88 xj broken shock mount ?

[arupton]

while putting on a lift and putting the shocks back on, we broke the bolt/nut to connect the shock to the shock mount (driver's side/back). The rest of the bolt was welded into the mount. Anyway, the question is, what should I do w/ this situation? Should I weld in factory replacement shocks? or, should I put on another mounting option (CJ, YJ, ETC.)?

Thanks in advance.

The lift is 2", mounts in front, shackles in back. 30's on it now, w/ hacked fenders, ill be fitting 33's, hopefully

 

[rag]

i have lifted 4 xj's, all 4 have broken atleast one rear upper shock bolt.

with an airhammer (or a punch and hammer), punch/buzz the nut/bolt until the 3 or 4 tiny spotwelds snap off the body, when i mean tiny i mean TINY spotwelds. it takes literally one second for each broken bolt with an airhammer equipped with a pointy tip.

find a small pair of hands, flexibility is a major advantage here.

now use a new bolt and nut and use those small pairs of hand you either own or borrowed and fish the new bolt down the hole. some people use string taped to the bolt to fish it in, im not a huge fat fingered sort of guy so i had no problem using my hands. put the stubby wrench on the head of the bolt, install shock, (if preffered apply antiseize now!), install bolt, tighten bolt.

my truck broke all 4 bolts, a 15minutes shock install turned into a 20 minute shock install. i dont know if the later bodystyle xj's are still spotwelded like the older ones, i have dont an 88, 89 (mine), 93 and a 96.

have fun!:roll:

 

[arupton]

hey thanks for the reply/write up. question: what if the bolt is literally welded in there by welding and rust? i dont think its possible to get it 'unstuck' b/c its been in there 20 years and the rust is overwhelming on the xj. if im not able to get it out, what other methods do you/anyone suggest?
thanks again

 

[Widgetjeep]

I recently did the same thing with my rear upper shock bolts. I broke the heads off all four bolts. I did the same thing Rag suggested, but first I drilled a little pilot hole for the air chisel to fit into without buzzing around all over the place. The tack welded nuts will pop off in seconds. I don't have very thin fingers, so I worked fishing line through and tied it to the bolts and pulled them through from the top, with the nuts being tightened from the bottom side. Easy and much less frustrating than fooling with drilling and tapping.