Interesting issue, the last couple of weeks I have noticed an increasingly frequent and Loud rapping/clanging noise coming from the front drivers-side suspension. Took it into the dealership for diagnosis (I like to do much of the work myself but not in sub-zero temps).

They call me that it is a bolt out of the shock and they have to special order it from Chicago. Also said that warranty will NOT cover it because I replaced the pos stock shocks with Bilsteins like so many here.

I pick the truck up and asked if the other bolts had been re-torqued thinking that it was my fault for not torquing properly. They stated they did check them and that all was ok, but it was not a loose bolt issue, it was that the shock bolt literally broke in two. This was strange as I pretty much baby the truck and never "Bo-Duke" it. Service manager said they see them in the shop not infrequently for such an item. I pushed the issue a bit as a substandard bolt should be covered via warranty- service guy said no joy as Ford would deny the claim since I replaced the shocks.

I was a bit "peeved" about this but overall it was a positive experience from the dealer. the cost was fair and the folks were nice.

Just a warning on these bolts. Might be a good idea to order a spare and have on hand.

Jim

 

When I changed out my shocks one of those bolts got lost so I just welded a little tab on a new nut. I hope they didn't charge you too much for that.

 

It's a blind nut and I've had to do a quick repair on my friends truck. He didn't torque his bolt properly and lost a bolt driving to my house for "liquid refreshment". I didn't have a blind nut so I welded a tab on a nut and got the shock mounted properly. He ordered one from Ford...it wasn't cheap. I think he said like $8 for a single nut. He swapped it out with my cob job as mine would rust from the weld.

 

Classic case of how warranty works with aftermarket products. It does seem extremely unlikely that you could break one of those bolts with just run of the mill replacement shocks. There are a lot of applications where a single bolt supports dual shocks. Oh well, I would replace all the shock bolts twice a year on my dime for the ride improvement that I got with the upgraded shocks!