Help removing two rear body bolts

[Heus33]

I'm putting in a 1" BL on my rig and have all of the bolts out except for the last two near the tailgate. Both the bolts snapped off (I work out :-* ). How should I get the rest of the bolt out? I can cut them with a sawzall but that will leave a bit of the bolt inside the threaded mount. Anyone got any ideas?

 

[Viperwolf1]

Drop a long, large bolt in the hole so that it sits on top of the broken one then get a BFH and pound it out through the bottom. It will either deform the plate on the bottom of the mount or break the welds on the nut welded to the plate.

 

[Madgyver]

Use a long drift instead..

 

[Heus33]

Use a long drift instead..

Whats a drift?

 

[blubuckaroo]

Whats a drift?

A large flat ended punch.

 

[Broncobowsher]

At least yours broke when trying to remove it. I have one broken and I have never tried to remove it. I am really dreading the body mounts that really need to be replaced. I know every single one of them (except the right front under the headlight) is going to fight me to the end. I already fought that one on the right front corner.

 

[Heus33]

My front two came out with no issues - even the battery tray was in good shape.

The bolts under the footrests were a bit rusty but I just used a cutoff wheel underneath and chopped off the bolt above the nut :-X and they came right out.

The ones behind the seats were VERY hard to get out - but after a lot of swearing and a breaker bar they came out.

The ones in the rear snapped and that will be tomorrow's journey.

Hardest part was locating the bolts and cutting a hole through the steel plate that the PO used to patch the floors.

 

[TN1776]

X2 on the drift and BFH approach. That is how the rear bolts on my rig came out. If memory serves I actually cut the bolts with a sawzall, right through the mount and all, then drifted the bolt out of the mount. There is no threaded piece that remains on the frame.

 

[broncosbybart]

i don't know if you're just planning a body lift or removing the body. if you're removing the body, wait until you've got it off to remove the mounts. it always helps to have more room and to be able to see what you're doing. i usually hold the punch w/vicegrips, as i don't trust my hammering ability....

 

[Viperwolf1]

i usually hold the punch w/vicegrips, as i don't trust my hammering ability....

That's when you need a buddy. Have them hold the punch with their hand and then you wack it with the hammer.

 

[Heus33]

Just putting in a 1" lift. Had no idea the rubber bushings were so rotted in some parts. Just ordered new poly bushings so this is on hold until I get the new bushings delivered.

....and what started out as a small project continues to grow.... ahh the joys of bronco ownership!

 

[GraficO]

When I did mine with Newell a few weeks ago... it was quite a chore. I got the fronts done by myself... the floor pan ones were removed when I did my pans... so those were easy... we had to use a sawzall for the 2 behind the seats (about 2hrs to get em out) and the rears were a little grumpy but they eventually came out with the sawzall too. Replaced em all with standard lift poly bushings and it was a done deal.

If I have to replace the 2 behind the seat ever again... I might hire someone to do it... that was a pain in the arse. All were rotten and the bolts and nut plates were welded together with rust. The bushings themselves were like hockey pucks and were fairly deformed. I guess that's what happens on a 40yo truck

 

[Heus33]

When everyone says to use a sawzall to 'cut the old bushings in half' do you mean in half horizontally or vertically? Theres not much room in there - is everone using a 6" metal blade? Or would a wood blade work better for rubber?

 

[Crewwzin]

When everyone says to use a sawzall to 'cut the old bushings in half' do you mean in half horizontally or vertically? Theres not much room in there - is everone using a 6" metal blade? Or would a wood blade work better for rubber?

Cut horizontally with a metal blade. You're not so much cutting the bushing as you are the bolt. I only had to cut 3 out but thats because 3 of the 8 were missing alltogether. I wasnt complaining cause it saved me that much more time. But, I agree with everyone else in saying that the rear ones are a PITA.

 

[Explorer]

Horizontal, metal blade, it will smoke like the devil. Made me a little nervous that close to gas tank.

 

[Viperwolf1]

Here's a tip for the front 4 mounts. If you can get the bolt out or even just broken out, then you can use a small (7/8 in outside diameter) hole saw up from the bottom center of the bushing. You only need to cut through the thin washer plate on the bottom then you can pull the lower rubber off. It's a lot faster than a sawsall.

 

[Crewwzin]

Here's a tip for the front 4 mounts. If you can get the bolt out or even just broken out, then you can use a small (3/4 in) hole saw up from the bottom center of the bushing. You only need to cut through the thin washer plate on the bottom then you can pull the lower rubber off. It's a lot faster than a sawsall.

Now is that 3/4 OD or ID? Because what I call a 3/4 holesaw (electricians trade size) actually makes a hole 1 1/8.

 

[dkoril]

when i cut mine out i cut directly under the metal plate that is inbetween the body and the bushing. if you do it right you will have less friction and will cut faster. however if you cut in the middle you create more smoke and the blade will cut a lot slower. make sure you are well ventilated. you dont want to breathe that smoke. one more thing, and this is very important, when installing the new mounts make sure you put a piece of duct tape under the seat body mounts. there is a hole in the frame that all of the little parts will fall into. trust me i know. i had to cut a whole in my frame to get the bushing sleeve out. fun stuff. one other tip, when installing those body mounts use the closed end of an open ended wrench and put a piece of duct tape on one side to hold the nut in place otherwise you will get very frustrated trying to start the nut. i would also have a friend there to help. good luck

 

[Viperwolf1]

Ok, just went and looked at the size. It is actually 7/8 in outside diameter.

 

[TXHusker]

maybe I missed something but I didn't see where anyone mentioned any penetrating oil or something to break down the rust.

is that not an option? If not, why?