deputy112

Has anybody ever change the rear shocks on a Cherokee without breaking off the bolts at the top by the floor pan? And is there an aftermarket upper rear shock bracket? Thanks,Dennis in Indiana

jmm0122

I didnt break any bolts when I did mine. Just sprayed pb blaster on it for about a week before and use air tools.

OverlandZJ

Cross Enterprises offers a shock hoop.. but i'd do a google seach on them first. My best bud had some issues with parts he purchased, got the runaround for many months.. then the communication ended. They may have folded..

I was able drill out the broken bolts then slip a new nut above the brace and bolted them in. While your doing this use your old rear swaybar brackets as the new mount.. and through bolt the shocks at bushing.

dukie564

as much as you hope they won't break, and no matter how much PB blaster you use, a few seem to always end up breaking (I hate you second poster lol). Just be prepared with some new bolts and nuts.

I broke 3/4 bolts when i did mine. I ended finding the best solution was to find a buddy that owned an air chisel - 2 minutes with that broke the welded nut loose from the frame rail. I made a bolt snake out of mechanics wire and fished the new bolts (grade 8 this time - not whatever jeep used to make you vehicle) through the holes and put new nuts on - done!

jmm0122

Haha. He asked.

Deanxj97

Zone lift has one, I couldn't really drill the bolts out so just welded these on and they are working fine just have to be careful welding.

http://zoneoffroad.com/product-acc?ki=92&gr=1

NH_Jeep_XJ

Being here in the Northeast certainly makes a difference. Our rust is much thicker than any rust you'll find down south.

I have been spraying the bolt heads with PB Blaster but still no luck in getting anything to even remotely budge.

I am now trying to spray the threads of the shock bolts from the top via the access hole.

I put some temporary rubber plugs in the two drain holes adjacent to the shocks mounting location in order to keep more of the PB Blaster up there instead of simply dripping back out again.

I bet if you could immerse the threads in PB Blaster for a day or two they'd break free....

deputy112

Thanks for the reply. I am now getting ready to do the brakes. I have owned it for about 2 mos. and love it. Deputy112.

XJcountry

Mine also broke when I did my rear shocks it isn't uncommon, but you just have to knock out the welds and put in a new nut and bolt.

nismo5

mine came right out without pb blaster or anythingalso with a quick one time spray of pb blaster for good measure all suspension bolts and exhaust manifold bolts/studs on my 89 xj came off super easy too

yeah west coast

TheJerm

Try using heat valve lubricant, its much better than PB blaster. But if the jeep is rusty like all of them in the north then your going to break bolts no matter what.

dukie564

yea just be prepared with 4 new bolts, nuts, and washers (grade 8 bolts) just in case

Vindicator9000

To answer your question about an aftermarket upper shock bracket: You don't need to buy the bar pin eliminators, you can make them for free using the brackets off of your rear swaybar. Flipped upside down, the boltholes line up perfectly with the upper shock bolts.

That's what I did on mine, and now I'll never have to deal with breaking those bolts again. The only modification that I had to do was bend the tabs out a bit on a vise so it would clear the upper shock bushing.

Using these homemade BPEs also gets you a bit more total shock length.

Pics (borrowed from someone's site)

mwdouglas

im gonna have to do the sway bar bracket bpe mod i need to replace the shocks and didnt want to spend the money on bpe's

deputy112

Has anybody used the rear shock loop from Cross Enterprise or Zone Off Road? Thanks,Deputy12