Running Board Nut Issue

[jhgnag]

I'm hopping someone has a bright idea here. I just bought an SR5, but didn't want the running boards. I bought one with them because it was the best price and figured I would just take them off.

I unscrewed the 12 bolts, took the boards off, then reattached the bolts. Well the last one felt tight coming off, tight going back on, then pop! It won't come off, but is just loose. I think the nut must have been welded to the body and broke loose. I suspect it was cross threaded when the board was originally installed. It's going to drive me crazy. There are still 5 bolts holding the bottom fascia on, but I don't want a loose bolt on there. I took it by the dealer yesterday who was no help whatsoever.

Any ideas? Does anyone know if I can get to the nut by pulling up the carpet?

 

[Antman]

You cant get to it from under the carpet.

Here's what I would do-

Put a rag around the threads on the bolt and grip it tightly with some needle-nose ViceGrips. Take a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel ( the standard cut-off wheels are junk) and cut the bolt head off. Go to Home Depot with one of your good bolts and find a nut that will thread onto it. You will be able to thread the nut onto your new "stud" to tighten it up with a little patience. You will probably need to grip the threads again, but it will tighten up. I did this on my Titan and it worked like a charm.
You can even re-attach the running board that way if you want.

 

[jhgnag]

You cant get to it from under the carpet.

Here's what I would do-

Put a rag around the threads on the bolt and grip it tightly with some needle-nose ViceGrips. Take a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel ( the standard cut-off wheels are junk) and cut the bolt head off. Go to Home Depot with one of your good bolts and find a nut that will thread onto it. You will be able to thread the nut onto your new "stud" to tighten it up with a little patience. You will probably need to grip the threads again, but it will tighten up. I did this on my Titan and it worked like a charm.
You can even re-attach the running board that way if you want.

That's a pretty damn good idea. I guess I would hope that the original nut catches and just doesn't keep spinning...right? I'm not sure how much bolt I still have hanging down, but I'll check that tomorrow. Thank you.

 

[Antman]

No prob! Post back if it works for you...
Once you cut the bolt head off, it may be a little tough to get that nut started. The stud will definitely try to spin- you will need to grip it carefully to get it snug. Hopefully it's long enough- try to get a nut that's not too thick... Uh I can't believe I just wrote that.

 

[kingpin748]

Lol. Nut issues. Lol.

I get those sometimes also.

 

[Johnny Utah]

You cant get to it from under the carpet.

Here's what I would do-

Put a rag around the threads on the bolt and grip it tightly with some needle-nose ViceGrips. Take a Dremel with a fiber cut-off wheel ( the standard cut-off wheels are junk) and cut the bolt head off. Go to Home Depot with one of your good bolts and find a nut that will thread onto it. You will be able to thread the nut onto your new "stud" to tighten it up with a little patience. You will probably need to grip the threads again, but it will tighten up. I did this on my Titan and it worked like a charm.
You can even re-attach the running board that way if you want.

hehehe. i know that game. I actually sent the poster a PM with this exact same story. I guess he hasn't gotten my message! Great Idea ANTMAN

 

[Antman]

hehehe. i know that game. I actually sent the poster a PM with this exact same story. I guess he hasn't gotten my message! Great Idea ANTMAN

When do you want to fix yours?

 

[jhgnag]

Well, I took a look today and luckily I got the bolt 95% of the way on. There is about 1mm left, so no room to get needle nose pliers in there, and there definitely wouldn't be any thread left for a nut. Any other bright ideas?

I supposed I'm hosed for sliders as well...

 

[Antman]

Well that sucks.... If you just want to get it tight without it rattling around- with 1mm of clearance I would try...

Get a fender washer slightly thicker than the space left between the bolt head and the truck body. Cut a slot into the fender washer the width of the bolt threads and, using a punch and hammer, slide it in the space to take up the slack. You may need to file or sand the edge that's slotted to get it in there, but I don't think so.
I doubt you are getting it out or tight at this point without cutting a hole to access the nut...

 

[Johnny Utah]

When do you want to fix yours?

i know, i know. dammit.

 

[jhgnag]

No prob! Post back if it works for you...
Once you cut the bolt head off, it may be a little tough to get that nut started. The stud will definitely try to spin- you will need to grip it carefully to get it snug. Hopefully it's long enough- try to get a nut that's not too thick... Uh I can't believe I just wrote that.

I think I may have been looking at this wrong. I may be able to cut off the bolt head, even with only 1mm of thread. I can hold on to the bolt head with a wrench and cut just above it. The good news is that it is the bolt front/passenger, so I can actually reach the nut with a small wrench if I remove the rubber plug. It's about 1 inch in diameter. I would just take it off except the formally welded nut is round, so nothing to grab.

Now to find my Dremel...

Johnny Utah, I hadn't found the PM until today. Thanks for the response.

 

[jhgnag]

It worked. I cut the bolt head off with the Dremel, then was able to pull the remainder if the bolt plus the nut that had the weld break through the 1 inch access hole with one of those telescoping magnet things. Worked great. Can't believe what quick work the Dremel made of it.

I sprayed the sheet metal with some primer and will find a replacement bolt tomorrow hopefully. It will be a little tricky getting the nut in, but I think I could tape the back of it to a wrench and slide it in that same access hole. BTW, I think the nut is not round, but 13mm. I was trying the 12mm from the bolt, and then smaller, but it's actually a little bigger.

Thanks for the suggestion. Sure beats the suggestion from the dealership that wanted to cut a hole in the sheet metal on the passenger floor.

 

[Antman]

Glad it worked out!

 

[FlannelShanel]

Hey all, hoping to connect to someone on an older thread (or any thread, for that matter). I'm pulling the running boards off of my '15 trail, and one of the bolts is doing the exact same thing. It seems that the nut inside of the frame broke loose, and now the bolt is just spinning. I haven't had any luck with cutting off the bolt, as I still have the bracket on. I'll post some pics below. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!