Hello Everyone! I'm a new member and am very happy to have found your group! Today when jacking up my sister's 1970 Wagoneer's front end with my floor jack, the passenger side lower front shock absorber mount broke off. It looks fairly rusty. The flat plate tab broke off pretty cleanly from where it was welded on the back of the 4x4 axle housing.
I jacked up the front straight under the leaf spring U bolt plates on both sides, positioning the floor jack lift pedestal inside the 4 bolts that hold the leaf springs to the axle tube. I did the passenger side first and placed a jack stand under the longitudinal frame member, as forward as possible on both sides. I was very slow and gradual in both lifting and lowering each side. The shocks look pretty old and probably need changing. I think the shock's lower mount broke off when I jacked that passenger side up just a little to remove the jackstand on that side first, while the driver's side was still on the jack stand and the driver's tire on blocks as well.
The purpose of jacking up the front end was to allow bad gas in the gas tank to move to the rear of the gas tank to be more thoroughly pumped out with a hand pump hose inserted in to the gas tank directly with the gas fill hose removed.
I am wondering if the lower shock absorber mount could be somewhat of a known week point on the older Wagoneers. And/ Or, if I put too much strain on the lower shock mount attachment plate by my lifting method.
The Jeep was sitting on a slight angle with the driver's side wheel being about 2 &1/2 to 3 inches lower than the passenger side. The difference in the drivers side jackstand on the frame was only about an inch higher needed to level the vehicle by matching the other jack stand level. The driver's side was raised higher than the passenger's side due to the angle of where it was sitting with a lower driver's side surface in front.. The rear wheels were not on a side angle at all. It seems to me that if I were to have picked one side over the other to break off the lower shock mount, it would have been that lower side and not the one that did.
I feel so bad to see that shock absorber dangling and I'm waiting for my sister to get home to give her the bad news that I broke her baby's suspension. And the removed non ethanol premium gas and the tank both look very clean! Thanks for any ideas and suggestions on a better way to jack up the Wagoneer! It is parked in a tight carport with no side access on the driver's side for the floor jack to have jacked it up by lifting at the frame. Thanks for any ideas, and of course for any tips on reattaching the lower shock absorber mounting plate with a welding job. I greatly appreciate any thoughts on this.
