Do I have to melt the rubber bushings to get these things off? Cut the bolts and replace? What's the frigin trick here..

 

Air tools. Heat. WD40. Cut it out and re tap

 

Either the bolts are seized in the nut and won't turn, need to soak with thread penatrant, for a while, then impact them.
Or the bolts turn and the internal nut has broken free and turning also. Need to cut the head off bolt and tail off bolt with circular zip cut blade, need new bolt and hole into frame rail for a new nut.
Or the internal nut is still good and holding, bolt turns out somewhat, the steel sleeve inside the bushing is rust stuck to the bolt, and spinning inside the rubber bushing, need to cut the busing off, get new bolt and busing, or cut bolt and press out later when the entire unit has been extracted from the jeep.
Which situation is yours?
PB Blaster needs to be applied prior to most XJ disassembly. Impact generally helps. Apply heat where appropriate (always have an extinguisher handy).
The factory should have used antiseize, all the factories, but they don't, help yourself next time and use antiseize on re-assembly.

 

The bolt is frozen to the bushing sleeve which you found out. It's common. On all I do, the sleeve ends up coming out with the bolt puckering the shackle box. Not a big deal, you can make it flat again easy. Separate the bolt from the sleeve, wire wheel it and install.

 

It's defiantly the later, those inserts are seized to the bolt pretty good. No luck getting the box to pucker it out. Thinkin of cutting. It seems like the stock nut is still solid. Any one know what size bolt these are?

 

I use my long 1/2" ratchet and a 3' pipe, it comes and nothing breaks. I believe the bolt is 14x1.5 but I could be wrong.

 

When I do mine, whenever that is... After my exhuast is done.

Going to PB these bastards, and tap them with a hammer periodically over the course of a good week.

 

Oh man.. Well the verdict is in. Mind you I've PB Blasted every nut and bolt (2 cans) for almost a week prior to disassembly. It took 1/2" ratchets breaker bars more PB an air hammer and a shear will to live and we managed to have three out of the four main body bolts survive and the fourth was cut out at midnight. To drop the rear it took almost seven hours. And after waking up this mornin every frigin bone in my body hurts from Rollin around on that garage floor. Wow hopefully the front is just as much fun as the rear!

 

Hey just an FYI on the exhaust. The new leafs and especially the added shackle length in the rear caused me to have to hack off my custom exhaust tip that exits the pass rear just beside the shackle. So ya know

 

Day late and a dollar short, but I got mine out pretty much using a grinder, chiesel, and a hammer.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f46/em...v2-0-a-129017/

 

I've been doing this almost every day since I got the Jeep... I keep crawling under it and shooting up most of the bolts with WD-40 or Liquid Wrench, anticipating a time in the future when I'm going to have to wrestle them out.