I just had to do this. I bought new nuts, bolts, and washers. I took a piece of stranded 12 guage wire and stripped it on one end. I wrapped a few strands around the bolt with a flat washer on it. Then I fished the other end of the wire through the frame and used it to pull the bolt into place. Once you do it one time, it's easy. I had to do this same thing with broken captured frame nuts on the transmission skid plate.
My mechanic is a hotrod and classic car gearhead. To fix those pesky bolts, he welded bolts to some stiff wire and fished them up from the top. After getting the shocks tight he broke off the wire. BTW, I'm 74 and not as agile as I used to be so I have to get someone to do a lot of stuff on my jeeps. He also has a Cuban working for him that can fix ANYTHING! He says you HAVE to in Cuba! Myself, I've been working on cars and trucks since I was 16.
After hearing a noise in the rear I just inspected and found a bolt head broke off and the shock slipped out of place. Will get one of these kits asap. Great video for us XJ owners!
i used the air hammer to extract old bolts too, but i then i took new bolts with a wire attached to them and fished them through the hole from the top so that the bolts are hanging down, then just put the shock on, washer, and nut.
While my '00 XJ isn't as rusty as yours & after watching a few vids & just years of doing this I ordered the flags when I ordered my shocks as I'd rather return them through Amazon that have my XJ offline due to not having parts on hand. After snapping a sway bar bracket bolt off yesterday while replacing the links & sway bar bushings dealing with one broken bolt is more than enough. About to get started so prays are appreciated! 😉
Success. I drilled and tapped mine and I was able to connect ito the flag nut or spatula as i call it. So far so good. Just gotta do the passenger side. Those shock only had 227,159 miles on them.
Hes not lying i seen these mounts i ordered them off amazon for $35 and i installed them on my 01 jeep cherokee sport because my bolts were rusted and broken and the mounts worked good they fit up in there exactly how he showed us i payed a professional mechanic to install them and he even found the brackets very useful and time consuming
Thanks . I am from Saudi Arabia. I had the same problem with my 1998 Jeep Cherokee. I bought Rear Bar Pin Flag Nut from Amazon. Then the steps were applied as video. Thanks RUclips. Thanks Amazon.
I, for one, liked your honesty. What appeared to be a no brainer fix quickly became a battle. RUST - that's the biggest obstacle you fight working underneath the chassis. Yes guys, the sh*t gets into your hair, mouth, and EYES. If you aren't prepared to do battle in this job then pay some unfortunate mechanic to do your bidding for you at a hefty price no doubt. I am not naive to think my 2003 Grand Cherokee shock replacement job will be a piece of cake. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
I found it easier to insert one upper bolt, slide the ear of the shock in place and tighten enough to hold the shock in place. Then if you can either insert the other bolt or attach the bottom of the shock before the second bolt - either way the shock stays in place and 3 hands won't be necessary. If a bolt doesn't break and you can remove it in tact, cut it leaving enough thread to reinsert it, but first make a cut across the end so a flat head screwdriver can fit, install it just below the surface of the nut and air hammer it out.
Silly my I drilled and tapped my broken bolts. The nursery broke while I was driving smacked and cracked the top of my fuel pump. I went with the same flag nuts. They worked great, well worth the money.
I did mine a while back. but a little different. When I started to change my shocks, the first bolt actually came out without a problem. The other 3 all snapped off. I found the air hammer method here on RUclips and it worked well as the other 3 all snapped off below the nut. To replace, I used serrated flange bolts and nuts with a fish wire. This eliminated the need to get a wrench on the bolt head so I could tighten with an impact. I used the fish wire to pull the bolts down through the holes. I'm a big fan of serrated flange nut and bolts. Still a messy job as not all the weld nuts surrendered without a fight.
This is why I always come to RUclips when I have an automotive issue that leaves me pissed off and scratching my head! Thanks brutha! You saved me HOURS of screwing around tryin to get those busted bolts out of my 01 sport! Just put in a new lift and went to take out the old rear shocks and BAM! Busted bolts! Gonna give rough country a call and my mud buggy will be back in the swamp in no time! Yeeeeehaaaaawwwww!
Yea, it is a huge issue on XJs so thankfully someone has come up with a solution! Good luck with it! When you get her running we'd love to see a pic of it. hit us up on FB if you feel like sharing it
Everything this guy said is true!!! I broke all four. I drilled the bolts on the first two and that made it worse as the old nuts were still in-place and had to be removed before the flag nut would fit in. Just knock them out with an air hammer, if you have it. -I didn't; so a big punch and hammer was how I had to do it on the passenger side. -Probably less than 20 whacks and both bolts were out.
Soooooo glad I saw this before my kit arrived! I'm sure a bolt or two...or four are going to snap as I already lost two bolts on the rear axle bumpers. I just ordered this product and it will be here before my kit!! I was not looking forward to drilling out old broken bolts and re-threading! Thank you sir!!
Wish I saw this vid before I started mine. My XJ isn’t rusted and a bolt still broke. I had to drill it out and retap the hole. I used SS bolts with the new shocks to hopefully avoid this happening again.
What about using studs instead of bolts, then you could just thread them into the brackets (after you slide them into position) and not have to try and hold the shock and everything else at the same time.... just a thought. Great video, thanks for posting.
Buying a set before shock replacement. My xj is rust free underneath but the bumpstop base looked like yours at 3:00. Both of it's bolts broke and I found a nice hole rotted through the unibody frame under the bumpstop. The differential vents right over the rotted frame.
Thanks for the vid. Got all excited how easy it is then come to find out the previous owner booger welded in studs (all broken off of course). An hour of grinding until I got to the air hammer fun part. Oh and lots of dirt and rust falling everywhere.
Major Weakness How big of a drill bit did you use? I drilled the bolt out with a 1/2in bit but there is still the nut left. I worry about drilling out too much metal.
Thank you for the video you probably have saved me time and labor at a shop with this bracket ill buy one and do a video poor man rear shock replacement
Even jeeps with no rust issues most XJs will break these bolts. I spoke with a car tech and he said he never saw an xj where they didnt break. We live in the south with no rust
It was not as bad as I was expecting. Banging out the old hardware was the worst, but with the rough country kit it took 5 minutes after that. Good luck with it!
Few quick questions.. My local shop won’t do a lift install because of this issue and due to the leaf spring bolts whose nuts are inaccessible due to the subframe - so I’m on my own and have a lot of Michigan rust to get through before cutting. I have the tools required. Space is limited so I’ll be outdoors in the yard. 1. How big of jacks are you using to have enough room to work underneath effectively? 2. All Jeeps are different - can you approximate how long your XJ was out of service for this job? 3. Where did you get such awesome goggles? Reminds me of Fight Club minus the dish gloves... 🤣👍. Keep up the great work. Trying to keep he pace.
Haha... Fight club. love it. You are going to want goggles for this for sure. As for the jack, I do not think I even jacked it up. There was enough room to sneak under there. wheels do not need to come off. I did this on the driveway in an afternoon, so I bet you will have similar results if you tackle this without any major setbacks. Feel free to email me dandeoffroad@gmail.com if you have questions or need help. I sometimes miss RUclips comments as there are a bunch to go through daily. email is the most reliable. Good luck!
I bought a Powermate VX Air Chisel for this job - in the event the bolts broke. The 1st one did so I’m plugging in this air chisel per the instructions - which are pretty basic. Look, I get it. You get what you pay for. But for a single job I figure a $14 unit would work. The chisel doesn’t seem to have much power. I know there is an adjustment knob. Still, the chisel continually actuates when I’m not even pulling the trigger... Any advice anyone? Love D & E Garage.👍. It’s like looking in the mirror when you see an XJ wrencher in an old dirty Boy Scout Shirt. That’s perfect.👌
You should have installed the Bar Pin eliminator on the new flag bolt flange and removed the bar pins for the shocks . Never have to do this again and next shock replacement or upgrade would be an easy install. you can also save money by using parts from a junk yard rear sway bar jeep xj
Now you've got a perfect opportunity to install a shock mount re-locator kit! These will re-position the lower shock mount so they're not in a position to catch on obstacles on the trail and give you better clearance
What size were the bolts that came with the flag nut kit? I need to knock mine out as well, but I'm just going to fish new bolt back in with weld wire and use my rear sway bar mounts as bar pin eliminators.
Happens to all xjs not just the super rusty ones I have three xjs and have 4 friends all have xjs and on every single one at least one or more bolts broke. And this is in Washington out cars don't rust much at all. Also azzy designs make a much higher quality part with riv nuts and powder coated
If I were doing this which I'm going to be doing one in about a week I would cut myself like 2 in of threaded rod maybe two and a half and thread those into that bracket then you can just put the shock up and slide it over the studs throw some nuts on it good to go it will solve the problem of having to have three hands holding the bracket and trying to get a bolt in there
Hi, I just saw the video and it really helped with what I was doing. But I was wondering if you know where I could find the lower mounting brackets for the shocks, I’ve been looking everywhere. Thanks in advance if you respond 👍
Rouch Country makes it. I got mine on Amazon www.amazon.com/Rough-Country-1082-Cherokee-84-01/dp/B01996PZYQ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538771342&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=xj+rear+shock+flag+nut&psc=1
Yea, it was a $1200 beater when I bought it because of the rust issues. I am trying to keep it on the road as I have grown fond of it, but it is clear it is not a long term vehicle. If i can get another few years of plowing and daily driving out of it I will send it to that big Jeep yard in the sky and find a new beater.
I have a question, the rubber pad looking object to the left of the shock mount in the video, what is it called? mine are eroded and I would like to replace them
Those are called bump stops. They are pretty inexpensive on Quadratec www.quadratec.com/products/918280_09.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhKviBRCNARIsAAGZ7CcW61XSsB6k11hOpDBZM4lBYFpBNYH2gDcO2CaSrZyd-zEXUS_mkiYaAk-5EALw_wcB
D&E In The Garage thanks man! I appreciate it a lot. Do you know why the right hand side seems to deteriorate faster/more aggressively than the left hand side?
The heat from the exhaust. Heat cycles (heating up and cooling down) wear things like metal and rubber out fast than when they stay at a more moderate temperature all the time
All you have to do is use the excess hole and wrap a piece of wire around a bolt and snake the wire threw the hole where the broken stud was. Even better use a Bar Pin Eliminator bolt that in and never go threw that again.
Doing this method and I can’t for the life of me knock those broken bolts through. I think it’s my cheap ass harbor freight air hammer is just not strong enough.
I do. doug_in_the_garage...I have plans to revamp the page soon to follow more closely with what is happening on the channel. Right now the content I post is completely random and not centralized to Jeeps or even automotive
![Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024 | Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (INA) [5] vs. Akane Yamaguchi (JPN) [2] | F](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EIjZybhsWqA/mqdefault.jpg)
I just had to do this. I bought new nuts, bolts, and washers. I took a piece of stranded 12 guage wire and stripped it on one end. I wrapped a few strands around the bolt with a flat washer on it. Then I fished the other end of the wire through the frame and used it to pull the bolt into place. Once you do it one time, it's easy. I had to do this same thing with broken captured frame nuts on the transmission skid plate.
My mechanic is a hotrod and classic car gearhead. To fix those pesky bolts, he welded bolts to some stiff wire and fished them up from the top. After getting the shocks tight he broke off the wire. BTW, I'm 74 and not as agile as I used to be so I have to get someone to do a lot of stuff on my jeeps. He also has a Cuban working for him that can fix ANYTHING! He says you HAVE to in Cuba! Myself, I've been working on cars and trucks since I was 16.
After hearing a noise in the rear I just inspected and found a bolt head broke off and the shock slipped out of place. Will get one of these kits asap. Great video for us XJ owners!
i used the air hammer to extract old bolts too, but i then i took new bolts with a wire attached to them and fished them through the hole from the top so that the bolts are hanging down, then just put the shock on, washer, and nut.
While my '00 XJ isn't as rusty as yours & after watching a few vids & just years of doing this I ordered the flags when I ordered my shocks as I'd rather return them through Amazon that have my XJ offline due to not having parts on hand. After snapping a sway bar bracket bolt off yesterday while replacing the links & sway bar bushings dealing with one broken bolt is more than enough. About to get started so prays are appreciated! 😉
Success. I drilled and tapped mine and I was able to connect ito the flag nut or spatula as i call it. So far so good. Just gotta do the passenger side. Those shock only had 227,159 miles on them.
Hes not lying i seen these mounts i ordered them off amazon for $35 and i installed them on my 01 jeep cherokee sport because my bolts were rusted and broken and the mounts worked good they fit up in there exactly how he showed us i payed a professional mechanic to install them and he even found the brackets very useful and time consuming
Thanks . I am from Saudi Arabia. I had the same problem with my 1998 Jeep Cherokee. I bought Rear Bar Pin Flag Nut from Amazon. Then the steps were applied as video. Thanks RUclips. Thanks Amazon.
BIG THANKS FOR YOU BRO .
I, for one, liked your honesty. What appeared to be a no brainer fix quickly became a battle. RUST - that's the biggest obstacle you fight working underneath the chassis. Yes guys, the sh*t gets into your hair, mouth, and EYES. If you aren't prepared to do battle in this job then pay some unfortunate mechanic to do your bidding for you at a hefty price no doubt. I am not naive to think my 2003 Grand Cherokee shock replacement job will be a piece of cake. Expect the worst, but hope for the best.
You speak the truth! This game is not for the faint of heart
I found it easier to insert one upper bolt, slide the ear of the shock in place and tighten enough to hold the shock in place. Then if you can either insert the other bolt or attach the bottom of the shock before the second bolt - either way the shock stays in place and 3 hands won't be necessary. If a bolt doesn't break and you can remove it in tact, cut it leaving enough thread to reinsert it, but first make a cut across the end so a flat head screwdriver can fit, install it just below the surface of the nut and air hammer it out.
Silly my I drilled and tapped my broken bolts. The nursery broke while I was driving smacked and cracked the top of my fuel pump. I went with the same flag nuts. They worked great, well worth the money.
I did mine a while back. but a little different. When I started to change my shocks, the first bolt actually came out without a problem. The other 3 all snapped off. I found the air hammer method here on RUclips and it worked well as the other 3 all snapped off below the nut. To replace, I used serrated flange bolts and nuts with a fish wire. This eliminated the need to get a wrench on the bolt head so I could tighten with an impact. I used the fish wire to pull the bolts down through the holes. I'm a big fan of serrated flange nut and bolts. Still a messy job as not all the weld nuts surrendered without a fight.
Thank God I found this video brother!
You should check out bleepin jeeps video on bar pin eliminators.
I believe he used the rear swaybar brackets
This is why I always come to RUclips when I have an automotive issue that leaves me pissed off and scratching my head! Thanks brutha! You saved me HOURS of screwing around tryin to get those busted bolts out of my 01 sport! Just put in a new lift and went to take out the old rear shocks and BAM! Busted bolts! Gonna give rough country a call and my mud buggy will be back in the swamp in no time! Yeeeeehaaaaawwwww!
Yea, it is a huge issue on XJs so thankfully someone has come up with a solution! Good luck with it! When you get her running we'd love to see a pic of it. hit us up on FB if you feel like sharing it
@@DEInTheGarage I will for sure, thanks again!
Not sure where you are located but I fear that the insane amount of rust we have in Canada makes that job even more challenging. Respect !
Everything this guy said is true!!! I broke all four. I drilled the bolts on the first two and that made it worse as the old nuts were still in-place and had to be removed before the flag nut would fit in. Just knock them out with an air hammer, if you have it. -I didn't; so a big punch and hammer was how I had to do it on the passenger side. -Probably less than 20 whacks and both bolts were out.
Soooooo glad I saw this before my kit arrived! I'm sure a bolt or two...or four are going to snap as I already lost two bolts on the rear axle bumpers. I just ordered this product and it will be here before my kit!! I was not looking forward to drilling out old broken bolts and re-threading! Thank you sir!!
Wish I saw this vid before I started mine. My XJ isn’t rusted and a bolt still broke. I had to drill it out and retap the hole. I used SS bolts with the new shocks to hopefully avoid this happening again.
Ss and steel is going to make things even worse. Galvanic corrosion and stainless thread burr.
Use plenty of never seize
Absolutely insanely helpful video. Will be buying that kit pronto.
What about using studs instead of bolts, then you could just thread them into the brackets (after you slide them into position) and not have to try and hold the shock and everything else at the same time.... just a thought. Great video, thanks for posting.
Buying a set before shock replacement. My xj is rust free underneath but the bumpstop base looked like yours at 3:00. Both of it's bolts broke and I found a nice hole rotted through the unibody frame under the bumpstop. The differential vents right over the rotted frame.
Thanks for the vid. Got all excited how easy it is then come to find out the previous owner booger welded in studs (all broken off of course). An hour of grinding until I got to the air hammer fun part. Oh and lots of dirt and rust falling everywhere.
Wish I would seen this before I drilled new holes for my shocks
These are worth every penny, huge time savor. I used these after i drilled the first shock. Ebay and Amazon have
Major Weakness
How big of a drill bit did you use? I drilled the bolt out with a 1/2in bit but there is still the nut left. I worry about drilling out too much metal.
@@jdayfly , you won't need to drill anything if you get these devices just knock out the bolts with a hammer and chisel or an air hammer
Thank you for the video you probably have saved me time and labor at a shop with this bracket ill buy one and do a video poor man rear shock replacement
I’m glad I have a Florida Cherokee ! I just did my lift last weekend and those bolts came right out. No problem.
Feel bad for the ones that brake off.
Did your Jeep have the shocks replaced already? That’ll make it way easy.
Thanks bud you saved my but a lot of work. I am going to do this job now while exhaust and rear springs are out of the XJ
That will make it much easier. good luck!
I have a VERY clean xj, the bolts STILL broke after drowning them with pb blaster for days
Very nice (and timely) video.
Even jeeps with no rust issues most XJs will break these bolts. I spoke with a car tech and he said he never saw an xj where they didnt break. We live in the south with no rust
Yea, seems like a poor design..
Good info. Thanks. I've got a rust bucket XJ too.
Yep I have to do this to mine and I am dreading it....
It was not as bad as I was expecting. Banging out the old hardware was the worst, but with the rough country kit it took 5 minutes after that. Good luck with it!
Thanks, brother. This helps a lot!
Glad to hear it!
Thanks. Great to know for future jobs.
That link worked I'm watching it now
Thanks for the vid, didn't have this problem, but it's good to know!!
Few quick questions.. My local shop won’t do a lift install because of this issue and due to the leaf spring bolts whose nuts are inaccessible due to the subframe - so I’m on my own and have a lot of Michigan rust to get through before cutting. I have the tools required. Space is limited so I’ll be outdoors in the yard. 1. How big of jacks are you using to have enough room to work underneath effectively? 2. All Jeeps are different - can you approximate how long your XJ was out of service for this job? 3. Where did you get such awesome goggles? Reminds me of Fight Club minus the dish gloves... 🤣👍. Keep up the great work. Trying to keep he pace.
Haha... Fight club. love it. You are going to want goggles for this for sure. As for the jack, I do not think I even jacked it up. There was enough room to sneak under there. wheels do not need to come off. I did this on the driveway in an afternoon, so I bet you will have similar results if you tackle this without any major setbacks. Feel free to email me dandeoffroad@gmail.com if you have questions or need help. I sometimes miss RUclips comments as there are a bunch to go through daily. email is the most reliable. Good luck!
Those bolts break no matter what, in the NW we don't have rust at all and the bolts still broke!
Ebay now sells a version of this for 18.00
Really?? I need to check that out
@@DEInTheGarage
rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F153671463425
Excellent video
Fantastic video.
I kinda pissed at 90-100 psi I could budge the upper bolt. I tried, might try again in a few days with a bigger air compressor.
I bought a Powermate VX Air Chisel for this job - in the event the bolts broke. The 1st one did so I’m plugging in this air chisel per the instructions - which are pretty basic. Look, I get it. You get what you pay for. But for a single job I figure a $14 unit would work. The chisel doesn’t seem to have much power. I know there is an adjustment knob. Still, the chisel continually actuates when I’m not even pulling the trigger... Any advice anyone? Love D & E Garage.👍. It’s like looking in the mirror when you see an XJ wrencher in an old dirty Boy Scout Shirt. That’s perfect.👌
You should have installed the Bar Pin eliminator on the new flag bolt flange and removed the bar pins for the shocks . Never have to do this again and next shock replacement or upgrade would be an easy install. you can also save money by using parts from a junk yard rear sway bar jeep xj
I also broke the lower shock mount on the differential do you have a video on fixing that
Now you've got a perfect opportunity to install a shock mount re-locator kit! These will re-position the lower shock mount so they're not in a position to catch on obstacles on the trail and give you better clearance
What size were the bolts that came with the flag nut kit? I need to knock mine out as well, but I'm just going to fish new bolt back in with weld wire and use my rear sway bar mounts as bar pin eliminators.
I am not sure, but if I had to guess, 3/8 x 16
Where did you buy the swag nut or whatever you called it???????????.??
Happens to all xjs not just the super rusty ones I have three xjs and have 4 friends all have xjs and on every single one at least one or more bolts broke. And this is in Washington out cars don't rust much at all. Also azzy designs make a much higher quality part with riv nuts and powder coated
If I were doing this which I'm going to be doing one in about a week I would cut myself like 2 in of threaded rod maybe two and a half and thread those into that bracket then you can just put the shock up and slide it over the studs throw some nuts on it good to go it will solve the problem of having to have three hands holding the bracket and trying to get a bolt in there
Really good video
Hi, I just saw the video and it really helped with what I was doing. But I was wondering if you know where I could find the lower mounting brackets for the shocks, I’ve been looking everywhere. Thanks in advance if you respond 👍
On the axle? Usually they need to be fabricated and welded on
Hey where did you get that flag nut bracket and whats the part number?
Rouch Country makes it. I got mine on Amazon
www.amazon.com/Rough-Country-1082-Cherokee-84-01/dp/B01996PZYQ/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1538771342&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=xj+rear+shock+flag+nut&psc=1
Excellent video ... Thank you.
Can this be done with the leaf springs still mounted?
yes, I did not unbolt my suspension at all
Amen Brother!!!
Damn I completely understand why you waited and did that all on its own the underside of that chassis is horrible
Yea, it was a $1200 beater when I bought it because of the rust issues. I am trying to keep it on the road as I have grown fond of it, but it is clear it is not a long term vehicle. If i can get another few years of plowing and daily driving out of it I will send it to that big Jeep yard in the sky and find a new beater.
I’ve been air hammering for hours and none of the four busted bolts are budging. How long did it take you to air hammer them out?
A few of mine took a real long time, but eventually i got them
I have a question, the rubber pad looking object to the left of the shock mount in the video, what is it called? mine are eroded and I would like to replace them
Those are called bump stops. They are pretty inexpensive on Quadratec
www.quadratec.com/products/918280_09.htm?gclid=Cj0KCQiAhKviBRCNARIsAAGZ7CcW61XSsB6k11hOpDBZM4lBYFpBNYH2gDcO2CaSrZyd-zEXUS_mkiYaAk-5EALw_wcB
D&E In The Garage thanks man! I appreciate it a lot. Do you know why the right hand side seems to deteriorate faster/more aggressively than the left hand side?
The heat from the exhaust. Heat cycles (heating up and cooling down) wear things like metal and rubber out fast than when they stay at a more moderate temperature all the time
Beast bro thank you
Great vid. Helped me.
This is great!
All you have to do is use the excess hole and wrap a piece of wire around a bolt and snake the wire threw the hole where the broken stud was. Even better use a Bar Pin Eliminator bolt that in and never go threw that again.
Does anyone know if this is available on a tj?
The Jeep is RUSTY! Gotta love road salt
Way helpful
good job, nice beard.
Not the vehicle you'd want to own! I have struggled with this!
Doing this method and I can’t for the life of me knock those broken bolts through. I think it’s my cheap ass harbor freight air hammer is just not strong enough.
great video ,,,,,,, jersey salt sucks
That is does!
I just paid $18+ on Amazon!
Drilled and tapped mine. Not a fun job at all.
That is dedication! How is it holding up?
do you have an instagram?
I do. doug_in_the_garage...I have plans to revamp the page soon to follow more closely with what is happening on the channel. Right now the content I post is completely random and not centralized to Jeeps or even automotive
lmfao "bfh"
3:10 nuts on top. Tanks!