So, I've exhausted google and the search button. Here is the question: Does anyone know what size the bolts are for the steering box on 98s? ZachsXJ and I were putting on a custom fab bumper on my rig yesterday but broke the top steering box bolt off the darn thing before we could get it on. I'm gonna figure out how to back that bolt out; but in the mean time I need to have a new one (or set) ready. I might go pull one at a junkyard today, but I would rather just buy new grade 8 bolts for the whole thing. If anyone has any knowledge of this hook a brother up. Many Thanks gents/gentlewoman.

 

Hey buddy I just went through a similar experience about a week ago. Your gonna need 3 (grade8) 7/16" - 14 4in. long bolts for the steering box. Might want to consider getting a new spacer for your steering box while your at it too.. mine was cracked/broken and most of them are. I got mine from JCR offroad for like 25 bucks. Hope this helps

 

Grade 8... Not grade glasses smirk face haha

 

If you do buy the JCR spacer just get there hardware kit for 8$, has all 3 bolts the proper length with the spacer. I really like my JCR spacer.

 

Me too I bought my hardware with the spacer also

 

I was so hopeful today...went out to Lowes (the 2nd Lowes of the day) and found the bolts...1.50 a pop good to go right? Wrong. If you recall I already broke one bolt...so i started on the 2nd one after a day of PB Blaster the 2nd bolt came out with out a fight. On to the 3rd...snap. Now I have two bolts stuck in...a broken spacer...and my Jeep is parked in the parking lot of my barracks...le sigh.

 

I only broke one off but i feel your pain...I replaced my steering box with a Durango box after breaking the bolt in it; didn't wanna mess with it and my seal leaked a bit on the top anyways

 

Well the story goes on and today I am happy to provide some advice to those who will face this issue in the future. As mentioned above it did turn out that my steering box spacer was indeed cracked along one of the 3 sides linking all the bolts. So, I figured screw it I'm gonna do this right and get a new one instead of making it work. I hoped on JCRoffroad, saw my part, called them up explaining my time sensitive explanation and got it 2 day aired for a grand total of 40 bucks. pretty awesome, right?! So with the new part looming I decided to prep my beast for install, not to mention I still needed to get those two broken bolts out. So here is what I did, and something that I think will work for others who broke bolts.
The issue with these bolts isn't on the passenger side of the steering pump, rather its how the bolts runs through the steering box spacer get rusted, grimed up, locked in, and conform into one piece with the crappy aluminum alloy type metal the spacer is made out of.
1.) So, break all the sides off the spacer, using pliers, down to the corners (where the bolts attach to the steering box).
- In the above picture you can see what i did. The corner, where the hole is, represents where the bolts used to be (this is what it should look like if you don't break a bolt pulling it out) if you do break a bolt in there you would snap the arms off this piece until the eyelet is only remaining. That will look like this: (note how rusted and molded together the spacer is to the actual bolt)


2.)now you should have a relatively circular hunk of spacer (as pictured above) creating a faux-esque nut attached to your broken bolt.
3.)Grab a pair of channel locks and or vice grips, grap onto that baby and wrench it out.


This is what you should pull out:

i prepped this with a little PB blaster to be safe, and I honestly had these out perfectly in less than 2 minutes total...crisis averted.

 

Hot wrench.....
If you have a torch, heat the area around the bolt it will release all the corrosion in the threads, and then remove the bolt and just give it a squirt with some water to cool it
back down.

Works everytime, your not going to hurt the box as long as you keep the localized to the area around the bolt.

 

ya but mine had pictures....lol

 

So I'm having a heck of a time getting this freaking steering box back on. I find it really hard to angle the darn thing right. I got the one bottom bolt in really easy and the other bottom Bolt only seems to cross thread and not go beyond 1/8 inch in. And the top bolt I haven't even gotten to go in. Anyone have any experience or advice to share on getting this thingy in.

 

Let me know if you need an extra hand. I am in Stafford

 

I finished my bumper install yesterday.

I used the JCR steering box spacer with the Nate's 4x4 Jeep Cherokee recessed winch bumper. I had to drill out the 4th hole on the spacer for the large carriage bolt with the bumper.

I used Rock Lizards instructions with notes from TJheems on cherokeeforum and other forums, http://www.rocklizardfabrications.co...g_box_bolt.htm.

A few notes. After you remove or break off 1-3 of the steering gear bolts, you push the steering gear over and will drop down on your sway bar with access to the bolts and the OEM steering gear spacer. You do not have to remove the pittman arm or the bolts attached to it or drag link. With heat and the OEM spacer broken away, the bolts come off in about 30 seconds each.

I bolted on the 4th hole on the JCR spacer first so it would not move all around.

I lifted up the steering gear and lined up the holes and slid a phillips screwderiver on the bottom hole to get it in place. The steering gear is heavy and has a lot of mobility. You have to rotate it also as you lift up as you line up the bolts. With the screwdriver in, I was able to get the top bolt in. I put all three bolts in tight, espcecially the top so the steering gear would not move around or the plate shift when I removed the 2 bottom bolts for the bumper install.

The uninstall and reinstall with the JCR plate takes about an hour and then another hour to install the bumper and then go for a drive.