Rear sway bar link mount broken bolts

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davidp14

davidp14

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Mar 24, 2017
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Location
Nelson Co., VA
So, a couple weeks ago when installing my ome lift I broke one bolt on each rear sway bar link mounts. I sprayed them with pbb, and put the breaker bar on it and it just twisted right in half. Bolt extractor and mapp didn't work. I was thinking I'd drill them out and tap them but now I'm worried that there won't be enough metal left to tap . Its nearly impossible to show this with a pic but by looking at the hole that's intact, I can tell that there isn't much metal there that's threaded. I'm sure I'll end up loosing that when I drill it out and I'm not sure it will be strong enough to hold.
Fo now I removed the sway bar but I'd really like to put it back.

Can I weld the bracket back? I'd Probably pay someone to do this since its right next to the gas tank.

Just hoping someone else has been through this and has some good advice

Thanks
 
The same thing happened to me last month. My rear sway bar end bracket bolts broke off as well as my bump stop bolts. I drilled and tapped mine without issue. (other than drilling and tapping is a real pain) You don't want/need to take much material out when you drill it. Just take enough to get fresh metal and you should be fine.
 
davidp14 said:
Thanks.
Do you remember what size you ended up with?
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Yeesh... I can't remember. I was at a buddy's house and he has what he calls "The Wall of Fasteners". I grabbed a bold size from the wall that looked a little bigger than the broken bolt. I looked to be sure that the shaft of the bolt was the same(ish) size as the outer diameter of the threaded section of the original. Then I drilled to the new shaft size and used the tap to auger out the new thread size.
 
davidp14 said:
Thanks.
I don't have a very good selection of bolts so I'll just get a few that are near that size.
Click to expand...
The right size will probably make the job easier too. Drilling at that odd angle wasn't bad but wasn't fun either!
 
The smaller the drill bit, the easier it is to get the hole started on the typical jagged surface of a broken bolt. I usually start with 1/8" the go to bigger bits as needed. If the bolt doesn't let go you eventually have a hole 1 size bigger than original so you can tap new threads into it. If it is the bolt that holds the standoff bracket to the frame, is has a nut welded inside the frame, so a good amount of metal to rethread.
 
Keep us informed as to how it goes. In the same boat here.
 
Earlier this yes we were cruising through back country Utah...Canyonlands that day when one of the guys lost a sway bar mount when the bolts broke. I did the same thing that @landtank suggested and knocked the remaining welded nut out with a drift, then fished a new nut up into the cavity off the axle...not much fun, but it worked great.
 
I've been trying to remove the rear bump stops today to fit new non-rusted ones. The front-mount bolt for each one came out, but the rear-most bolt for each came out probably 1/4" then snapped off.

I had been using plenty of penetrant, but they would have been original bolts from manufacture in 1992.

When I get in the mood (won't be today - i need to do gearbox and transfer case oil changes) I'll take the rear wheels off to see if it's possible to get a drill at what's left of each bolt shaft. I don't think it'll be easy access to get direct in line with the drill.

I could fit up both of the new stops using just the front bolt but it's probably better just to leave them off. Damn I hate dealing with the lingering long term effects of the previous owner's beach driving. I've had the vehicle for 7 years and still have bolts snapping. Not happy.

The old M6 and M8 bolts really hate the long-term effects of corrosion when they bind in the captive nuts that can't be accessed easily to spray penetrant directly on them.
 
landtank said:
I just use a large drift and drive the nut off the inside of the frame and install a nutsert M8x1.25
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Is a stainless steel nutsert necessary in this situation?

I’ve found myself in the same position and like this approach. Don’t currently have a nutsert tool however and am on a bit of a budget - any guidance on a nutsert tool you’d recommend would be greatly appreciated!
 
Get yourself a M8 full threaded Allen head bolt 50mm + in length and a nut and washer

Starting with the bolt, stack the nut-washer and then thread on the nutcert.

Place the nutcert into the hole and use the correct Allen wrench in the head of the bolt to hold everything in place. Now use an open end wrench to turn the nut and compress the nutcert.
 
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