Step bar mounting points

[JBrost76]

2019 ram 1500 classic crew cab, new to me last year. It already had step bars on it. I just took them off for some repair work on them and the rockers of the truck. The bars mounted in 3 places on each side to the inner rockers. The middle and rear mounts had u-clips that were slid through an oval hole in the rocker and down to hex holes below for the step bar mounts to bolt through. But the front mounts were different. No u-clips. Bolts straight through the rocker and held somehow on the inside. The bolts on the front mount (both bolts, both sides) easily snapped off upon removal. They were smaller than the bolts used in the other mounts. Does anybody know is there anything different about these front holes from the factory? Interior welded nuts? It doesn't look like rivets to me, no shoulder present on the outside of the inner fender. What's left of the bolts won't hammer into the inside of the rocker, so something is keeping them in place. Gotta figure out how to remount bars when repair work is done.

 

[hunterdan]

Those front ones are m8 rivnuts. Your best best would be to drill them out. The kit ram sells for mounting running boards or steps includes more rivnuts that fit into the hex shaped holes along the bottom of the cab. Centerpunch the holes, careful drill it out, maybe find a 6 or 6.5mm left handed drill bit and you'll get lucky and the remainder of the bolt will come out. If not, an m8 tap should clean the rest of it up.

 

[JBrost76]

Thanks hunterdan! With as easily as the bolts snapped off, I'm not sure I'm going to have a whole lot of luck with left handed bits/extractors, but at least now I know exactly what I'm dealing with. Much appreciated.