Experience removing body mounting bolts

[commanch]

I have a 2019 Tradesman Classic and want to remove the rusted running boards that came with the truck (I purchased used).
The boards are mounted to a body mounting bolt, and from the few videos and message boards I've come across, it looks like they can be rusted and can snap off. Has anyone had any experience removing them? Do you need to jack the frame up to keep it aligned with the body if you try and remove them? I'd like to do it myself, but I really don't want to have to deal with the fallout of the bolt breaks off inside the body. It's $170 to remove at a dealership too, but I'm almost wondering if it might be worth it for the headache if they snap...

 

[Jeepwalker]

Did you try removing it? It doesn't look too bad by the picture. I'd put a breaker-bar and 6-pt socket on it and see what happens. Don't get too rough with it. It should be a hardened bolt, and being a 2019...not (hopefully) too badly rusted. They should have loctite on the threads which help keep bolts and threads them from rusting real bad. W/o Loctite or a locking agent of some type, body mount bolts tend to un-thread and fall out. There've been some posts on this forum about missing body bolts from time to time. I've replaced body bushings with new bolts on an older GM and in an amazingly short period one literally fell out. Fortunately it was on our nearby street and I happened to see it. And the other side was almost completely unthreaded. During the time I was working on it and moving it around they would start to unthread. It was kind of eye-opening. I put a thread locker on them affter that and no problems since.

So give them a try and see what happens. With a thread-locker you'll have to turn kind of hard to break free. [EDIT: ...removed the part about applying heat to the bolt/s]. You could also spray some penetrating fluid up there and lube them if you can get a straw in there. But if you do...spray the threads up there clean with carb cleaner afterwards so they are clean and dry and the thread-locker will grab like it should.


When you put them back in, be sure to apply some thread locking compound (give them time to set up) so you don't have to buy a new bolt from the dealer for $10 ea. They're not like a hardware-store bolt. Let us know how it goes.

 

[mikeru]

I can't speak to removing body mounting bolts on a Ram but in 2019 I removed body mounting bolts on a 1978 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. They were rusted up pretty good but came out just fine.

Dealing with broken bolts always sucks, so it might be worth paying to have them removed if you aren't experienced with it. What exactly do you mean when you asked about jacking up the frame? When I removed the cab bolts on the Chevy I didn't jack anything up to remove the bolts.

 

[Jeepwalker]

To remove the bracket you won't need to jack anything up Once you remove the bolt the lower bushing will come off...with the bracket.

 

[Grams]

Heating those bolts will likely damage the rubber bushings… If they don’t readily unthread…. you might consider simply cutting that bracket with a hack-saw if you don’t intend to reuse the body bolt for a new installation.

 

[Jeepwalker]

..Heating those bolts will likely damage the rubber bushings…

I was talking about *mild* heat....not a lot. But you're right ...I agree with you ...if a guy doesn't know what he's doing. I went back and edited out that section. Good call. That's the thing about an internet forum -- you don't know who you're dealing with on the other end. Some people (not talking about the OP) have insanely bad judgement. You tell a guy to put a little heat on a bolt and next thing you know they parked the truck over a raging campfire. "You said use some heeeeeeaaat!!!"

Slightly Unrelated Story About Questionable Judgement: Wife, kid and I were 4-wheeling in the Rockies some years ago. We were in an area up near or past the tree-line where larger rocks, loose rock ruts and the off-road mountain trails become stepped and you need to choose your 'line' pretty carefully to get through. And we're talking about 12"-18" rock steps in some cases. San Juan County. And it's a loooong death-roll to the bottom if you get off the trail. But it's also very beautiful!!

We pull over at a certain stepped-rock and rutted section of the trail to check things out, look at our line options, and enjoy the gorgeous scenery. Maybe take a wiz or get a drink of water. Well, along comes a guy in a Toyota car...of all things, threading his way up the trail going like crazy. How he made it that far IDK. I guess the trail wasn't too bad up to that point. It was actually a fairly new car, but also really beat-up for it's age. Wasn't a rental he said. Guy gets out, looks things over. My wife says to him "...you're not going to make it past this obstacle in THAT car ..guy.". He says, "are you kidding, piece of cake...watch me!"

Well, I figured ok, maybe this guy is one of those really super amazing off-roaders who lives local ....can pick a great 'line' and gently crawl & thread his way through places other guys can't. Even in a car. After all, he made it this far. So I figured it would be worth watching...maybe learn something. I was thinking in my mind "Ok...well if he goes far over to the edge and..well, goes that way, then crosses over, maybe stacks some rocks *maybe* he can make it??." Wife and I move the Hummer off to the side. What does he do?? He backs way up and guns it....gets up a lot of speed and slams his little Toyota hatchback right into the f-ing steps of the trail!!!! No attempt at all to choose a line. Just a kamakazi run! Everything goes CRUNCH! And BANG!! Remember, this car had like 13" wheels on it. This obstacle section was like 30' long..it wasn't one rock! The little car bounces this way and that like a pinball and swings around. Plastic wheel cover flies off, other plastic here and there. Front bumper half hanging off. He made it like 3' into the trail. Lucky he didn't get hung up. I can see his front steel rim is all bent to heck (tire still held air), tie rod or something is making the wheel point outwards. Bent/cracked front plastic. I imagine he bent the front of the frame/body.

My wife and I, we've off-roaded for decades....we honestly couldn't believe we saw what we just saw!! Who the he|| would do that!? Frankly he had enough speed, if things went terribly wrong he risked shooting to the edge of the trail and could have rolled all the way down the mountain! He doesn't even know how dangerous it was ..what he did. We were MILES from the nearest small town and probably 3 hours from a legit hospital (and tow truck)! What was he thinking?

The guy (turns out was a city-slicker Millennial with no concept of off-roading) gets out, scratches his head...and looks at the front of his car and this more challenging stretch, and decides he's gone as far as he can go. We were surprised his little Toyota didn't bust a ball joint or sustain greater damage. I'm sure the steering was all f-ed up. He guns it with wreckless abandon this way and that, gets off the rocks and turns around and heads back w/o saying a single word... I wouldn't believe the story if hadn't seen it first hand. The astonished frozen look on my daughters face was precious!! Ha ha.

Back to the main post...give the bolt a try working back-fourth and see how it goes. If it's not coming, maybe let some penetrating fluid soak on the threads if you can get a straw through a crack up there.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[mrack]

Those bolts with just a flat washer will come out no problem with a 1/2” impact or breaker bar with a long tube as an extension. It’s the 2 rear most cab bolts with the big dampeners on them you have to worry about, they always snap for me but I’ve not tried on anything newer then a 2010. On a 2019 I wouldn’t think you need worry

 

[commanch]

Did you try removing it? It doesn't look too bad by the picture. I'd put a breaker-bar and 6-pt socket on it and see what happens. Don't get too rough with it. It should be a hardened bolt, and being a 2019...not (hopefully) too badly rusted. They should have loctite on the threads which help keep bolts and threads them from rusting real bad. W/o Loctite or a locking agent of some type, body mount bolts tend to un-thread and fall out. There've been some posts on this forum about missing body bolts from time to time. I've replaced body bushings with new bolts on an older GM and in an amazingly short period one literally fell out. Fortunately it was on our nearby street and I happened to see it. And the other side was almost completely unthreaded. During the time I was working on it and moving it around they would start to unthread. It was kind of eye-opening. I put a thread locker on them affter that and no problems since.

So give them a try and see what happens. With a thread-locker you'll have to turn kind of hard to break free. [EDIT: ...removed the part about applying heat to the bolt/s]. You could also spray some penetrating fluid up there and lube them if you can get a straw in there. But if you do...spray the threads up there clean with carb cleaner afterwards so they are clean and dry and the thread-locker will grab like it should.


When you put them back in, be sure to apply some thread locking compound (give them time to set up) so you don't have to buy a new bolt from the dealer for $10 ea. They're not like a hardware-store bolt. Let us know how it goes.

I didn't try it yet. I did see a tool someone using in a video on a Ford that heated up the bolts so it would be easier to remove.The bolts came right off with an impact wrench after they were heated. But I doubt I'm going to buy that tool.

 

[commanch]

I can't speak to removing body mounting bolts on a Ram but in 2019 I removed body mounting bolts on a 1978 Chevy 3/4 ton pickup. They were rusted up pretty good but came out just fine.

Dealing with broken bolts always sucks, so it might be worth paying to have them removed if you aren't experienced with it. What exactly do you mean when you asked about jacking up the frame? When I removed the cab bolts on the Chevy I didn't jack anything up to remove the bolts.

I thought someone mentioned to me once that essentially those bolts are very important because it keeps the frame connected to the body. Maybe he meant not to drive it that way. Also, i saw another video were the bolt did snap, and the person doing the video put some cut 2x4s on a jack to basically push the body frame up to use a saw to cut the broken bolt and get better access. I'm clearly new to this as you can see by how I'm describing this.

 

[Jeepwalker]

It keeps the cab mounted to the frame.

 

[mrack]

The tool you mention is an induction bolt heater, costs a lot more then the $170 to have them removed by a shop.