i didn't cut the nuts off the cross member i drilled right through um and put another nut on top.
Did you then jack the body up to gain access the new nuts you installed? Or do you have a body lift already?
Mine didn't... They were welded on pretty well. I needed to cut some of the weld away before the air hammer was able to break them free.An air hammer will knock the broken bolts loose in 1 minute.
Mine popped with the first pull of the air hammer trigger every time.An air hammer will knock the broken bolts loose in 1 minute.
Did you torch it first?Mine popped with the first pull of the air hammer trigger every time.
Only used a blunt point in the vertical directly on the bolt remains. Slipped in a new nut with a fingertip.Did you torch it first?
The one nut that's busted is nearest the wheel well and hitting with an air hammer would be easy.
(If I had an air hammer and a compressor to drive it. But that's a problem easily solved - been looking to upgrade the shop compressor.)
Good to know. I wonder if drilling bigger, and adding nutserts would fix the issue, then use bar-pin eliminators to never have to worry about it ever again would work. I have been religiously adding krill oil every weekend for the past three months.Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum and found this thread from a google search on this topic as I too encountered this issue when recently replacing my shocks. First off, wow what a great forum full of fellow TJ enthusiasts like me! I've got a '06 Rubicon and love it.
After reading this thread and a half dozen or so others on the same topic, I thought I'd share my experience with the broken bolt problem as well. Having very little free time due to family/life/work, I hastily attempted to remove the rear upper shock mount bolts after only a brief pre-treatment with penetrating oil, foolishly thinking "it won't happen to me, I'll be very careful" (hah)...
One bolt on each side broke (driver side inboard and passenger side outboard). Rather than cut an access hole in the body, I went the drilling route, which took 6 hours per side/bolt and consumed several carbide-tipped masonry bits and cobalt steel bits (only way I could make progress was to rotate bit type and size every 15-30 min or so).
Also nearly broke my cordless drill and eventually switched to a cheap corded drill that was difficult to use without a variable speed option. Real fun. I can't believe how hard it is to drill through these bolts, it's like they're made of out of diamond. Stacking wood boards under my arm helped with generating force/leverage but it was still an exhausting ordeal.
Once drilled through I did what a previous member mentioned to one side — added a nut on top of the existing welded nut. On the other side, I had to Dremel-off the welded nut and then very carefully insert a new nut held in place with vice grips while I fished a new bolt through the hole to align with the nut. Will be very difficult to remove/tighten/replace if ever needed later on.
My advice to anyone reading this thread that hasn't started on the bolt removal yet — please take this problem seriously, you'll be happy you did if they come out without breaking due to wise application of penetrating oil for several days beforehand. If they still break and you don't want to cut an access hole in the tub, drilling is definitely possible but be prepared for a brutal process and lots of bit consumption.
Maybe someone can advise on a specific bit brand/material that actually would hold up to this process better? I tried several common name brands from a local hardware store, and none of them survived the process. Pretty incredible hardened steel in these bolts.. Here's a pic of one side with the new bolts/shock installed.
View attachment 231262
Dremel with a cutoff wheel and you can have the welded nuts cut off the cross member in a hour or less and then just drop in new bolts. Easy fix.Good to know. I wonder if drilling bigger, and adding nutserts would fix the issue, then use bar-pin eliminators to never have to worry about it ever again would work. I have been religiously adding krill oil every weekend for the past three months.
I am sure there are better bits that would take less than 6 hours. I dumped this project to my mechanic and he drilled them out and replaced the shocks for $150 and their labor rates are a $110/hour.Hi everybody, I'm new to the forum and found this thread from a google search on this topic as I too encountered this issue when recently replacing my shocks. First off, wow what a great forum full of fellow TJ enthusiasts like me! I've got a '06 Rubicon and love it.
After reading this thread and a half dozen or so others on the same topic, I thought I'd share my experience with the broken bolt problem as well. Having very little free time due to family/life/work, I hastily attempted to remove the rear upper shock mount bolts after only a brief pre-treatment with penetrating oil, foolishly thinking "it won't happen to me, I'll be very careful" (hah)...
One bolt on each side broke (driver side inboard and passenger side outboard). Rather than cut an access hole in the body, I went the drilling route, which took 6 hours per side/bolt and consumed several carbide-tipped masonry bits and cobalt steel bits (only way I could make progress was to rotate bit type and size every 15-30 min or so).
Also nearly broke my cordless drill and eventually switched to a cheap corded drill that was difficult to use without a variable speed option. Real fun. I can't believe how hard it is to drill through these bolts, it's like they're made of out of diamond. Stacking wood boards under my arm helped with generating force/leverage but it was still an exhausting ordeal.
Once drilled through I did what a previous member mentioned to one side — added a nut on top of the existing welded nut. On the other side, I had to Dremel-off the welded nut and then very carefully insert a new nut held in place with vice grips while I fished a new bolt through the hole to align with the nut. Will be very difficult to remove/tighten/replace if ever needed later on.
My advice to anyone reading this thread that hasn't started on the bolt removal yet — please take this problem seriously, you'll be happy you did if they come out without breaking due to wise application of penetrating oil for several days beforehand. If they still break and you don't want to cut an access hole in the tub, drilling is definitely possible but be prepared for a brutal process and lots of bit consumption.
Maybe someone can advise on a specific bit brand/material that actually would hold up to this process better? I tried several common name brands from a local hardware store, and none of them survived the process. Pretty incredible hardened steel in these bolts.. Here's a pic of one side with the new bolts/shock installed.
View attachment 231262
One reason to not use BPEs is that they'll shorten the shock travel distance.Why not just weld in the bar pin eliminator instead of all the drilling and cutting?
Well, if your welds are normal I guess. On mine the welding spots were kind of big, so I had to lift the tub. To get the hand chisel in place, because the Dremel Cutoff Wheel is a quarter of an inch too small. At least on my Jeep.Dremel with a cutoff wheel and you can have the welded nuts cut off the cross member in a hour or less and then just drop in new bolts. Easy fix.