Broke a Bolt putting on new shocks

1365 Views 10 Replies 7 Participants Last post by 2buckchuck, Sep 22, 2011

Brooke

Discussion Starter · Sep 18, 2008

Broke a Bolt putting on new shocks. It's the passenger side front shock forward of the axle. The auxiliary shock on the right front went on fine. The bolt head broke off and the bolt is still in the metal sleeve. What is the best way to fix this? Have a mechanic drill out the bolt and replace it with a new one? Also, I think the shocks were the originals because they were Motorcraft, old and the right front was sagging a little bit. I'm on a budget and had to replace them with Monroe Gas Matics. They were $16 a piece and I needed six. Believe it or not it's a vast improvement and the shocks actually seem much softer than the ones I took off.

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Mikey350

· #7 · Sep 20, 2011

When mine broke the same way on my '96, I took a die grinder and ground off the old stud. Then I drilled a hole slightly smaller than a "universal shock stud" I got from one of the "Help!" sections at the parts store.
I took a dremel and enlarged the hole (slowly) until it was damn near a press fit in the bracket. Tapped it in with a hammer, then Locktited it and the nut on the back side.
It's held up for the last 8 years.

Good Luck

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Mikey350

· #9 · Sep 22, 2011

That looks like the stud I used to fix my broken one. The part I made almost a press fit was that little shoulder on the back side. I was concerned that if the hole in the bracket was too large, that it would rock with shock movement (a longer lever on the shock side) and eventually wear the hole or loosen.
Put some anti-seize on the shock side threads and on the shaft. The next time you change shocks it should come right off.

Good Luck

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