Sway bar bracket bolt broke (1 Viewer)

[Dick Suckman]

Alright I am going to start this by saying that I absolutely love my LX470. I bought it for 600$ last year and have dumped thousands into fixing it up however, this thing also drives me absolutely bat s*** because of the little things that keep going wrong with it. I was changing the rear sway bar bracket bushings a week or two ago. Got the passenger side replaced with no problems at all. I start taking the drivers side one off when the bolt decided to break off in the threads. Now my question is should I just try and pay a shop to get it out of the hole (the car is rust free but the threads are pretty rusted inside the hole) or should I just go the cheap way and just weld it on? I know the consequences of welding the damn thing on since I won't ever be able to change it again but the rattling is driving me absolutely insane. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[awesomeissquid]

If it was me I would attempt to drill it out and then use an extractor. If that doesn't work I would try to epoxy/weld something onto the bolt to try to remove it. Welding on a new bracket would be my least attractive option, but if nothing else works maybe?

 

[Tanner H]

Yeah I'd order an extractor kit from amazon. the one with various sizes. while you're waiting for it, soak that broken bolt in pb blaster over the next couple of days to hopefully let it break up.

Worst case scenario you can drill it out complete, re-tap it and use a new bolt with a slightly different thread pitch. Same size just maybe a course thread.


I wouldnt weld it on because eventually those bushings are going to wear out and you'll be stuck.

 

[JunkCrzr89]

should I just go the cheap way and just weld it on?

That would be like option #37 on my list. I’d roll without a swaybar before I’d weld the damn thing on. Get an extractor or drill it out, run a tap thru to clean up the threads, buy new bolt, put new bolt in.

 

[WreckDiver1321]

Definitely try to drill it out if you have the tools or the budget to get the tools. Remember to use a center punch to make a dimple so your bit doesn't walk. @Tanner H and @JunkCrzr89 gave great advice on everything else. I broke off the exact bolts you're talking about when I was disassembling mine for the rust treatment, and I fixed it using this method, though I drilled mine out slightly larger and used bigger bolts.

You said you know the consequences, but welding it is a really bad idea. Not only would you be stuck with whatever bushing you put in, which will wear out, but there's a good chance that the heat will melt the bushing while you did it, which is also very bad.

A word of advice? And I'm only saying this because of a few of your threads I've read through and contributed to. Don't jump to the most serious case and most drastic solution, usually there's a simple solution for the problems that you have crop up. Every vehicle will require some measure of futzing now and then, even the venerable 100 series. The older they get, the more temperamental they tend to get. It's part of the game. Most of this is simple stuff that you just have to take the time to learn how to deal with. A slight vibration doesn't (necessarily) require the entire replacement of the driveshaft, and a broken bolt doesn't mean you have to weld the bracket back on. Slow down, take a breath, and start from the most simple solutions first, then work your way up. Don't pull out the sledgehammer every time you need to hang a picture.

I'm not trying to patronize or belittle, just offering up some friendly advice.

 

[Dick Suckman]

Definitely try to drill it out if you have the tools or the budget to get the tools. Remember to use a center punch to make a dimple so your bit doesn't walk. @Tanner H and @JunkCrzr89 gave great advice on everything else. I broke off the exact bolts you're talking about when I was disassembling mine for the rust treatment, and I fixed it using this method, though I drilled mine out slightly larger and used bigger bolts.

You said you know the consequences, but welding it is a really bad idea. Not only would you be stuck with whatever bushing you put in, which will wear out, but there's a good chance that the heat will melt the bushing while you did it, which is also very bad.

A word of advice? And I'm only saying this because of a few of your threads I've read through and contributed to. Don't jump to the most serious case and most drastic solution, usually there's a simple solution for the problems that you have crop up. Every vehicle will require some measure of futzing now and then, even the venerable 100 series. The older they get, the more temperamental they tend to get. It's part of the game. Most of this is simple stuff that you just have to take the time to learn how to deal with. A slight vibration doesn't (necessarily) require the entire replacement of the driveshaft, and a broken bolt doesn't mean you have to weld the bracket back on. Slow down, take a breath, and start from the most simple solutions first, then work your way up. Don't pull out the sledgehammer every time you need to hang a picture.

I'm not trying to patronize or belittle, just offering up some friendly advice.

Nah it's all good dude I overreact over all the stuff that happens on this thing. I appreciate all of your advice

 

[Natchez]

Mine broke on the bottom on the passenger side and the side on the driver. Drilled both out and used revnuts with new hardware. Works awesome.