Perfect Example

[Qball]

This is a perfect example of how an automobile dealership mechanic abuses the use of an impact wrench.

These are rear sway bar link shoulder bolts on a 2005 Jeep TJ Rubicon I'm working on. The one on the left has a sway bar link bushing attached.

It will spin on the bolt freely. But it will not come off because the end of the shoulder on the bolt is mushroomed due to being over torqued.

This is the Jeep I bought last year and have a thread about in this section. The dealer I purchased it from in PA installed new rear sway bar links just before selling it to me.

I just ordered some new shoulder bolts from Mopar yesterday.

 

[HMP]

What stinks is replacing these sorts of bolts and such, they cost a dang arm and a leg and it feels like youre not progressing on your project.
It.
Sucks.

I dont want to know what Dodge was charging for those four bolts...

 

[DrScaryGuy]

When I worked midnights in detroit, cars in the parking lot kept losing their wheels somehow, so the company suggested we all buy a set of keyed lugnuts. I bought the cheapest ones I could find that straight up said "DO NOT USE IMPACT WRENCH" right on the face of them.
One time I took it to the dealer to have some work done and when I was about to leave i checked to make sure my key was still in the car. It wasn't. so I went back in and they took a while to find it. Then i went to double check that it was the right one for my lugnuts and found one of them to be in place but spinning freely.
So I go back in and ask them about it and why they didn't tell me they had broken it - "it was like that when you brought it in".
"so how'd you get it off?"
crickets
yeah, i went off on them for (a) using an impact wrench when they shouldn't have, (b) breaking it, (c) leaving it broken and not telling me, (d) "accidentally" forgetting to give me the key back, (e) possibly leaving me to die somewhere if i had a flat and couldn't get my wheel off.
I dunno, i guess I must look like a chump.