Look, I'm no expert, but I would say that trying to get the front bolt out of a 1992 Cherokee that has never had it replaced by grabbing the biggest breaker bar you have and turning is a "mistake." Its the kind of thing I'd expect someone who had never worked on a Cherokee to do. I believe you could even do a better job by calling it a "rookie mistake."

 

I'm not an expert either, but a bigazz breaker bar with the Jeep solid on a lift is the first thing I would try. Always time later to slice & dice as plan "b".

 

any rusted bolt I heat then put oil on it.I do this about 2 or 3 times then let it sit for a day..seems to help .

 

Going after factory Jeep leafspring bolts with nothing but a breaker bar is asking for trouble. Even if they are not rusted. Its a great way to break your favorite breaker bar, your body, or your Jeep.

My XJ is 20 years old, has plenty of rusty bolts down below, and requires care when removing them for the first time, because many of them are factory and have never been touched. When I go at one for the first time, it always gets the 1. Wire brush 2. The Oil (Kroil) 3. The heat (MAP).

I have not let a shop touch it yet. Because I know they will man-handle the crap out of it, and bust a bunch of things. I have a friend who manages a shop, but even he can't babysit the guys on every job to make sure they treat it right. Which they won't.

But back to the leafsprings:

 

Thanks Jordan. Everything you said here was spot on.

 

I did mine on an '87 by taking a set off an '88. Having to do it twice was an eye opener. Lots of PB Blaster + lots of time to soak in and heat with a MAP/Oxygen torch. The '87 came off ok but the '88 had to be done through the floor on the inside to get the last bolt out that was spinning. Even knowing approximately where to cut the floor would be hard for a guy that hadn't the advantage of checking the Cherokee Forum first!

Didn't cut any springs. Took a few days and evenings and some creative jacking to raise and lower to get it all off and on.

I can't see how a shop would want to do this on anything rusty. They wouldn't want to spend that much time (and you wouldn't want to pay them for that much time).

 

No magic wand, just common sense, I try to work smarter not harder. When I did my son's springs, one bolt was frozen in the eye bushing. Had I continued backing bolt out it would have either stripped the nut or popped it loose. By the time I got done heating it there was little left of the rubber.
But you sure have a magic wand mouth.

Sure looks like explicit details to me. Guess a person would have to have EVERYTHING written down in legalese to cover all the bases.
Seeing as issue seems resolved, it doesn't matter now.

 

Great news Luke. There is a 4X4 shop near me that has lines of off-road vehicles waiting for service while the others lots sit empty. I have never heard a bad word about them. I will always do my own work when I can, but know there is someplace I can go to if I can't. Glad they found someone in-house who knows what they are doing.