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 Post subject: Strut plugs dangerously short?
PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:33 am 
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So I used to have a Rocky Road OTT lift on my renegade, but my struts were blown in a week and I decided to put Old Man Emu struts and springs in the front, with a .5" spacer in the front. The problem is, with the OTT lift, I had to cut down my strut plugs to make it work. Now, on each side two of the four strut plugs are only about 1/4 of the way on the nut. This seems dangerous to me, especially if I'm wheeling pretty hard. What are the odds that those strut plugs will pull out of the nuts because they are only a 1/4 way threaded?


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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 9:40 am 
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Strut plugs? Bolts? Not sure what you are talking about but maybe I just need another cup of coffee?

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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 5:10 pm 
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The bolts that hold the top of the springs/strut to the frame. They go through the frame/body, you can see the nuts from inside the engine on both sides.


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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 5:23 pm 
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could you knock them out and get some grade 8 bolts anf through bolt them? just a thought?
richey

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PostPosted: Fri May 26, 2006 7:07 pm 
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sdeuel wrote:
The bolts that hold the top of the springs/strut to the frame. They go through the frame/body, you can see the nuts from inside the engine on both sides.


That is what I figured....mmmmm that was good coffee!

Now that I know what you meant, I don't think it sounds very safe. I would look for some longer bolts.

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PostPosted: Sat May 27, 2006 11:02 am 
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I'd just get a better lift.

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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2006 12:02 am 
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Ok, so here's a thought... can I take the nuts off of those bolts, jack up the front of the liberty to get the bolts to pull out of the holes, take the 1/2" plate out, lower the front end again to get the bolts to go back through the holes in the body, and put the nuts back on? I hope that made any kind of sense. My thought is that I lose a 1/2" of lift in the front, but will have the nuts fully threaded on the bolts because that plate isn't there. Will that be possible? If not, I'm going to the dealership to have them put longer bolts on. That will be lots of $$$ for 4 little bolts.


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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2006 1:56 am 
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sdeuel wrote:
If not, I'm going to the dealership to have them put longer bolts on. That will be lots of $$$ for 4 little bolts.

Why worry about going to the stealership? Like 05kjrenny suggested, go down to your local hardware megamart and see if you can find some grade 8 metric bolts that are teh correct thread and long enough to do the job. It'll be a lot less hassle than going to the dealer, especially if your dealer isn't 'lift-friendly'.

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PostPosted: Tue May 30, 2006 3:05 am 
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sdeuel wrote:
Ok, so here's a thought... can I take the nuts off of those bolts, jack up the front of the liberty to get the bolts to pull out of the holes, take the 1/2" plate out, lower the front end again to get the bolts to go back through the holes in the body, and put the nuts back on? I hope that made any kind of sense. My thought is that I lose a 1/2" of lift in the front, but will have the nuts fully threaded on the bolts because that plate isn't there. Will that be possible? If not, I'm going to the dealership to have them put longer bolts on. That will be lots of $$$ for 4 little bolts.


yeah it makes perfect sense buddy. You are going to want to get a front end wheel alignment before you go driving though, or you'll chew out your tires in no time. Also, if u do take it out, what are you going to do to the rear to compensate ? The KJ's bum is going to sit rather high in the rear end isnt it ?
By the way, those plates work well, the problem is as you say, they dont have enough thread on the factory strut plates. Why not do what I did, use 8mm plate. At least it will work correctly, there's definately enough thred there to have the top pointy bit of the bolt sticking out of the top of the nut once tightened.

THe long and expensive way is to (as someone said) knock out the factory studs (you said 'plugs' lol!) and get longer ones put in. Trouble is, I dont think they'd come out all too easy - I think they're tacked in place. If you DO want to go to all that trouble, i'd take them into a machine shop for a proper install - (not the whole car lol! just the struts) !!! :lol:

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