On my most recent adventure, the lower mounting bolt on my rear shock sheared off. I went to Irv Seaver's to pick up a replacement bolt. I showed the double sheared bolt to David Townsend, Parts Manager at Seaver's. When he didn't exhibit a remarkable reaction (which doesn't mean anything, he's probably an excellent poker player), I asked him if this happens very often. He responded "I've got a drawer full of these". I was shocked (sorry for the pun)!. He said that he tries hard not to let customers reuse their shock bolts because of this.

I had removed the shock and sent it off to Works for a rebuild. I was planning on doing this at 36k, but now that I'm sure that I've lost the fluid as well as the nitrogen, it's definitely due at 44k. After removing the muffler and side plate, I noticed the bussing in the other (non-threaded) side of the shock fitting. The hole looked definitely out of center. I put the new bolt in and there was an obvious amount of play. I called David and ordered a new bushing ($18, not bad).


By the time I got off the phone, Jim Bud had arrived with his thread extractor (as well as his vast skill and knowledge) and we were ready for the exciting part; removing the remnant shock bolt from the threaded side of the fitting. I tapped on my centerpunch and set a point for the 5/32" drill bit. I bought a new, Titanium coated drill bit at Sears just for this reason and it easily cut into the bolt even though the drill was running at a slow speed.



Jim demonstrated the use of the thread extractor. One problem we had was getting the thread extractor in through the sleeved fitting and getting a good grip on it. We solved the problem by using a tap wrench. Also, Jim used his industrial strength blow drier to get the temperature up so that the thread lock would become more fluid.



Now I wait for the news on the shock rebuild. It arrived at the Works office Thursday.

I'm disappointed that this is such a weak point. IMO, this should be a 10mm bolt. Also, the sleeve feels like aluminum. Now, it may be Titanium, or some other exotic. Whatever it is, it's not hard enough.

Anyway, with this experience, I'm recommending that one should consider replacing their shock bolts and bushings. I'm going to make it part of my regular 36k mile service.