Rear sway bar link upper nut threads stripped

[AGladiator22]

Looking for some advice… I found the reason the popping noise coming from beneath the bed went away; the upper bolt from a sway bar link apparently had been working loose and is now gone. I could see that the threads were trashed from the wear as it worked its way out. Dealer said no warranty coverage, so I figured I’d put a replacement bolt in and be good. I had to cut/clear the threads in the ‘built-in’ nut. I used 12mm 1.75 thread cutter. But now I”ve got a 12mm 1.75 pitch bolt with stripped threads. Can the nut piece be replaced? Is it a 1.75 pitch thread? If not, I messed it up pretty good. (The pic is before tooling it with the thread cutter.)

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[Rusty PW]

What you can do is use a longer bolt that goes all the way through. And use a self locking aircraft nut on the other side. That's what I did. Think I used either a 70mm or a 80mm long bolt. Forgot which one. Plus I used flat washers too.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

What you can do is use a longer bolt that goes all the way through. And use a self locking aircraft nut on the other side. That's what I did. Think I used either a 70mm or a 80mm long bolt. Forgot which one. Plus I used flat washers too.

This works great.

 

[Viper501]

https://metalcloak.com/jt-gladiator-rear-sway-bar-reinforcement-bracket.html

 

[Rusty PW]

https://metalcloak.com/jt-gladiator-rear-sway-bar-reinforcement-bracket.html

His threads are stripped out. This wouldn't work. But will keep the bracket from breaking. I have these on my JT.

 

[bill61]

Do they not make an insert repair kit? Such as Keensert?

 

[Rusty PW]

Do they not make an insert repair kit? Such as Keensert?

You could heli-coil it.

 

[Viper501]

His threads are stripped out. This wouldn't work. But will keep the bracket from breaking. I have these on my JT.

I have to disagree a bit. My experience is that if he taps the existing hole he can run the longer bolt supplied with the kit through what’s left of the threads, if anything, and then use the included nut on the other side. My right rear got slightly jacked up doing the lift and I was able to use that method when I put the reinforcement brackets on.

 

[bill61]

You could heli-coil it.

I know Heli-coils are strong, but for that purpose I would go with a Keensert. It is stronger than the bolt.
Of course if the hole isn’t rounded or the damage is minimal a Heli-coil might do the job just fine.
These guys might have information?? It seems most places want you to call for information in regards to Keensert.

 

[bill61]

I do see Grainger carries the M12 1.25 inserts but I didn’t see 1.75 pitch on their site?

 

[SoK66]

Looking for some advice… I found the reason the popping noise coming from beneath the bed went away; the upper bolt from a sway bar link apparently had been working loose and is now gone. I could see that the threads were trashed from the wear as it worked its way out. Dealer said no warranty coverage, so I figured I’d put a replacement bolt in and be good. I had to cut/clear the threads in the ‘built-in’ nut. I used 12mm 1.75 thread cutter. But now I”ve got a 12mm 1.75 pitch bolt with stripped threads. Can the nut piece be replaced? Is it a 1.75 pitch thread? If not, I messed it up pretty good. (The pic is before tooling it with the thread cutter.)

Why no warranty ?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I know Heli-coils are strong, but for that purpose I would go with a Keensert. It is stronger than the bolt.
Of course if the hole isn’t rounded or the damage is minimal a Heli-coil might do the job just fine.
These guys might have information?? It seems most places want you to call for information in regards to Keensert.

We use Helicoils all the time for aluminum intake repairs, alternator mounting hole repairs and more. They are tough - never seen one pull out yet. You set them with red loctite, and the special tap cuts some deep threads for them to go into. I'd trust them - even more with a nut on the other side like Russ indicated.
The problem presented above was a loose bolt that was allowed to stay loose and wobble out the hole - not a problem with the threads or the hole itself! So technically, Helicoil would be much stronger than original, and with a nut to lock the bolt in place - problem solved. The issue was the bolt came loose - and ran that way for a time, not the strength of the threads.

 

[bill61]

I know Heli-coils are strong. But I’m a paranoid person. BTW, a nut on the backside would lock the bolt from loosening but wouldn’t also put strain on the threads?

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I know Heli-coils are strong. But I’m a paranoid person. BTW, a nut on the backside would lock the bolt from loosening but wouldn’t also put strain on the threads?

A lot less than what's already there as the forces would be spread out over ~twice as many threads, depending on the nut - at least 60% more threads. So really, it's stronger, a bit like putting a bolt into a longer hole with more threads - the force is spread out.

 

[AGladiator22]

Why no warranty ?

“Break or damage caused by external forces are not covered” was the message. I thought,,, well I guess if it self destructs setting in the driveway, I’m good then.

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