Ok so most everyone has run into the dreaded "Broken Shock Bolts" in their XJ careers and after having them break on 3 different XJ's and drilling them out on 2 and beginning to drill them out on the third, I went the "Punch out the nut and fish new bolts through" route. I must say it is one heck of a lot easier than drilling the bolts out and re-tapping.

Here is a step by step guide with some pictures.

Total time needed, about 30min begining to end.

Items needed:
Impact hammer/gun (About $14 at Harbor Freight and comes with an assortment of bits)
Extendable magnet tool
Replacement nuts, bolts, washers and lock washers.
Proper socket & wrench to match the bolts you picked up.
Long needle nose pliars
Fixens for Chili


1) Go ahead and start a pot of chili, it always tastes better when you are done working on the XJ.

2) Get out your pneumatic impact gun and load a pointed tip into it. Place the tip right on the broken bolt and give the trigger a few quick pulls, the nut and what is left of the bolt will pop right out.



3) Get one of your bolts and add a lock washer and washer to it in that order and put it on the end of your extendable magnet.





4) fish the bolt up throgh the opening on the inside of where the shock mount spot is located. Red Arrow/Yellow arrow indicate the spots. (I forgot to take a pick as I was doing this.)





5) Thread the nuts and washers on and tighten down finger tight. Get your wrench out and needle nose pliars and grab the end of the bolt with the pliars and tighten the nut with your wrench. Once the lock washer engages you can put your socket wrench on it and tighten it down.

6) Go inside and have some chili and pat yourself on the back for a job well done!



PS: Don't rag on my $24.99 Monroe Gas-o-Matics, they are an interim add-on until I can squirrel away enough money for a lift kit.

 

This pretty much how I did it except the guy with the smallest hands simply put the bolts in place. There are a ton of write ups on this but they all made it sound like a bigger deal than it was. The most invasive one called for cutting hole in the floor of the xj!

For anyone out there about to run into this problem, it sucks but isn't a big deal.

 

Small hands and my family don't happen. I didn't get the picture of fishing the bolts through with the magnet because I was so excited at how utterly simple and easy it was that I had the shocks bolted up before I realized I had forgotten to take pictures.

Hopefully the Mods put this in the "How To Guide" section. It will save people a lot of time and hassle.

 

Nice easy write up. Good job!

 

Ha Ha I'm the one with the skinny hands with long fingers.
Where's the pics of your xj man.

 

That is some good looking chili. Thanks for posting this.

 

Hey buddy! Thanks again for doing the install for me!! I can't repay you! Here's a pic of the jeeper looking proud after her lift.

 

I'm getting ready to lift. I'm glad I found this, I've heard of doing it like this but the pics will help. BTW, was the fist aid kit next to the chili pot part of the required tools needed? Thanks bro.

 

Looks good! Not enough people put celery in their chili. The Jeep looks nice too.

 

Haha, No, not this time! I got smart and stocked up on cheap mechanics gloves at a Harbor Freight sidewalk sale! You can't beat them at $3 a pair!

 

OK, sorry, I have to ask; After a few years, if you should want to change your shocks again, and the new cad plated bolts are rusted tight to the nuts, how are you going to get them off then? It seems to me the bolts will just spin.

 

.I guess that is when you cut an access hole in rear cargo area to get a socket on it from the top.

 

I was able to get a box wrench up there to keep the bolts from turning. Also put never-seize on the bolt threads.

 

my method for getting the bolts up there is a bit different, and easier.

Get a roll of mechanics wire, cut a length about 2-3ft long, and wrap one end tightly about the new bolt. Then unscrew the bolt leaving a coil. Then all you need to do is put the coil though the hole, and out the nearest hole in the frame, screw the bolt into the coil, and pull. Then unscrew the coil from the bolt and you're done! No farting around with getting the bolt lined up with the hole.

Like this:

 

Genius. You should have linked this to the JK thread on Jeepforum; it would have quieted my nerves lol.

...and I got the passenger side uppers off with no issues btw. I'll do the driver side tomorrow ...hopefully with as little fuss. (Apparently, little-to-no rust, and a liberal application of CRC Freeze-off - that stuff is like magic btw - is the "secret" to not breaking those bolts off.)

I did replace the Grade 5 factory bolts with Grade 8 'uns. Along with a liberal dash of thread anti-seize (I'm applying that everywhere, for when I revisit the procedure "someday").