Sway Bar broken bolt help

[87warrior]

Nice job on the extraction! Anti seize every chassis bolt you remove....you will thank yourself in the future.

 

[Rolocado]

Alright boys, 2 more questions. I got everything buttoned back up. @DirtDawg, this might one for you. As I was tightening the torsion bars back up I heard a sort of pop or snap and the only thing I can assume it was was the adjusting bolt settling into it's spot. When I took it on the test drive, the first uneven turn I took, I heard another sort of 'pop'. Now I just put new sway bar links, bushings, a new axle tube bearing, and new cones and bolts for the hub....

I also looked underneath where the tbars are cranked and it looks as though the drivers side area 'opened up', like the steel expanded somehow. Now, the TB's aren't sitting in the control arms the exact same depth so that might be why it looks funny? Any help or thoughts would be awesome, maybe even just some piece of mind cause I am TENSE driving the thing right now.

P.S... sorry for my lack of instagram worthy photography...

 

[DirtDawg]

Might just be everything settling in place. I would make sure all grooves line up for the torsion bars (pretty easy to tell) and that nothing is loose. The torsion bar to control arm mounts will also make some weird noises if not torqued to the proper spec (it's a high torque).

 

[Rolocado]

Might just be everything settling in place. I would make sure all grooves line up for the torsion bars (pretty easy to tell) and that nothing is loose. The torsion bar to control arm mounts will also make some weird noises if not torqued to the proper spec (it's a high torque).

Which grooves are you referencing?

 

[DirtDawg]

On the actual adjuster bolt and hardware. The adjuster bolt anchor has grooves that line up with the crossmember, the piece the adjuster bolt spins in has grooves that line up with the torsion bar key. Just make sure they are all in the right place. They appear to be from your pics.

 

[Rolocado]

Ahh yes. They are both sitting in their grooves. That's what I'm thinking popped into place when I was first tightening them again

 

[ssmalls]

You don't need to remove the torsion bar.

The part sticking out is not where the threads are, they are in a welded-on nut on the top of the frame.

You can't drill it out, the threads aren't anywhere near the bottom, you will just be wasting your time. Probably not going to get anywhere with vice grips either, since the exposed threads are rusted away. This bolt almost always rusts to junk because the AC drain drips on it.

Take a hard chisel (NOT a wood chisel - use a hardened one made for metal). Knock the welded-on nut off the TOP of the frame. Stick a little mirror up there and you will see what you have to do. A couple whacks with a big hammer and it will let go, it is just tack welded on. Then replace with a new lock nut.

Trust me, this is the easiest way. Literally a 5 minute fix.

Reviving this old thread. Has anyone actually been able to do this? The angle of attack even with a small chisel and hammer makes it hard to give it a whack.

 

[ssmalls]

You don't need to remove the torsion bar.

The part sticking out is not where the threads are, they are in a welded-on nut on the top of the frame.

You can't drill it out, the threads aren't anywhere near the bottom, you will just be wasting your time. Probably not going to get anywhere with vice grips either, since the exposed threads are rusted away. This bolt almost always rusts to junk because the AC drain drips on it.

Take a hard chisel (NOT a wood chisel - use a hardened one made for metal). Knock the welded-on nut off the TOP of the frame. Stick a little mirror up there and you will see what you have to do. A couple whacks with a big hammer and it will let go, it is just tack welded on. Then replace with a new lock nut.

Trust me, this is the easiest way. Literally a 5 minute fix.

Really hard to get a hammer and cold chisel in there. Even easier fix- Buy a weld nut socket and just torque it off and replace with a new bolt and nut. Took less than a minute.

1/2 Sq. Dr. Socket 12mm 4 point Length 38mm - Ko-ken USA

Input Drive Size: 1/2" Drive ShapE; Square Length: 38mm Type: Weld Nut Socket Output Size: 12mm Opening: 4pt Product Dimension (Refer Line Drawing - Ko-ken USA

kokenusa.com

 

[T4R2TLC]

Reviving this old thread. Has anyone actually been able to do this? The angle of attack even with a small chisel and hammer makes it hard to give it a whack.

I did this a week or two ago, three out of the eight bolts for my sway bar mounts broke. Solutions were the following:
- Front Driver: cold chisel against the threaded portion of bolt (bad angle to get the weld nut itself plus the bolt gave leverage). Three good hits broke the tack welds.
- Rear Driver: drilled out the bolt from small bits to large, snaked in (with difficulty) a standard nut to sit on top of the weld nut (because weld nut had no threads left and hardware store didn't have the tap I needed).
- Rear Passenger: oscillating tool with metal blade (dremel or sawzall may work) to remove one and a half tack welds, then ten whacks with the cold chisel and hammer.

None of them are particularly comfortable to get at, but all except the two bolts on the rear driver can be chiseled out. Get the truck off the ground to give yourself space to work, and don't be scared to hit the chisel hard, a sharp chisel won't walk out of place or slip off its target too easily. Wish I took photos for you, but hopefully with that description you get the point!

 

[T4R2TLC]

Really hard to get a hammer and cold chisel in there. Even easier fix- Buy a weld nut socket and just torque it off and replace with a new bolt and nut. Took less than a minute.

1/2 Sq. Dr. Socket 12mm 4 point Length 38mm - Ko-ken USA

Input Drive Size: 1/2" Drive ShapE; Square Length: 38mm Type: Weld Nut Socket Output Size: 12mm Opening: 4pt Product Dimension (Refer Line Drawing - Ko-ken USA

kokenusa.com

View attachment 3627917

This is cool. While most weldnuts have poor access that would prohibit access with a 1/2" breaker bar, cases like the sway bar mounts this would be a clean solution. Good thing to have on hand before starting this job, but if you don't have one in the garage then the cold chisel works fine.