Can someone tell me if the rear upper shock mount bolts are welded to the Jeep? I am changing shocks this weekend and have read about others that have broken the bolt when removing the nut and had to drill, cut, etc out the bolt to make repair. Sounds like something that would happen to me, turning a minor job into a royal pain in the ass.
Has anyone broken the bolt when removing the shock's nuts?

 

If I remember correctly it's just the opposite. The bolts are removed and the mount is threaded. You have to be careful because the mount is on an angle and the shock only fits one way. If the bolt doesn't thread easily then you have it in the wrong direction. You should be able to start the bolts in by hand.

 

Started on the TeraFlex 2.5 coil lift today. Smooth sailing almost all the way through until I went back to check torque settings. Appears I over torqued rear upper shock bolts. Went to take them out and re-torque, broke 2 of 4. Heads broke off, threads still in. Sucks! I'll probably spend all tomorrow trying to get them bad boys out. The lift, the rear anyway, looks sweet!

 

I recently found a newish set of Rubicon red shocks on eBay and bought them for my 08 X. The rears were easier and they are now done. earlier in this thread it was mentioned that the rears have a right and wrong way to mount the upper "ears". Unless I'm totally mistaken, the ears do rotate in their rubber mounts and can be put in in any direction. The upper part of the shock actually probably swings/rotates a bit as the suspension moves. The Rubicon shocks are VERY stiff, and trying to compress them manually (while the upper is mounted) is almost impossible. I used my Hi Lift jack to lift the body at the bumper, making the distance to compress much less. I then used a lever to compress them enough to clear the lower mount and ease them in place. A screwdriver used as a lever/wedge made the final clearance for the big lower bolt to slide through. The fronts require 2 wrenches that I dont have. A 16mm and an 18mm. I'll wait until the rain passes and I get the correct wrench to complete the job. I hope this helps anyone about to tackle this driveway job.

 

Well the rain let up enough to replace the front OEM black shocks on my 08 X with the red Rubicon ones I bought. Here are a few tips that might help you if you decide to replace yours. First of all I didn't need to remove the tires. I just turned the wheel full right to replace the front left and full left to do the right side. The nut on the tower (top) is difficult at best. I bought ($15) a 16mm ratcheting combination gear wrench. In my opinion, don't even start the job without this tool. The nut (even after spraying it with WD) was hard to remove all the way to the end. Once I got the old one out, I mounted the top first and tightened it until it stopped and torqued it a bit. The bottom end required me to use a floor jack to compress it and get it into place then coax it from the jack into the lower bracket. On the other side I tried resting the lower end into its bracked and compressing by hand in an effort to clear the tower with the threaded rod end. No luck, I'm just not strong enough to do it. So I secured the top first and did the jack thing with the bottom. A good days work. The ride seems a bit stiffer but not harsh. I like it this way and see no reason to do anything with the springs.