jreb

Hey guys,

I went to put a set of air shocks on my 01 XJ and the front was smooth sailing. When it came to the back however, the first bolt broke off flush, so we stopped there as to not break any more.

Now I have a few questions.

1. How do I get the broken piece of the bolt out? There seems to be very little space above it and the only wrench access is about 8inches away.

2. Is there a way to get the factory bolts out WITHOUT breaking them? The guys that are helping me have said they always break the rear bolts.

3. Is there some sort of a trick (without cutting a hole in the floor) to get easy access to the top of the bolts?


I'm assuming that there is some really easy answer to our problems that we have just overlooked. I can't imagine that every time someone with an XJ puts new shocks on, they then have to drill out all the bolts or just weld the new shocks on.


Any help will be more than appreciated.

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Diesel

PB Blast a week prior, torches are friends.

Broken bolt extractor kit

razor02097

You can drill them out or do what many do...

Knock them out with a hammer and chisel then fish some bolts in. The nuts are only spot welded on the top, they are easy to knock out. When I replaced the rear shocks I broke all 4 bolts with a 1/4" ratchet... As if the bolts where made of plastic...

jreb

How do you get to the top with a chisel? Do you go thru the wrench access point?
Is there anything else in that little access point that I should watch out for?

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razor02097

I meant to say center punch >_<

After broken off just center punch the broken bolt part. The nut will pop right off the back.

jreb

Ok. We tried that a bit with a screw driver and a hammer, but we were out of daylight and just jacked up on the rear diff in a gravel lot.

We will need to get her rear up higher in a more secure manner and try with a better tool for the job.

How hard is it to fish the new nut in from that access point?

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razor02097

I actually fished the bolts through. I guess you could fish a nut there but it would be more work if you ended up dropping the nut all the time.

Actually here...

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/pr...x2/#post581673

It is part of his build thread. It shows what I'm talking about.

jreb

Wow thank you very much razor. That is an awesome walkthrough. Now to figure out what size bolts to get.

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jreb

Would anyone happen to know what length and diameter bolt I will need?

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Gregruot7

Hey, i just finished mine today after messing with this bull**** for a week, just weld some bar pin eliminators up there and forget about it. After putting a hole in my garage wall with my fist i decided to quit with those bolts and just weld the sway bar pin eliminators in

jreb

Ok so I finally am able to work on the XJ tonight and am trying to punch the bolts out (broke both of the drivers side so far) any ideas on how to punch them out? I'm hammering my *** off and getting nowhere.

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Modestmike

Idk about yours but mine was fairly easy once I cleared my head and got a long enough punch to work with. I used a regular hammer and knocked the bolts out easily. To fish the new bolts in (I believe they were 5/16"x 1.5" or 2" stainless steel) I used 20# fishing line wrapped around the threads and secured with electrical tape. They fell into place without any problems. You can access the head of the bolt through the "access panel" and hold it with an open end wrench.

jreb

FINALLY got it done!!! Beat for about an hour on the passenger side and decided to take a break and switch sides. After breaking both drivers side bolts as well (I seriously think those bolts were made of plastic), I gave them a good whack too. One of the drivers side bolts punched through in about a minute and proved to me that it COULD be done. That's all the incentive I needed and wham bam the rest were out. It seems like after I figured out just what angle to hit them at, they were a breeze. Fished in some grade 8's with the fishing line trick to make sure I never have this problem again.

HUGE thanks to everyone for offering up your knowledge. I would have been up "the" creek without a paddle if it weren't for you guys.

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razor02097

Agree... they seem like they are made of play dough.

When I did mine I broke the first so decided to switch to a 1/4 ratchet instead.... broke the other 3 with that

RubberSideUp

Air chisel then air drill three holes (adding a new hole in the center of the existing two holes). I then weld a piece of flat metal between two bolts spaced just enough for the bolts to drop through the holes you just drilled and insert them through the access openings. I then weld them in place by plug welding the center hole. Then install your bar pin eliminators (You do have these don't you? You need to pre-load those shock bushings!) and torque down the nuts on the studs you just created. I then use a rattle can to coat the inside of the access opening and the areas you welded. Keeps things rusts free. Using this method probably a hundred times over the years and I've never had a single issue with those rear upper shock mounts again. In fact, it stays put so well, people have punched their shocks through the floor pan and the mounts and studs were still where they were normally. Just re-welded the pan back together and added a .120 plate so it wouldn't happen again.