Bump stop bolts broke x2

[Fritz]

What kind of extractor bit/kit did you use to drill out? There seem to be a million options and most of the stuff I've used in the past seems like it wouldn't be able to handle this. I ordered these which should be here today:

I'm going to use my small impact on the other side like you said. Vibrate and shake the ever living shit out of any corrosion etc that is holding onto it.

As for not liking the Sumos, did you try cutting them down to be shorter?

I just drilled straight through the old one and put a new nut on top I didn’t extract anything. There’s a spacer that comes with the sumo Springs that I could’ve not used But I like the stance it has with the spacers in.

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[TechnicallyReal]

I just drilled straight through the old one and put a new nut on top I didn’t extract anything. There’s a spacer that comes with the sumo Springs that I could’ve not used But I like the stance it has with the spacers in.

Oh I see. How difficult was it to get a new nut in there? I can barely see the existing one.

 

[Fritz]

Oh I see. How difficult was it to get a new nut in there? I can barely see the existing one.

The old nut is still there, I used a longer bolt and went through it.
There’s no seeing what you’re doing, all done by feel. I lost a socket in the frame rail if I remember correctly.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Is the original nut even welded on? There's a bigger access hole behind it

EDIT: Yes it is, the washer is welded and the nut and washer are one piece.

 

[Fritz]

Is the original nut even welded on? There's a bigger access hole behind it

Yes its secured somehow. Maybe one could twist it off if you could access it. I doubt you can access it though.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Yes its secured somehow. Maybe one could twist it off if you could access it. I doubt you can access it though.

I can get a socket on it and there's just enough room to move the handle a bit but it's too cramped back there to get any real leverage.

The head popped off the second bolt as well so I started drilling into it. I've been at it for hours now just trying to get a 5/32 bit deep enough for the matching extractor to grip. Painfully slow process. Pretty close to giving up and booking an appointment at a shop.

 

[Fritz]

I drilled it out to 3/8" I think.
I used my fancy drill bits.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08X95SCT7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Trigganometry]

Mine were the same.

Breaker bar was needed and there was a ton of Ford's thread locker on them.

This was after a quick shot of PB Blaster.

A small amount of heat before you try to crack the nuts is all it takes to break the locktite bond. Some of the suspension has the red stuff. That requires real good heat. Impact drives are the best way, once you get it moving keep the momentum going!

 

[D Fresh]

A small amount of heat before you try to crack the nuts is all it takes to break the locktite bond. Some of the suspension has the red stuff. That requires real good heat. Impact drives are the best way, once you get it moving keep the momentum going!

For sure.

At the time it seemed difficult to get a torch or impact in there. And even though I was swapping them out I didn't think about cutting the bumpstops first.

Luckily for me I got them out without breaking them.

 

[awd.nv]

Man, I am glad I read this thread. I have been curious about researching different bump stops for the Tremor since I tow quite a bit but also want to have it flex off-road. Not wanting to open the can of worms I have not looked into it yet, but glad I saw this info before hand in case I ever mess around with them.

 

[DukeCanBuildit]

Man, I am glad I read this thread. I have been curious about researching different bump stops for the Tremor since I tow quite a bit but also want to have it flex off-road. Not wanting to open the can of worms I have not looked into it yet, but glad I saw this info before hand in case I ever mess around with them.

Hey Anthony,

That’s the great thing about this forum. There’s a ton of information being shared, debated, sometimes debunked, but it gets passed around and a lot of people can learn from the experience and sometimes the mistakes of others. I’ve bookmarked several threads that I think will be helpful down the road.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

A small amount of heat before you try to crack the nuts is all it takes to break the locktite bond. Some of the suspension has the red stuff. That requires real good heat. Impact drives are the best way, once you get it moving keep the momentum going!

I went at it with penetration oil overnight, a torch for quite a while, my small impact, and me trying to go back and forth with the socket. I thought I was getting somewhere when I finally heard a pop while using the socket, but then the head popped off on the next heave.

I was using titanium bits which is why drilling isn't working so hot. Going to try with some new cobalt bits tomorrow.

If I can't get the bolt extracted then I'll drill it out completely and use a new nut on top of the old like Fritz did. Might also try and get the old nut off if I can break the welds somehow.

 

[Trigganometry]

I went at it with penetration oil overnight, a torch for quite a while, my small impact, and me trying to go back and forth with the socket. I thought I was getting somewhere when I finally heard a pop while using the socket, but then the head popped off on the next heave.

I was using titanium bits which is why drilling isn't working so hot. Going to try with some new cobalt bits tomorrow.

If I can't get the bolt extracted then I'll drill it out completely and use a new nut on top of the old like Fritz did. Might also try and get the old nut off if I can break the welds somehow.

Ok, if you have to drill them out use a carbon steel drill and keep the RPM’s down. You want to pull a chip and not just have the drill rubbing creating heat. That can harden the steel and kill the bit. Once you get a hole through you should just be able to break it off.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Update: I've managed to get the broken extractor out of the bolt.

I ordered a few different bits to try:

• A diamond-tipped holesaw bit for cutting tile/stone/glass.
• A tungsten carbide bit for the Dremel.
• "The Rescue Bit".

While waiting for "The Rescue Bit" to ship and before trying the other 2 bits, I took the truck into a shop to have them take a look. They told me it would take them all day and eat through a bunch of their bits, costing a fortune. Other shops may have had better answers but everything around here is booked for weeks so I didn't bother going anywhere else.

Yesterday I decided to try the diamond-tipped holesaw bit, which was something I learned about from this video. Now you may be reading this expecting there to be some big long-winded story about how I used all 3 products and struggled to get the job done.. but the story ends here. It just worked. It wasn't difficult and only took about an hour. The bit still seems to be in good shape, too.

What I did was put it in my small impact and worked it in a circle with only modest pressure. I took a break every few minutes to let the bit cool, and in many cases it hadn't actually heated up much at all. I could tell when it was doing its job as dust would steadily fall out of the hole, lit up by my work light below. Constantly working the bit around in a circle at different angles kept the flow of dust coming, and I could see progress as the bit got deeper and deeper.

Eventually the sound and feeling changed so I took a look in the hole. Confusingly the boken extractor bit was still in there. I shoved a nail into the hole to see how deep it was when I noticed that the extractor bit was loose at the other end of the hole, although it didn't want to be pushed all of the way out. I confirmed with this photo:

I was able to push that piece of extractor bit back down into the bolt, and it fell out into my hand below:

Some before and afters...

Before the extractor was used:

After the extractor was used:

After trying to drill out the extractor with cobalt drill bits:

After drilling out the bit with the diamond-tipped holesaw bit:

The next thing I'm going to try is putting 2 nuts together on the end of the bolt that's inside the frame rail, and then using a wrench to "tighten" the bolt from that end (turning the bolt clockwise, to get it to go upwards into the rail and out of the nut). I'm thinking it might come out easier that way since all the corroded threads are already "out" and any mess I make of that part of the bolt won't matter, since I can still drill it out as my final resort.

 

[TechnicallyReal]

Another update: I've got the SumoSprings installed

Drilling out the bolts was not a big deal in the end. I took a torch to the bolts a couple of times but I'm not sure if it helped or not. After letting them cool I used a 1/4" cobalt drill bit all the way through and then moved to 5/16" (or maybe even 11/32", I forget now). Once drilled through the portion of the bolt that is within the nut, the bit grabs onto the bolt and rotates it clockwise through the nut and into the frame rail. It sounds pretty bad when the bit first grabs it and both times I thought the feeling and sound were the bit breaking, but it was the bolt breaking loose:

I didn't manage to center the hole in the first bolt very well so there was some damage to the threads but it didn't seem to really matter in the end as it was just on one side. I cleaned up the threads with an M10-1.5 tap and the new bolt went in snugly. On the other side I managed to center the hole better and there was minimal damage to the threads. I considered drilling the holes even bigger so that I could insert Helicoils and have fresh new threads, but instead what I did was pick up some longer bolts and lock nuts, so that I could use the locknut as extra insurance. The bolts that come with the SumoSprings are M10-1.5 x 55mm class 8.8 and just barely make it through the stock nut. I got M10-1.5 x 75mm and have extra thread exposed after going through the stock nut and my locknut. 70mm length would probably be the perfect length. (EDIT: I confirmed that M10-1.5 x 70mm is perfect)

Overall I would say that the process wasn't actually that bad. This is the first time I've ever had to drill out a bolt or a bolt extractor. Drilling out the extractor was annoying but not difficult. Drilling out the bolts was scary and took some finesse but not too bad either.

There were 2 key hurdles that needed to be overcome:

1. The lack of space between the frame rail and the leaf spring. If you're able to undo the leaf spring then that solves that. I didn't want to touch that so I shortened my larger drill bit to match the length of my 1/4" bit, which when inserted into my drill just barely fit between the leaf and the frame. Shortening the bit wasn't too difficult but took a while. I just laid my drill sideways on the ground and held the trigger while running a hacksaw on it. It probably took 5-10 minutes to cut.
2. The amount of force continually needed to press the drill upwards into the bolt. This was actually easy to solve. I just used a pry bar under the drill and slowly pried on it, making the experience similar to using a drill-press. I set the drill to half-speed and only pulled the trigger half-way (so 1/4 speed actual). I dipped the bit in oil often. Metal shavings poured out without much effort.

Hope this helps someone else down the line!

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