Help! Asfir LCA skid stripped nut

[Stonetree]

I purchased the Ford Bronco Front Lower Arms Protector Skid Plates from Asfir. I went to install them today. The one side went on fine. The other side not so much.

The kit came with new nuts to replace the original ones. I followed the torque specifications on the included sheet. 117Nm (86ft/lb), but one of the M12 nuts stripped before getting to 117Nm. I had no problem with the other nuts. How do I fix this problem? The nut won't tighten or unscrew? And, it's surrounded by the dome washer that came in the kit. I'm really hoping it's the nut and not the lower shock bolt. I tried pulling down on the skid plate to put pressure on the nut and trying to unscrew it, but no luck.

Afterward, I was looking at the torque specs in the Ford Service Manual and it says to tighten these bolts to only 90Nm (66ft/lb).

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[Rick Astley]

Have you tried differential temperatures? That's always a first go-to.

Stout hardware into cast metal is often a problem.

 

[Stonetree]

Have you tried differential temperatures? That's always a first go-to.

Stout hardware into cast metal is often a problem.

Haven't tried that yet. Worth a try. Seems determined to stay there and spin.

 

[Rick Astley]

Haven't tried that yet. Worth a try. Seems determined to stay there and spin.

Stuck bolts are always easier to remove than stripped threads.

Come up with your plan of attack first as you might not get but 1 chance.

Of course, you'll have to chase that hole and re-thread once you get that bugger out!

Scorched earth methods such as welding a nut onto the head, or a slide hammer shaft and using simple violence as the persuasion to pull the offending bolt could be done..... But I doubt you want to start with violence.

A nice application of dry ice (usually available at grocery stores) could be sat on top to sprink the metal and possibly, *possibly* get you some thread ourchase.

 

[dgorsett]

Not familiar with this installation, but...If this is the factory shock stud is it possible the stud is spinning in the shock mount. If so mabe you could get ahold of the stud on the top side with vicegrips (TOOL OF LAST RESORT) and get the nut to turn. Replace with a bolt like some lifts.

 

[wrbix]

Wonder if ASFIR confused nm data to ft/lb…86 vs 90 ft/lb too much of a coincidence.
Since this is not really a function critical or rotating application, I’d just leave it as is and carry on. Why are you feeling compelled to disassemble?

 

[Stonetree]

Not familiar with this installation, but...If this is the factory shock stud is it possible the stud is spinning in the shock mount. If so mabe you could get ahold of the stud on the top side with vicegrips (TOOL OF LAST RESORT) and get the nut to turn. Replace with a bolt like some lifts.

That's the first thing I checked. I have a feeling the bolt is keyed so it doesn't move.

 

[Stonetree]

Wonder if ASFIR confused nm data to ft/lb…86 vs 90 ft/lb too much of a coincidence.
Since this is not really a function critical or rotating application, I’d just leave it as is and carry on. Why are you feeling compelled to disassemble?

Since it's a shock mount, I'm concerned about it being loose. When I realized it was stripped I tried to back it out to replace the nut. Now it's a little loose and won't move up or down the threads. I could screw down the other side but I think the shock would still move around a bit. That can't be good.

 

[Stonetree]

Stuck bolts are always easier to remove than stripped threads.

Come up with your plan of attack first as you might not get but 1 chance.

Of course, you'll have to chase that hole and re-thread once you get that bugger out!

Scorched earth methods such as welding a nut onto the head, or a slide hammer shaft and using simple violence as the persuasion to pull the offending bolt could be done..... But I doubt you want to start with violence.

A nice application of dry ice (usually available at grocery stores) could be sat on top to sprink the metal and possibly, *possibly* get you some thread ourchase.

Interesting idea of welding another nut to the top of the stripped nut, but I don't have a welder.

 

[wetdog]

ASFIR as I know its time for the high speed cutting wheel cut studs replace hardware.

 

[Jason]

 

[Lifeliberty]

My first thought is to wedge something between the shock and plate to cause pressure on the nut and try to back it out, hoping a thread will catch

Or as above recommended, see if the bolt is turning with the nut, if that's the case, oof...

 

[Stonetree]

I'm going to try heating it and then wedge something behind it again to see if I can get it to catch at all. If that doesn't work I may try dremeling the sides of the nut to try to split it off.... If I can fit a Dremel bit in the space between the nut and dome washer.

 

[Stonetree]

Well, I finally got the nut removed. I heated the nut and put nearly all my weight on the skid plate as I turned the nut. Slow-going but eventually I was able to get it off. The threads of the nut are destroyed and some of the shock bolt is also messed up. Temporarily, I put a larger nut on as a spacer to get over the bad threads and then used the original nut to grab the end threads so I can drive it. Can I easily replace a shock bolt? Or, are they pressed in?

 

[Stonetree]

Well, I finally got the nut removed. I heated the nut and put nearly all my weight on the skid plate as I turned the nut. Slow-going but eventually I was able to get it off. The threads of the nut are destroyed and some of the shock bolt is also messed up. Temporarily, I put a larger nut on as a spacer to get over the bad threads and then used the original nut to grab the end threads so I can drive it. Can I easily replace a shock bolt? Or, are they pressed in?

Since it appears that only a couple threads are ruined, would it be safe to use a thread chaser and keep the bolt?

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