I was replacing the rear struts and in my infinite wisdom I decided to impact gun the nut to the bolt sticking out of the rear shock tower area.

Well, one snapped and now I'm looking for suggestions on what to do.

I don't have a picture handy at the moment of the damage but I'll show you what I'm talking about with another picture:



My initial thought was to just drill the bolt out since it's probably apart of the chassis like the front strut tower bolts and then just tap the hole with some threads and run a bolt through in the other direction (the top going up towards the sky).

Any other suggestions?

Yea I'm stupid for impacting it

 

you can have a body shop press in a new stud in that area. just need to get the correct pitch for the bolt.. or drill it out and cut into the rear suspension area to get in there. i think regardless you'll have to open up that rear area to get access to the bolt area.

 

I concur with Chesboto on having a body shop remove the stud and try pressing a new one in would be the best option. Unfortunately, it's a job that requires special tools and experience to guarantee a good outcome.

 

Seems like a complicated measure for this solution only because the stupid rear strut brace is not removable or easy to access to press in that new stud.

Is my idea of just drilling the current bolt/stud out, tapping a new hole, and running the bolt through in the other direction not advisable?

 

Not really, just cut a hole in top of the brace. 2 inch round , typical for some coilovers so you can adjust. Then drill the bolt out and slide a new one in from the top. Yes, you are turning it into a 2 person job for future removals.

A dab of JB weld under the bolt head may keep it a 1 person job, that bolt is not really load bearing. Just holds the shock from moving side to side.

 

i dunno about the JB weld holding up for the longevity of the shock bolt.. might work the first time, but the next time if it ever needs to come off, it'll probably pop off.

as for tapping the hole and going the other way, the metal at the conact point is fairly thin, i don't think there is enough material to get the bolt to torque to spec..

my condolences to the OP.. but you shouldn't take this repair lightly. no real 'quick' solution.

 

Understood, thanks all.