, and whatever the nut was in contact with. A regular paint pen has a different type of paint, but works fine. We had different colors for different components. Orange on the turbine, blue on the cyclic system, etc.

We call ours torque stripe in the Navy, but same stuff. No color change for components just tq stripe after its torqued it and it's good to go.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

So is a Johnny joint washer a part that wasn’t included with a Currie suspension kit? Is the bolt not secure if properly torqued? Not trying to debate this, I just honestly don’t quite understand. I thought the slot the cam bolt shifted the bolt in was not horizontal, so that the bolt would settle into one end and be adequate as long as it was tightened correctly?

So is a Johnny joint washer a part that wasn’t included with a Currie suspension kit? Is the bolt not secure if properly torqued? Not trying to debate this, I just honestly don’t quite understand. I thought the slot the cam bolt shifted the bolt in was not horizontal, so that the bolt would settle into one end and be adequate as long as it was tightened correctly?

The Johnny Joint washer is an aftermarket part designed by mrblaine and sold through his online store in the link I provided up above. Its purpose is to keep the front lower control-arm bolts centered in the slot should there be a problem with the bolt or nut like if it wasn't properly torqued. The slot is horizontal so if it slipped the caster angle would change.

This quote from his webpage describes it better...

"TJ Front Lower Control Arm Mount

Fits into the slot in the TJ front lower Control Arm Mount and registers in the horseshoe to center control arm perfectly. Washer portion is equivalent thickness to OEM and when used with the Currie greaseable bolts, no other washers are needed or required. Raised area is the same height as the thickness of the mount to provide a grease seal and keep the grease where it belongs in the joint. Also provides additional clamping area for the ends of the Johnny Joint.

Can also be used with 9/16’s or 14mm bolts and other joints including OEM style bushings."

This is what it looks like, I took a few photos when installing mine.

 

[Brianj5600]

If you have not checked every bolt and nut you can get a wrench on, do it. A couple weeks ago I installed an Antirock which required removing the bumper. Two of the bumper bolts were missing, two were hand tight and two were torqued. I feel fortunate that the bumper was not ripped off with some of the light recovery I've done. I also replaced all of the bolts since they have been over stressed.

 

[someguysjeep]

sentry seal, inspectors lacquer is the product i use.

 

[Goatman]

That is a brilliant solution MrBlaine.

 

[bluescapegoat]

This is sort of unrelated, but...

I bought a set of those Black Magic washers when I didn't my Savvy 4" maybe 5 years ago. In my opinion they should be included in the kit.

On a wheeling trip last year one of the front lowers started moving around on me, I retorqued it but it just kept shifting. Luckily I had trailered my Jeep cause the bracket was pretty toasted by the end and I was 200 miles from home. Ended up cutting the mounts off and replacing with some Artec brackets.

Then on my last trip earlier this year the rear started doing the same, clunking and moving around. I checked the torque on the Currie bolts and they were still to their spec, and they still moved around. Tightened them a little more, still moved. Put the factory bolts in and torqued those to factory spec and they still kept clunking. Eventually looked up the proof load on the factory bolt and tightened it to that. Hasn't moved since.

I guess if I did it again from scratch I'd still get the Black Magic washers for the front but I'd reuse the factory flange bolts and overtighten them slightly. Can never get the Currie ones to take grease anyway.

 

[EzPeezy]

I thought for sure you'd be packing overkill for spares, tools and stuff Jerry! I just went on a group trip down the Baja peninsula from Tecate to Los Cabos and I forgot a bunch of important stuff that will make me better prepared for future trips. I forgot control arm bolts, oil filter wrench, sway bar disconnect clips, thick wire. Luckily I had a spare driveshaft, cuz THAT broke pretty quickly.

 

[Feralkid]

What years are those custom washers meant for?

I have a 2006, I was under the assumption that only early tj had caster adjustment washers.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

What years are those custom washers meant for?

I have a 2006, I was under the assumption that only early tj had caster adjustment washers.

1997 to 2006. Only early TJs (97-99 or so) have cam bolt washers but my '04 still has those slots shown in the photo above.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

I thought for sure you'd be packing overkill for spares, tools and stuff Jerry!

I carry too many spare parts according to some but I did not have a spare 9/16" 4" bolt like the lower control arms need. I installed an 8.8 14mm (close enough for that location) but I'm going to replace it with a 9/16" Grade 8 like the Currie arms use. Yep I'll have spares of that bolt plus the 7/16" spare bolt I carry for the upper arms.

 

[bluescapegoat]

I had a motor mount bolt fall out once too when I was wheeling, bet that's not one anybody bothers checking too often. That was on my first Jeep, an 06 2.4. It only had 30k miles on it and I hadn't touched the mounts, but I was the second owner, so who knows.

 

[toximus]

I carry too many spare parts according to some but I did not have a spare 9/16" 4" bolt like the lower control arms need. I installed an 8.8 14mm (close enough for that location) but I'm going to replace it with a 9/16" Grade 8 like the Currie arms use. Yep I'll have spares of that bolt plus the 7/16" spare bolt I carry for the upper arms.

I know you probably know this, but for everyone playing along at home, the metric class 8.8 is weaker than grade 8.

 

[rasband]

I was unaware of this and am doing my front CAs pretty shortly here. Thanks for the tips Jerry, you saved me from having to do it twice!

 

[EzPeezy]

I know you probably know this, but for everyone playing along at home, the metric class 8.8 is weaker than grade 8.

Probably not enough to worry about for a control arm bolt though, right?