96 Front Shocks
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96 Front Shocks
I was trying to replace the front shocks on my 96 2wd and the stud in the radius arm that mounts the bottom of the shock broke. Has this happened to anyone else? whats the fix? Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.
Tom
Tom
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Maine
Happened to me the other week, on my '97 2wd.
What I did (and I'm not sure this is right, nor safe, but it has held up for close to 1000 miles now) was cut off the old stud with a grinder, drill a 5/8" hole where it was, and bolt the shock in place with a Grade 8 bolt. (It took a little doing to find this bolt. Do NOT use any old 5/8" bolt.) I used a washer on each side, too.
Getting the drill bit was a bit of a trick, too, since I only have a 3/8" chuck drill. I had to buy a bit with a 1/2" shank, and have my buddy, who works at a machine shop, turn it down to 3/8" for me. Otherwise I would have had to buy a drill with a 1/2" chuck, or at least a new chuck for my drill.
Don't try to drill 5/8" in one fell swoop. You'll ruin the bit before you get a fraction of the way through. Use lots of intermediate sizes, and oil.
Also, if you broke the first one and haven't tried the second yet, the solution to the breaking problem is heat. Lots of it. I sat there with a torch through an entire song on the radio before I tried to take the other one off, and it came off real easy.)
What I did (and I'm not sure this is right, nor safe, but it has held up for close to 1000 miles now) was cut off the old stud with a grinder, drill a 5/8" hole where it was, and bolt the shock in place with a Grade 8 bolt. (It took a little doing to find this bolt. Do NOT use any old 5/8" bolt.) I used a washer on each side, too.
Getting the drill bit was a bit of a trick, too, since I only have a 3/8" chuck drill. I had to buy a bit with a 1/2" shank, and have my buddy, who works at a machine shop, turn it down to 3/8" for me. Otherwise I would have had to buy a drill with a 1/2" chuck, or at least a new chuck for my drill.
Don't try to drill 5/8" in one fell swoop. You'll ruin the bit before you get a fraction of the way through. Use lots of intermediate sizes, and oil.
Also, if you broke the first one and haven't tried the second yet, the solution to the breaking problem is heat. Lots of it. I sat there with a torch through an entire song on the radio before I tried to take the other one off, and it came off real easy.)
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Joined: Dec 2003
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From: Maine
I know it works. I just don't know if it's safe.
It might not hurt to wait until someone else comes along and agrees (or disagrees) with me before you go to far...
(A friend of mine had this happen, and drove around for several months with just a coat hanger holding the shock onto the stud (just the threads broke off), until he scrapped the car due to a rotten frame.)
It might not hurt to wait until someone else comes along and agrees (or disagrees) with me before you go to far...
(A friend of mine had this happen, and drove around for several months with just a coat hanger holding the shock onto the stud (just the threads broke off), until he scrapped the car due to a rotten frame.)
Posting Guru
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: MARYLAND
It happened with my 96 2wd Ranger.. I cut the old stud off even with the radius arm..got a grade 8 bolt the same width as the eyelet on the shock and long enough to go thru it..drilled a hole thru where the old one was and it worked fine. Put over 50K miles on the repair before trading it in on a F250 Diesel SuperDuty.
Junior User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 58
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From: North Beach United States
Not the same vehicle , but same problem happened on my 94 Explorer I used to own. Did the same thing, but where the head seated on the opposite side of the frame I spot welded it, then came around and did spot welds on the shock side. Drove the Explorer for work every day, and traveled alot in Wash, DC where the streets are really bad, never had a problem (put atleast 75k on the homemade shock mount), never broke, but traded the vechicle eventually because of extremely high mileage and needed a vehicle with less miles.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 6,461
Likes: 6
From: Abilene Kansas
i think ur plan might be stronger then the factory set up. those bolts sure as hell better not break off or u have a bigger broblem (like hitting a ditch and taking all the running gear off)
Originally Posted by john112deere
I know it works. I just don't know if it's safe.
It might not hurt to wait until someone else comes along and agrees (or disagrees) with me before you go to far...
(A friend of mine had this happen, and drove around for several months with just a coat hanger holding the shock onto the stud (just the threads broke off), until he scrapped the car due to a rotten frame.)
It might not hurt to wait until someone else comes along and agrees (or disagrees) with me before you go to far...
(A friend of mine had this happen, and drove around for several months with just a coat hanger holding the shock onto the stud (just the threads broke off), until he scrapped the car due to a rotten frame.)
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Post Fiend
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 9,748
Likes: 16
From: Connecticut
FWIW, the origional front shocks on my '98 4x4 had studs as part of the shocks themselves. Remove the shocks and you remove the studs with them. The Bilsteins I recently installed came with seperate Grade 8 bolts and nuts (although because they were not stainless steel, I didn't use them, electing instead to go with some automotive grade hardware I had saved from some other project). Based on this, I have to think that bolting it up like you guys describe is fine.
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