Follow-up on broken lower shock bolt on front driver's side ProComp shock
on 97 4x4:
Well, we got the broken bolt out by drilling it out. We drilled it out to
27/64" and ran a 12mm tap through it. We then modified a nut and put on the
back of the of the new bolt since the threads weren't all that great. We
also bought two new shocks (Gabriel) for the front.
We decided that the bolt broke because it came loose. There's no
indication that the ProComps were the cause of the broken bolt. There were
several indications that the bolt had been loose and had probably been
coming loose for quite a while. The passenger side bolt however was still
tight. We're not sure why it was just the drivers side that came loose.
We also found that the ProComps were about shot anyway after we removed
them. They had about 60,000 miles on them and felt about like the factory
shocks I took off mine at 100,000. The 60,000 miles they had on them were
pretty much highway too. The truck wasn't offroad much, and even then it
wasn't abused. I had a lot more faith in the ProComps than this since they
looked so much heavier duty. They made the new Gabriels look tiny.
My suggestion to everyone is to take a second and check the torque on the
front shock bolts at every oil change. It only takes a few seconds and will
save you A LOT of headache.
Thanks for all the tips/suggestions. I'll let everyone know if the new
bolt breaks.
--Aaron--
95 DSRC 4x4 V6
PS: The ProComps and the Gabriels were identical in length which leads me to
believe that they were identical to the factory shocks as well.
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