Rear upper shock bolts rant

Vtx531

Vtx531

TJ Addict
Joined
Nov 17, 2020
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Kalamazoo, MI
Long story short, I have two rear shock bolts that are original 8mm size and two that are 3/8".

I went to install my new shocks today. With a brand new 8mm 10.9 bolt, it snapped right off when torquing it down. I used antiseize and the associated lower torque spec for that according to a fastenal chart.

So anyways, 8mm is just too small or something. I don't know.

I cut that weldnut off and plan to replace with a 3/8" nut and bolt. At least with a loose nut and bolt, it isn't as big of a deal if you snap one.

Two of my other weld nuts are drilled and tapped to 3/8" but I should probably just cut them all off to avoid problems in the future.

5F7DC4E9-DF93-4644-B6A7-C7E8E7E0720E.jpeg
 
Man, bummer. Those are notorious for seizing up, but snapping a new bolt is extra frustrating. You even decreased the torque for the anti seize, so I can't think of how you deserved it.
 
Yeah those upper rear shock mount nuts are terrible. I cut them out of both my jeeps. The benefit of cutting those nuts out is it gives you the opportunity to mount your shock on the top of the crossmember as a means of having a little bit of adjustability over the travel bias.
 
I feel your pain, BTDTGTTSGOO! Horrid design to start with, and Jeep was too cheap/dumb/stupid/whatever to put a bit of neverseez on the damn things.
 
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HornedToad said:
Yeah those upper rear shock mount nuts are terrible. I cut them out of both my jeeps. The benefit of cutting those nuts out is it gives you the opportunity to mount your shock on the top of the crossmember as a means of having a little bit of adjustability over the travel bias.
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Interesting. Can you say more, or point me toward any pics of what you mean?
 
Gunnersmate said:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YHLLQKV/?tag=wranglerorg-20
This will eliminate those shitty Shock mount

View attachment 289920
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I do NOT recommend these unless your Jeep has a lift and you alter the length of your shocks by about 1".
I used them for the first round of suspension upgrades/repairs on our stock '03, only to realize that by cutting out the pin of the shocks & using these will compress the shock by about 1" resulting in a shock that bottoms out and makes a basic ride through a parking lot feel like some type of punishment.

There are "flag nuts" that are basically 2 nuts welded to a metal arm that places the new nuts where they need to be and prevents them from rotating during install.
I believe that they are intended for JK's, but still fit the application on TJ's.
 
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I've seen the flag nuts before and they look like they would work but I can easily get a box-end wrench into the area above the frame to hold a nut. So I don't see the need. That's on a stock Jeep with no body lift too. A body lift would make the gap even bigger. (I do have the plastic wheelhouse covers removed currently. Not sure if you could do it with those installed)

I wonder what size bolts come with those flag nut kits and what grade. If they are the same 8mm then forget it.
 
Vtx531 said:
I went to install my new shocks today. With a brand new 8mm 10.9 bolt, it snapped right off when torquing it down. I used antiseize and the associated lower torque spec for that according to a fastenal chart.
Click to expand...

What torque? If you used a torque wrench I think I know what happened, especially looking at the chart you used.
 
pagrey said:
What torque? If you used a torque wrench I think I know what happened, especially looking at the chart you used.
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Didn't mess up feet vs inches if that was what you were thinking! Not that I never would do that but not this time haha.

274inch lbs. on the chart - I divided that by 12 and came up with 22 ft-lb.

I have a half inch torque wrench that goes down to 20 ft-lb minimum. Maybe it is inaccurate at the low settings and I should buy a 3/8 torque wrench??

It actually torqued down okay the FIRST time. Then I had to remove it and re torque it - that's when it broke.
 
Vtx531 said:
I have a half inch torque wrench that goes down to 20 ft-lb minimum. Maybe it is inaccurate at the low settings and I should buy a 3/8 torque wrench??
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No way, I think defective hardware. You should be able to put 40 ft/lbs into an 8mm 10.9 easily without breaking it and you'd know if you were off by that much. I have some 6mm 10.9 clutch bolts and I've hammered on those and never had an issue. I was thinking you were going all 200 ft/lbs on them, nice to hear that wasn't the case.
 
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pagrey said:
No way, I think defective hardware.
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I think you might be right!

I was replacing other old fasteners with new ones. All 10.9 zinc coated from Lowes. Hillman brand.

This morning I was replacing the flag nuts on rear upper control arms with regular nuts. One of the Hillman nuts tightened fine to 40ft lb. The second one completely stripped out and is now stuck on the bolt.

Ironically, part of the reason I was replacing the flag nuts was to make it easier to remove if I ever had to cut the head of the bolt off. Now I have to cut the head of the bolt off because of the replacement nut!

Seriously frustrating. I can't find 10.9 bolts local anywhere else besides Menards or TSC and they only come in black phosphate which is no good for corrosion or outdoors.

Might replace with 3/8" grade 8 even though the diameter is a little smaller.
 
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