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XJ rear shock mount question

M

metalry101

R/C addict
Location
Sandy, UT
So I have a problem that I need a bit of help with. My upper rear shock mounts on my XJ aren't cutting it. At all. They're so bad that my rear shocks are sitting on the garage floor at home actually. On one side, one of the bolts broke off in the nut, meaning the shock was attached to the axle, but not the body, making it...well...nonfunctional. Now on the other side, from what I can tell the unibody itself tore a little bit, so the bolt is at a wacky angle, again, disconnecting the shock from the body. Obviously driving around with no rear shocks isn't an acceptable situation...so I need to figure out a fix for this. Everyone agrees that bar pins suck, but since the mounts and bolts seem to be the problem (or at least the breakage point), I don't know that BPE's are going to help me any. I found this, and it certainly looks like a stouter mount, but it requires exhaust modification and it uses the same mounting holes as stock. If this looks like a solid investment, how would I bolt it up? One of the holes has a bolt broken off in the nut, flush with the nut. One of the other holes has slightly torn sheetmetal. I can't get to the backside of the mount, at least that I know of. Has anyone else had this problem? I can see that the shocks have their very own crossmember as a mount...is it possible to pull the carpet and cut a smallish hole in the floor to get to the top side of the crossmember/shock mount so that I can run new bolt and nuts through the existing holes? If so, I could run BPE's or the JKS mount quite easily I think.

If I can't cut through the floor to get to the back side of that crossmember, then I can't really reuse the stock mounting locations...or maybe I could cut all the bolts and just weld that JKS mount there instead of bolting it? The crossmember isn't crazy thick...probably a little thicker than the sheetmetal from what I can tell...so I dunno if that I would work or not. My knowledge of welding is...well...limited at best.

Ideas? Suggestions? I can crawl under the thing and snap some pictures tonight if my descriptions of the problem aren't very clear.

And for those not familiar with the JKS mount (probably everyone...did a few searchs and came up w/ zilch), here are the install instructions from JKS's site.
 
Z

Zombie

Random Dead Guy
Location
Sandy Utah
That jks peice looks pretty cool.
I had planned to put a tube crossmember into my sister's XJ before she destroyed it. I hadn't been into this idea much more than having and idea and saying to myself: "I need to see if that would work..".
I envisioned a tube, with two plates on either end welded between the two unibody frame rail tube thingies, and the shock mounts coming off either side of the tube.
Like I said, this is a pre-napkin drawing concept. I don't have easy access to an XJ right now to see if my brain child would even be posssible. I know it would effect shock length drastically, but I think it might be a solution, especially for those with a decent amount of lift.
 
M

metalry101

R/C addict
Location
Sandy, UT
Zombie said:
That jks peice looks pretty cool.
I had planned to put a tube crossmember into my sister's XJ before she destroyed it. I hadn't been into this idea much more than having and idea and saying to myself: "I need to see if that would work..".
I envisioned a tube, with two plates on either end welded between the two unibody frame rail tube thingies, and the shock mounts coming off either side of the tube.
Like I said, this is a pre-napkin drawing concept. I don't have easy access to an XJ right now to see if my brain child would even be posssible. I know it would effect shock length drastically, but I think it might be a solution, especially for those with a decent amount of lift.
Click to expand...
I actually had this exact same idea, and was considering posting it up on here to get some quotes from either shops or garage fabricators, but then I found the JKS one and put that idea on the back burner. I think it sounds like the best solution since it bypasses the stock mounts and goes straight to the frame rails, but custom fab is rarely cheap.
 
CJJ92yj

CJJ92yj

Registered User
Location
Kearnsville
I had a similar problem not so long ago. I actually pulled my bolt out while wheeling. I went to Teraflex and got their BPE's for like $17 a set or so. I removed the other stud with a BFH and then ground down for a smooth surface. I then welded the BPE in place. Did the same to the other side too. If you don't have access to a welder, you could probably have a shop do it. Was a cheap fix and has held up remarkably well considering who welded it! LOL
 
1993yj

1993yj

.
Location
Salt Lake
Zombie said:
That jks peice looks pretty cool.
I had planned to put a tube crossmember into my sister's XJ before she destroyed it. I hadn't been into this idea much more than having and idea and saying to myself: "I need to see if that would work..".
I envisioned a tube, with two plates on either end welded between the two unibody frame rail tube thingies, and the shock mounts coming off either side of the tube.
Like I said, this is a pre-napkin drawing concept. I don't have easy access to an XJ right now to see if my brain child would even be posssible. I know it would effect shock length drastically, but I think it might be a solution, especially for those with a decent amount of lift.
Click to expand...

I basically did this same thing on my YJ. Wasn't hard to do and seems to work great.
 
V

VerdeXJ

Registered User
Location
Oquirrh
This is actually a common feature of the XJ. The most common cure is the welding route. You can use BPE or the tops of the sway bar, if you still have those.
 
M

metalry101

R/C addict
Location
Sandy, UT
VerdeXJ said:
This is actually a common feature of the XJ. The most common cure is the welding route. You can use BPE or the tops of the sway bar, if you still have those.
Click to expand...
Okay this sway bar thing is intriguing me. Could you elaborate a bit more and/or post up some pics? I still have the rear swaybar on my rig so it sounds like that method would be free, and the less money I have to spend on fixing this problem the sooner I can move on to other upgrades!
 
Badger

Badger

I am the Brute squad
Location
South Salt Lake
that cross member you linked to here is a waste.just use your stock mounts they are easy to fix.you want to keep your shock vertical most shocks are not designed to be placed on extreme angles.if you like that type of mount i would look more into this one

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it uses the stock bump stop mounts and rear seat belt mounts to hold it in place.the only thing you have to do is move the one shock to the inside of the axle

Cross Enterprises is the company that makes it.
for the one mount with the broken bolt just take a BFH and a punch pin.give it a good old smack it will break the spot welds holding the nuts to the cross member.you can place the nut by hand sometimes by reaching up into the opening.

i just take a bolt and washer put a piece of wire around the tip and pull it up and through each hole.you can now just use a nut on the bottom and you should be able to get to the bolt head with a box wrench to hold it while tightening or loosening.

as for the one that you think is torn. i would have to see it or a pic of it to tell you whats going on there.
 
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