broken shackle bolt...helppp

[tomcarey88]

in the process of installing my 3.5 re lift,i snaped the head off of the shackle bolt so i have 1 inch off thread hanging out of the frame.....anyone have any advisehere is the front 95 percent done

[korisu56]

vice grips, pb blaster, and heat? The other way we made a bolt head was just welding another bolt to it.

you shoulda posted a wrenching party man. I'm only like 20 minutes north of ya.

[tomcarey88]

i tried all three..... i couldnt get a good weld on the nut.....i heated it up..but i dont think the propane torch got hot enough....were u stay ????.ill be going up to quadratec ,next week u need any thing,

[korisu56]

I stay in Newark. My wife drives to Smyrna for clinicals almost every day. I guess it depends on where in Smyrna you are for time, but seriously not far at all.

Thanks for the offer, but I'm leaving for LDAC on friday. I'm good for now. Gotta replace some cooling components when I get back. Either the radiator, water pump, tstat, or all of the above. FML. Haha.

We should def get a m&g squared away at the end of summer man. there's like 4 of us up here.

[HillBillE]

Those upper shackle bolts are a pain!

Got access to a MIG welder? If so, just cut a hole in the 'frame' or bed, knock out the 'nutsert' and use a tapped plate or new nut welded to a piece of steel. (so it won't spin when tightening)

or............

Soak w/PB Blaster for a few days, get better heat than a small propane torch, and a good set of vise grips.

[CutterN55]

The trick with welding a nut onto a broken bolt is to weld inside and outside. I like to use U-bolt nuts,(the real long ones, like lug nuts almost.) This way I can get a good weld, and have room for a big ass wrench or breaker bar with a socket. All else fails, drill a pilot hole and easy-out it. If that doesn't work, drill it and re-tap.

[Jeffb_79]

Drilling and re-tapping might be your only solution, but it's a painful one.
Try grinding down the edge of the bolt you want to weld to the stuck bolt. The more surface area, the better it will hold.

[tomcarey88]

theres not enough room to get a drill or breaker bar in there ......im going to try an get it red hot an try an turn it with vise grips

[WB Powell]

Put a little C4 on it, light it on fire, and hit it wil a LONG handled hammer.