Broken Bolt Made By The Devil

[YoungFluff03TJ]

So I was putting on a lift (03 TJ). all was going great and we were making record time. then we got to the back and both upper mounting bolts for the rear passenger side shock broke off....well this was a setback but nothing we couldnt handle - or so i thought. Its been 3 days now and 3 different people have tried drilling out the bolts. We got through the outside one, but the interior one just wont go. We've drilled maybe 2/3 or 3/4 of the way through, broke at least 7 bits and dulled a few more . Ive tryed multiple types (of bits) and ones from Gregg Dist. that are designed for such a thing, but the last hurrah seems to be made of diamond.... or kryptonite. We decided to put the shock on with one bolt up top and finish the lift so i could take it somewhere. ANY ideas? we were thinking an acetylene torch but i dont have one. plus this is directly beside the gas tank and the exhaust gets in the way nicely. If anyone out there can help i have a case of beer of their choice for them.
Thanks
PS i should tell you that the last bolt is on a slight angle. nothing crazy but the exhaust was in the way to get perfectly straight and therefore we may be going through nut as well. the bolt past the nut (on the top side) we chipped off so i think its only a 1/4 way left  :'(

[cLAY]

Start small then go up in size. I usually just weld in a bracket to let me use a regular thru bolt/nut on top vs a bar pin.

Driving with just one bolt risks breaking that bolt or bending the bar pin.

[YoungFluff03TJ]

yeah ive started small and worked up but its just this last bit that wont budge. Im not too content with only one bolt in the shock so thats why im lookin around. any ideas other then drilling? it just wont drill anymore....

[Elsifer]

Drop the exhaust first of all, it only gets in the way! Cut it right after the first support after the muffler, eliminate the up over and down.
Unless you have an aftermarket exhaust that already does this.

I wouldn't use the torch to cut out the remainder of the bolt. But a nice red-hot heatup job, then a nice quick quench with some water on the bolt might weaken it enough to chip it out and/or drill the remainder free. You run the risk of weakening the surrounding metal tho. In any case, sounds like you are gonna have to mount it differently than the bar-pin.

Or say fsck-it, and cut out that whole area, weld in some plate, and reinforce/make bigger/better/badder the whole area.

Or 6010 welding rod makes a great gouging rod when the amperage is turned up beyond what that diameter of rod should be run at.
eg 3/32 or 1/8 running at oh, 150+ amps. Heh, start slow (around 120), you don't want to disintegrate the surrounding material!


Just some ideas. If you want to keep the threads on that hole, you are hooped. But eliminate the bar pin, and you should be golden.

[YoungFluff03TJ]

Heh. You stated everything I was going to do but was hesitant of doing! We did actually drop the exhaust but she way still in the way, I just added that tidbit in so yall knew the hole was ata bit of an angle. Then we got the idea of expansion/contraction. We did heat it to see if we could drill through eaiser when hot, but once again i was debating whether or not to complete the contraction part with water because as you said the surrounding bracket may weaken as well. Im not using the stock nut thats attached to the frame so the thread issue is not an issue, im just using a different nut/bolt combo. As for the rest of your suggestion....well i dont really have any of those tools. I have a reeeeaaalllllyyyy old welding and heater type kit thing that belonged to my grandpa (i think he made it ) and it scare me just to look at it. Wires everywhere and what not. thats when it works. So i guess ill try splashing water on now, or maybe see how much a shop will charge me to punch thru 1/4" of metal 

[ornamental]

i had a very similar issue a couple of moths ago.   vinman to the rescue,   he had some magic drill bits that chewed through the bolt in 10 seconds and used a new bolt and nut on top.    for the upper rear shock mount.

[YoungFluff03TJ]

Turns out nothing worked and I had to take it to Standens, who just blew the nut off the bracket. Oh well, done is done. thanks for the ideas anyway!

[hps4evr]

air hammer. if a regular hammer is good, then an air hammer is better!