So I went to replace the rear shocks on my 99 XJ and two bolts just turn on the upper end of the driver side shock. Any ideas how to get them out and replaced? Can I get a wrench in there to hold the bolt so I can take the but off? Any info would be helpful. Thanks in advance.

 

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The rear shocks were a point of heart ache for my restoration as well.

Most people say that the bolts break off upon attempting removal and they then just use an air hammer with a punch tip and "pop" the welded bolt head off the body mount, then drop new hardware through from the top with a magnet or fishwire.

It does not sound that complicated right? Well my previous owner had the idea to use heli-coils for replacements and I had spinning bolts that were not tight, wouldn't tighten and wouldn't thread out. The heli-coils had nothing to bite to since they were just hanging in sheet metal.

My gut tells me that if you have spinning bolts, someone has likely replaced the shocks before and used the bolt from the top method of repair. When the factory studs/nuts rust tight, it is unlikely the weld would break before the bolt and even more unlikely that you could have more than one weld break allowing more than one bolt to spin freely. The bolts themselves are weaker than the weld and that is why they just usually snap off. If they have been replaced before, there is likely a bolt head that you can get a box wrench onto. There is room between the floor of the cargo area and where the shock mount is and you can get a box wrench in there from the underside. I used an inspection mirror and a flashlight to see the tops of mine to figure out what was going.

If you truly have the scenario where the factory weld let loose and the factory mounting stud is spinning freely, you can break one of the bolts off with a hammer and chisel, then you can slide the bar pin out from under the other and cut/grind the remaining bolt, that is what ended up working for me when dealing with my situation.

The ultimate fix I used was some new HD mounting plates from Karnage Off Road Products that I found on eBay. They sell both bar pin and bar pin eliminator versions of the plates. They were well built and fit great. I paid $70 for my set and it looks like they lowered their pricing as I just looked and they were $50.

http://stores.ebay.com/Karnage-Off-R...p2047675.l2563

The instructions indicated that an "exhaust modification may be needed" to use. What I found was that the passenger side mounting bolt comes close to the exhaust as it arches to go over the rear axle. The bolts they sent with the mount were longer than needed and I had about a half inch of exposed threads beyond the mounting nut and the tip of the mounting bolt was just touching the exhaust for a nice rattling sound. I used a shorter mounting bolt where the threads just peaked through the nut and the problem of hitting the exhaust was solved for me. I would say manufacturing differences and possible exhaust replacements, etc. and different people could have different levels of interference but it is not insurmountable. I am very happy with the finished product and how much sturdier and usable the mounts are now. I think they are tougher than the factory set-up.

With regular shock replacements it would be easy to compress the shock rod a half inch to meet the new lower mounting position of the shock and get the bottom eye onto the axle mount. However, I was using Monroe Sensa-Trak Load Adjusting shocks that have the coil over helper spring around the shock body. I could not hand compress the shock and had to get creative. With the truck raised and the rear axle hanging freely, I was about 1/2 inch away from getting the shock eyelet over the mounting stud on the axle. I placed a small bottle jack between the axle and the part of the unibody where the rear axle bump stop attaches. I was able to lightly flex the rear axle downward and get my shocks mounted at the bottom.

The Karange products mounts are also suggested to be welded in place as a permanent fix. I think this might be needed for a rock crawler or heavy offroad punishment but I did not weld my for a daily driver application.

Hope that helps and good luck with your rear shocks.

 

I used these as well a few years back and great product and highly recommend them. Make sure to use loc-tite. Good luck!

 

According to the description the new mounting brackets work best when welded on and lower the rear shocks top mounting 1.5 to 2 inches.

Wondering how the new mounting brackets effects the left and right rear shocks performance while on and off-road. Especially with OE suspensions and shorter lifts & lift kits, ~1 to 3 inches.

 

Depends on his set-up and good question~
I emailed Karnage and he was quick with answering if the brackets would cause issues, but in my situation with a 3" lift and extended shocks it fit perfect and gave me another 1" droop with no performance issues at all. I anything it feels more "solid". Also Karnage makes more than design of these brackets and if I remember the last time I looked, his new design has a smaller profile.. check it out and let us know how it works out. other than that there are lots of post of how to cut and fish out the old and put in new bolts.. maybe a bit harder but cheaper fix. Just my .02
~Good luck

 

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I just installed the Karnage brackets, they are beef. Plan on running a few beads around it as recommended. It will drop your shock so if you are running stock suspension, you may bottom the shocks out under full compression. I am going to lift my rear about 1 1/2 inches and extend the bumpstops, so my stock sensa tracks will fit perfect.

 

Well after cutting one end of the pin to save the nut and bolt it was pretty simple after that. Got a wrench put it on the bolt head and took the nut off. I did however end up pushing the bolt out of the hole and had to fish it out with a mag retriever then put safety wire on the treads to snake it back into hole. A little muscle failure Of the abs by reaching up for it but well worth it. Ride is much better now.

Thanks for all the talk and ideas about the situation I appreciate it.