I replaced my OEM shocks two years ago. And both upper studs broke trying to remove the bolts. It did it on my 95 xj (r.i.p. ) . I soaked both with pb blaster like crazy but to no use. So I drilled the holes and just put long bolts thru the cargo area floor. After about a year I added 2 8"x8" steel plates to support between the floor and bolts. Just wondering if anyone else had this issue and what they did to resolve it

 

I've heard the upper shock bolts pretty much always break.

 

its pretty common to have to upper bolts break. and actually i just lifted a 00 xj today that had 3 out of the 4 break. but what i normally do is just air chisel the welded nut out and bolt it up with a new bolt and nut combo.

unfortunatly, drilling through the floorboard isnt an option on customers jeeps.

 

Yep, that is pretty common, and there are numerous ways to fix it here, and elsewhere...

 

i feel this is the most sensible and logical way. if you dont have access to an air chisel, a screwdriver and hammer will work.

i feed the bolt through the access panel and drop it down and put a new nut on it

 

that works.

and if you really want to make changing out shocks easier on yourself, then you can put a couple tack welds on the bolt to the body (only if fed down through the top) to make tightening and loosening easier