Strut Tower Brace Bolts

[ssmith1092]

hey, i just got an 2001 Lincoln LS and i notice that somehow the previous owner broke all four of the strut tower bolts. And these are some pretty big bolts. Can anyone tell me some ways on getting them out

 

[gcwimmer]

FYI: The Lincoln LS has coil over shocks, no struts.

 

[Alax7]

So when the guy at pepboys said your struts are bad? did he mean whatever makes the ls ride smooth is bad or just "Installed struts" and ripped me off?


You need to get the broken bolts off?

 

[1LoudLS]

good luck, if the bolts broke while sombody was tring to take them off they must be pretty F'ed, maybe drill them out and re-tap? I had the same problem with one of the rear seatbelts.

 

[1LoudLS]

did he mean whatever makes the ls ride smooth is bad or just "Installed struts" and ripped me off?

most people cant tell the difference between a coil over shock or a strut, as they are similar.

 

[Alax7]

most people cant tell the difference between a coil over shock or a strut, as they are similar.

Got it, well whatever thay did it made it smoother and got rid of most of the highway shaking

 

[joegr]

Got it, well whatever thay did it made it smoother and got rid of most of the highway shaking

Count yourself lucky. Pep-Boys usually only breaks stuff.

 

[pektel]

If all 4 are broken, you may want to get a new shock tower retainer cap. Don't know the exact name of it, but IIRC, those bolts are actually studs built into the cap that makes up the top of the shock/spring assembly. You have to remove the whole assembly to change it out.

 

[milehighmikey]

There are actually 3 more bolts at the center of the firewall for that brace.

I have broken these on both of my LS. You need to get a good sharp drill bit, punch a guide point as close to the center of each bolt as possible and drill them out. Increase the drill bit size along the way until there is almost no more bolt left, then tap the holes out with new threads of either metric or US standard size and replace the bolts to match. They are around a 10 MM bolt, or maybe 8, or you could go with a 3/8" US bolt thread size.

That brace is a serious safety component and it needs to be held in place for your crash protection systems to function, as well as handling structure for cornering.

If you can't do this yourself, find a competent mechanic to do it for you. It should take an hour or so to fix them.

In the salt states for winter weather, these things seem to just not come apart. Not even a slight turn happens, they just snap off as soon as you turn them.

 

[ssmith1092]

Oh ok thanks mikey. Hopefully I can get out early and get those bolts.

 

[chocolat1701]

you got any pics so we can see exactly what your seeing.

 

[ssmith1092]

Well I have drill three of the bolts. But instead of useing the stock size bolt I'm going to go a little bigger. and a stronger bolt since they put the weakest ones on there. I'm put pics up later.

 

[Lincoln Jealous]

Well I have drill three of the bolts. But instead of useing the stock size bolt I'm going to go a little bigger. and a stronger bolt since they put the weakest ones on there. I'm put pics up later.

good job man! pics!!