What do I do if I break the top shackle bolt that goes into the body? How do Get it out without breaking it. I have used LOTS of lube. Still don't want to force it and snap it off.

 

i just had the same problem..it wouldnt come outta the bushing...
so,,we cut the bolt..then i pryed the hell outta the whole rear leaf..bent up the mount..and put the screw that the bolt goes in way outta wack!!!!

so then what i did was..bent the mounting bracket back into shape...
then punched the bolt that was spot-welded into the frame..punched it out...torched the whole big enough to get a new one in...lined it up..and welded it in place.....

it can really be a BIG pain in the butt!!!

keep at it...good luck!!!

post your progress...i hope this helped ya...

God Bless!!!

 

Can the nut be reached inside the frame? So if I cut the bolt and punch the rest of the bolt and nut out the back side, can I put a bolt all the way thru and nut and washer it from inside the frame? I know I gotta take off the bumper, but I have to replace it anyway.

 

Ah, no it can't be reached. I am going through the same h3ll myself. Not sure what to do yet as I am not equipped to cut and weld stuff back together.

Not sure about reaching it with the bumper off. Let me know if you can reach it like that. I may wind up removing the rear bumper.

 

if you remove the rear bumper there are holes in the back its poss with a little trimming

 

using long 1/2" pry bar, lots of lube, work back and forth and continue doing so until it comes out.


every time I do cherokee rear springs, it takes around 1 hour per bolt for the front bolts, about the same for the upper shackle bolt.

 

I need help getting my upper shackle bolt out I snapped it on a 1/4 turn used tons of lube I got the shackle out but need to get the bolt out

 

i just went through the same BS on mine.. hopefully you can get it out far enough (about an inch) to clear the nut welded on the inside of the frame. chances are the bolt is rusted to the bushing sleeve. thats when i had to start cutting and grinding. it took a while and tons of cut off wheels and sawzall blades but cut both sides of the bushing and the shackle will fall out.

another problem you might run into is the threads on the nut on inside the frame might get messed up, mine looked pretty stripped. if you take the rear bumper off you can get in behind that nut. once you get the bolt through the damaged factory nut start threading it into new nut as much as you can. i had no problem getting a 3/4 inch wrench in there to hold the nut.

 

See I ripped the shackle out and about 1/2 or less of the broken bolt is showing and hasn't even started to unthread

 

XJ-92 See I ripped the shackle out and about 1/2 or less of the broken bolt is showing and hasn't even started to unthread

that sucks, i'd say try to break the weld or whatever it is holding the nut in
place and then remove the broken bolt and nut through the exposed hole in the "frame" when u take the rear bumper off. finish it up with a new bolt, the only thing is if you don't reweld the nut into the "frame" you'll have the take the rear bumper off again next time u need to get to that bolt. i hope that makes sense and that i'm understanding your problem right

 

Yea it pissed me off so much when I happened but I'll try tomorrow as my jeep is at school on the lift

 

Well I was able to get the broken bolt out I heated the thing up and used channel locks to twist it out a little bit and reheat. I twisted pretty easy once I heated it up to cherry red.

 

I'm about to do a lift. A buddy warned me about this! He told me to drill an 1/8" hole directly across from the thru bolt into the unibody.A PB blaster spray tube fits in the hole perfectly.So far I have sprayed all shock and rear spring bolts for about 2 weeks. I am able to unscrew both sides about half way.I stopped there because the truck wasnt supported and Im not doing the lift yet.I have found that the method explained above has allowed me to not only break them free, but by loosening them, spraying them, and tightening them over and over has gotten me at least half way.just my 2 pennies.

 

that works and to make it easier if you have to take the shackles off to remove the leaf spring end first to take the pressure off the top bolt making it a lot easier to remove. thats what i did and it slid right out besides me breaking one of them

 

Ugh........ I have to change my rear springs in the next week or so, (Lean), am not looking forward to this. Doesnt help my heep hails from the great state of Ill., the rust is even got its own rust!!! lol Seriously,are these really the best, and (only) methods, i dont have the equip to cut, heat, weld, have done everything on my rig my own damn self, what would a shop charge to replace the springs, just in case???? .... not trying to thread jack here!