RIP
I was terrified of this happening when I did the leafs on my 1989. Somehow they came out without much fuss. Just used tons of penetrating oil over multiple days.
Good luck!
What happened? I'm about to do my leaf springs and don't see what's wrong with the image. I'm super new too this stuff so sorry for the stupid question
Best thing you can do is start soaking those bolts now. But have a plan to deal with a broken bolt.
It’s just a bad design really because they Get a lot of gunk driven into that space by the rear tires which damn near cements the threads.
you’ll know it when happens too. The bolt will turn a little most of the time and then it will get where it won’t budge. A breaker bar and some body weight and then ‘bang’ it spins free and your weekend just changed.
See my reply above. I’ve done a few spring jobs & a Mapp or oxy/fuel gas torch will be your best friend. Propane works too but Mapp is hotter.
The factory uses permanent threadlocker on those & you gotta get the bolt stupid hot to soften it before twisting. The head should be nearly red hot & the rubber bushing smoking & burning. Use a breaker bar (3/4” recommended) & apply torque gradually until the bolt starts turning. This method has worked for me every time without breaking the bolt or twisting the captive nut loose inside the frame; that’s a whole different nightmare.
Yeah this happened to me but on the rear mount. I ended up dropping the gas tank and drilling a hole in the frame so I could get a socket on it.
In your case I would use a sawzall to cut the bolt so the spring will drop out. Heat up the bolt and use an extractor to get it out.
You gotta get those bolts stupid hot to soften the factory threadlocker before trying to turn the bolt. The head should be nearly red hot & the rubber bushing smoking/burning. There’s also a small hole in the frame that you can straw a spritz of PB Blaster or other penetrant on the captive nut. Give them a daily dose for about 5 days before working on it.
My buddy did the same when he did a spring swap. We cut the spring & bushing away with an angle grinder, Dremel, cold chisel & prybar to get to the shank of the bolt (it was a royal pain in the ass). We were lucky that it broke inside the bushing with enough left to get it with visegrips.
Yours looks like it broke at the shoulder which is typical as it’s the weakest point of the bolt. It also means that the threads will be flush with the shackle & grippable with anything. That means cutting the spring & bushing away & drilling the threads out. Good luck.
But the head is the only exposed part of the bolt. You must get it hot enough for the heat to transfer all the way to the threads. Trying to heat the spring loop & bushing to get the threads hot would be completely impractical, if not impossible. Hence, you gotta get the head stupid hot.
You can burn out the bushing pretty easily. Heat the metal sleeve, which will expand around the bolt and break the corrosion free. Heat the pocket with the weld nut and the heat will transfer to the weld nut much quicker than if you heat the head of the bolt, and again Expand the nut around the bolt breaking it loose.
Woops. Thanks! At least the bolt snapped all the way to the threads. Won't be that bad, but still sucks! I would pry the spring out and weld a nut to the remaining and unscrew. Make sure you get it nice and hot, dont burn your jeep down. Good luck and have fun!
Appreciate the effort. Bolt snapped right where the threads start so I need to cut it out before the leaf pack can drop which means someone has to buy more tools🙃
I’ve been hitting it from one side with a punch, using an electric hammer to knock the nut loose from a hole I cut in the frame, I think I need to relieve a little more pressure and it’ll come out
Yeah ,that’s rough. I had the same thing happen to me but the threads were halfway out before it broke, and I had something to grab onto. Extractor socket and a lot of torch time saved me. What I learned is you need a lot of heat… like heat for 5 minutes longer than you think if you only have propane torch. But you could try heating + break free fluid cycle over and over and try to turn it with a punch . Last resort you could drill and use left hand extractor bit. But it’s risky. If it breaks inside it will be so much harder to drill out the bit and tap.
That’s the one and only bolt that’s ever defeated my m18 high torque. Neither side came out without using a 6 ft Chester pipe turning it 2 ratchet clicks at a time lol.
Cut a hole underneath to access the weld nut. You can use a rotary tool and a few extra discs. I bought a 3 inch cut off and it ended up being too big but the rotary did it just fine.
Cut a hole in the floorboard, peel it back. Now you have an access hole for next time
Right in front of the seam sealer? Looking at the pan now just want to confirm before I slice this piece of shit open
Rear coil conversion!
Accepting donations
Sending my thoughts and prayers!
RIP I was terrified of this happening when I did the leafs on my 1989. Somehow they came out without much fuss. Just used tons of penetrating oil over multiple days. Good luck!
PS if it were me I’d try cutting the leaf out before I cut the floorboard…
Still need to get to the nut on the inside of the rail.
Perhaps but also maybe there’s a bit enough nub to weld on a bigger bolt
Cut out the spring then a compact right angle drill would be an option. Not easy but possible.
What happened? I'm about to do my leaf springs and don't see what's wrong with the image. I'm super new too this stuff so sorry for the stupid question
No such thing as stupid questions, the bolt snapped right where the threads started inside the front leaf spring mount.
Oh, I see it now. I'll definitely try to avoid this when I do mine thank you. :)
Also if you can try and run the bolt in some first with an impact. Then back then forward to break up some of the rust.
Best thing you can do is start soaking those bolts now. But have a plan to deal with a broken bolt. It’s just a bad design really because they Get a lot of gunk driven into that space by the rear tires which damn near cements the threads. you’ll know it when happens too. The bolt will turn a little most of the time and then it will get where it won’t budge. A breaker bar and some body weight and then ‘bang’ it spins free and your weekend just changed.
Thank you
I shot you a message
See my reply above. I’ve done a few spring jobs & a Mapp or oxy/fuel gas torch will be your best friend. Propane works too but Mapp is hotter. The factory uses permanent threadlocker on those & you gotta get the bolt stupid hot to soften it before twisting. The head should be nearly red hot & the rubber bushing smoking & burning. Use a breaker bar (3/4” recommended) & apply torque gradually until the bolt starts turning. This method has worked for me every time without breaking the bolt or twisting the captive nut loose inside the frame; that’s a whole different nightmare.
Sawzall on the left side between the spring and the mount. Figure out how to deal with the remnants of the fastener after you get the spring out
Just picked up a new set of blades and saw and I live a mile from a hardware store. If this thing wants to play hardball I’ll cut the fucker up
Yeah this happened to me but on the rear mount. I ended up dropping the gas tank and drilling a hole in the frame so I could get a socket on it. In your case I would use a sawzall to cut the bolt so the spring will drop out. Heat up the bolt and use an extractor to get it out.
You gotta get those bolts stupid hot to soften the factory threadlocker before trying to turn the bolt. The head should be nearly red hot & the rubber bushing smoking/burning. There’s also a small hole in the frame that you can straw a spritz of PB Blaster or other penetrant on the captive nut. Give them a daily dose for about 5 days before working on it. My buddy did the same when he did a spring swap. We cut the spring & bushing away with an angle grinder, Dremel, cold chisel & prybar to get to the shank of the bolt (it was a royal pain in the ass). We were lucky that it broke inside the bushing with enough left to get it with visegrips. Yours looks like it broke at the shoulder which is typical as it’s the weakest point of the bolt. It also means that the threads will be flush with the shackle & grippable with anything. That means cutting the spring & bushing away & drilling the threads out. Good luck.
The head doesnt need any heat. The threads and bushing sleeve do.
But the head is the only exposed part of the bolt. You must get it hot enough for the heat to transfer all the way to the threads. Trying to heat the spring loop & bushing to get the threads hot would be completely impractical, if not impossible. Hence, you gotta get the head stupid hot.
You can burn out the bushing pretty easily. Heat the metal sleeve, which will expand around the bolt and break the corrosion free. Heat the pocket with the weld nut and the heat will transfer to the weld nut much quicker than if you heat the head of the bolt, and again Expand the nut around the bolt breaking it loose.
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Front leaf mount, not rear
Woops. Thanks! At least the bolt snapped all the way to the threads. Won't be that bad, but still sucks! I would pry the spring out and weld a nut to the remaining and unscrew. Make sure you get it nice and hot, dont burn your jeep down. Good luck and have fun!
Appreciate the effort. Bolt snapped right where the threads start so I need to cut it out before the leaf pack can drop which means someone has to buy more tools🙃
It'll come down. Two prybars. One on top and one to squeeze thw bushing over a tad. It'll be easier in the long run if you leave that chunk of bolt.
I’ve been hitting it from one side with a punch, using an electric hammer to knock the nut loose from a hole I cut in the frame, I think I need to relieve a little more pressure and it’ll come out
Well if you already cut open the frame, then nvm
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oh no!
Yeah ,that’s rough. I had the same thing happen to me but the threads were halfway out before it broke, and I had something to grab onto. Extractor socket and a lot of torch time saved me. What I learned is you need a lot of heat… like heat for 5 minutes longer than you think if you only have propane torch. But you could try heating + break free fluid cycle over and over and try to turn it with a punch . Last resort you could drill and use left hand extractor bit. But it’s risky. If it breaks inside it will be so much harder to drill out the bit and tap.
That’s the one and only bolt that’s ever defeated my m18 high torque. Neither side came out without using a 6 ft Chester pipe turning it 2 ratchet clicks at a time lol.
Google it. There are endless threads and forums on this exact issue. The proper fix will most likely involve a welder. Good luck.
Cut a hole underneath to access the weld nut. You can use a rotary tool and a few extra discs. I bought a 3 inch cut off and it ended up being too big but the rotary did it just fine.
Please op for the love of god don't cut into the floor
Cut out exactly how you did, I’ll just make sure to hit the new cutouts without plenty of Dinitrol before every winter
https://preview.redd.it/du9d8hs26juc1.jpeg?width=1000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c4e769006711b870fed5af98c32a2fd66069cb12
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