front bumper swap/pulling steering box bolts...?

Hellbent

Hellbent

NAXJA Forum User
Location
san diego, california
sometime this week, i'm going to swap out the front bumper for one i picked up from another :NAXJA:'er some time ago. the drivers side incorporates the 3 steering box bolts. i have all the hardware(slightly longer box bolts to account for the 1/4" plate bumper mounts).
what i'm wondering, is how likely is it that the box is going to move around and screw with me as i try to get the replacement bumper mounted? i'm kinda hoping it'll be sort of "stuck"-enough to allow me to slide the bumper on and start the bolts by hand before it starts trying to become misaligned.
i will be doing this solo, and just want to know how many curse words i should have handy, as i've never had to r&r a steering box on any of my xj's yet.
 
shouldnt be too bad. it will drop down, but i never found it difficult to get back in place, assuming your bumper's holes line up.
 
that's good to know. i just don't want to be surprised, and end fighting with it for two hours trying to line up the holes. if it's gonna be a pain, i'll wait 'til a weekend when i can procure an extra set of hands.
 
the biggest PITA was my spacer was broken so i made a new one. it would be a good time to buy or make a new one yourself. i think there are a few companies that make a nice steel reinforcement plate/spacer for the inside, but dont ask me who. the stock aluminum one is pretty crummy.
 
i doubt i'll have any issues with the bolts seizing, it's been a west coast vehicle it's whole life. no broken bolts so far...
i was just looking at jcr's website, they have a steel replacement box spacer for cheap-about $30-something. i'm sure if i don't replace it while i've got the bolts out, i'll regret it at some point. i may just order it and wait to do the bumper 'til i have that piece.
i'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to fish the old aluminum(and probably cracked) piece out from behind the box, and slide the new one in without pulling the whole box out? trying to keep the PITA factor as low as possible.
 
Hellbent said:
i doubt i'll have any issues with the bolts seizing, it's been a west coast vehicle it's whole life. no broken bolts so far...
i was just looking at jcr's website, they have a steel replacement box spacer for cheap-about $30-something. i'm sure if i don't replace it while i've got the bolts out, i'll regret it at some point. i may just order it and wait to do the bumper 'til i have that piece.
i'm guessing it shouldn't be too hard to fish the old aluminum(and probably cracked) piece out from behind the box, and slide the new one in without pulling the whole box out? trying to keep the PITA factor as low as possible.
Click to expand...
it's really no issue pulling the box away and putting it back. lining up the bolt holes can be a little time consuming, but not bad at all. it stays in the general area for the most part, i wouldnt worry about it.
 
the box will definitely drop down and get misaligned. The most important thing is to make sure you get the bolts started WITHOUT cross threading them (very easy to cross thread by accident on the steering box - I like to do it from under the jeep so I can easily move the box and the bolt at the same time) and get all 3 started before tightening anything fully. Oh, use extra thick grade 8 washers under the bolts, some bumper makers oversize the holes a bit for ease of alignment.

You might need longer bolts after putting the bumper on depending on how thick its mounting brackets and the washers you use are, measure an old bolt (I want to say 4.5" long but not sure) and figure out how much you're adding. Make sure the new bolts have enough threads to not bottom out, some won't - you want 7/16-14 coarse thread.
 
kastein said:
measure an old bolt (I want to say 4.5" long but not sure) and figure out how much you're adding. Make sure the new bolts have enough threads to not bottom out, some won't - you want 7/16-14 coarse thread.
Click to expand...
4" bolts are perfect, always ran em with 1/4" bumper brackets, perfect fit
 
as others said it shouldn't be too much of a problem. the steering input shaft will keep it from falling too far out of the way and it's not so heavy that you won't be able to manhandle it back where it needs to be with one arm. whatever you do if you can't get all the bolts in don't try to drive it without one of them in (yes it happened here before). bad things happen and steering boxes are expensive, especially when you snap one of the ears off the casting and the parts store won't take it as a core :gee:
 
I stand corrected on the bolt length :dunce: the 4.5s I used must have been due to the durango box, extra spacer I needed, and quarter inch bumper bracket plus washer, either that or I am remembering it wrong, which is also entirely possible.
 
The box will move around.
Wedge a piece of wood up in there, pound it in to hold the box in place before you remove the bolts.

The steering box is kinda heavy and awkward.
Use thread lock and lock washers on the outside.
Tighten the shit out of them, obviously not stripping the threads.
 
barillms said:
The box will move around.
Wedge a piece of wood up in there, pound it in to hold the box in place before you remove the bolts.

The steering box is kinda heavy and awkward.
Use thread lock and lock washers on the outside.
Tighten the shit out of them, obviously not stripping the threads.
Click to expand...
no need for lock washers, thats what locktite is for
 
i like the wood-block-thing idea quite a bit.
it sounds like the steering linkage and steering shaft will keep it mostly in place. the bumper mounts are 1/4" thick, so the bolts i got are 4.5" long 7/16-14(stock seemed to be 4" with .25 being an unthreaded little pilot dingus); and coarse thread bolts are much less likely to severely cross-thread, in my past experience.
i loctite everything pretty much, but almost always blue, unless it's some hight temp application. the red stuff just makes me want to kick my own ass for using it every time i have to go back and disassemble whatever it was again...




barillms said:
The box will move around.
Wedge a piece of wood up in there, pound it in to hold the box in place before you remove the bolts.
Click to expand...
 
The unthreaded pilot dingus is because the factory hates crossthreading bolts just as much as I do.

Don't ask how I know that it's eminently possible, even easy to crossthread a 7/16-14 bolt into a cast housing for at least a couple turns... and that you have to take it out and retap it to make the damn bolt stop going in sideways after that :banghead:

There is a reason I've been belaboring the point so much on this one, I don't want you guys going through the bullshit I had to to undo my mistake :dunce:
 
besides my likely ordering the steel spacer plate, this is another reason i may wait for a weekend. murphy's law would suggest that if i attempt this on a week night-having to be at work the next morning, something will probably go bizarrely wrong. especially since The Back-Up Whip is out at the moment.

kastein said:
Don't ask how I know that it's eminently possible, even easy to crossthread a 7/16-14 bolt into a cast housing for at least a couple turns... and that you have to take it out and retap it to make the damn bolt stop going in sideways after that :banghead:
Click to expand...
 
I am in the middle of this myself and so far I have broken 1 out of 2 bolts. Now it has been soaking in pb blaster for a week and I will give it another go. I am sure getting the broken bolt out is going to be a blast.
 
When the bolts break it's not a big deal if you're putting in a new inner spacer.

They usually break off flush with the spacer and you can easily chisel off the spacer and vicegrip the broken piece out.
 
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