square bed nut removal ?

[sactoC10]

OK, for those of you with wood beds... what is the size of those old square nuts one the underside of the bed bolt strips? And, what is the secret to getting them removed. I am thinking that a socket end could work if it has the right notches, but what size socket can I get on that square nut? Do I have to buy a special "nut removal" tool (so-to-speak) ?

[StingRay]

Square nut sockets are available. You'll probably break most of the bolts. Some will spin on the top side, grab em with vise grips or tack em to the flange with a mig. Some will probably take a grinder and an air chisel to get out.

[dtlilly]

After removing all the wood boards, hold the shaft of the bolt with vice grips. I used a 7/16" open end wrench (stand on end over nut). Then take a 3/8" open end wrench and turn the 7/16" wrench. Some will break, some will turn loose, good luck.

[sactoC10]

Sounds like a WHOLE BUNCH OF FUN...not!!! Don't I need to remove all the nuts before I can remove the wood? Or can I simply get one strip loose, then slide the boards around a bit to access the bottom side of the next strip?

[StingRay]

With the middle boards that's pretty much right but the outside boards are bolted through. If they are old and rotten you might be able to just rip em out. A Sawzall and a BFH can get most of the work done. If the bed you have is not a realy a gem then you can take a sawzall and cut the bolts after the wood is gone.

[sactoC10]

Bed is nice, and the wood is even nice. It was painted yellow, then covered with a camper, so it is not split, rotted, bowed or anything...it acually might even be worth refinshing...that's how good the wood is. Want to preserve it as best possible.

[jim walker]

go to sears and buy an eight point socket (7/16) and use some WD 40. that s all there is to it.

[busterwivell]

Spray them well with PB Blaster the night before and it will make the job a lot easier.

[truckman32]

i'm going to try something different on my 84 c10 the bolts are not worth the problem in removing them to keep, so i'm going to drill a 19/64 whole right in the center of the head on the bolt and use a 19/64 easy out and clamp some do it your self craftsman vise grips.and if that don't work i'm tack welding the head of the bolts to my bed floor and if that don't work I'm just going to my muffler shop and have joe heat them suckers up and take them out for about 20.00 and just put a couple new bolts in until i get back home for the life of me i can't understand why the factory put a bolt in with out a hex or allen head bolt so they could be removed a lot easier i know that's what i'm putting back in when i put my bed back on if anybody tries any of these solutions and they work or not let us know SACTOC10 if your wood is nice and you haven't got your bed of yet i would go with sollution 3 muffler shop

[sactoC10]

Yup, the more I see typical wood beds after all these years, the more I realize my wood is in very good shape. Thanks for the ideas.

[truckman32]

Originally Posted by sactoC10

Yup, the more I see typical wood beds after all these years, the more I realize my wood is in very good shape. Thanks for the ideas.

well i got one of the bolts off i used the 19/64 bit and drilled as close in the center as possible and sprayed some pb blaster on the tap and clamped the vise grips on and barley tapped the 19/64 easy out into the head of the bolt and just turned it easy taking my time i got 1 squeek out of the whole deal presto out comes the bolt

[cdowns]

i always just take a grinder and grind the heads down and drive them thru with a punch takes about 30-45seconds per bolt

[truckman32]

I thought about grinding but it's almost inpossible to keep from grinding into the bedfloor and wood floors look awful after grinding into the wood

http://hometown.aol.com/staindoutsid...age/index.html

[junkyardjohn]

I ALWAYS USE A CUTOFF WHEEL. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO TAKE A CHANCE ON SCREWING UP THE WOOD.... CUT FROM UNDERNEATH. JOHN

[guyryan100]

i pulled the bed and just grinded 'em all apart from the bottom. No risk of damaging anything pretty that way...

[truckman32]

there are many ways of doing this but this is the best way i have found .

[WB72]

If you don't want to buy a special socket, just take a peice of threaded rod and put 3 or 4 nuts on it to make a "Long nut", then take 2 sockets and match the working ends together over the long nut and there you have a 3/8" square socket.

I spent alot of time triing to remove the bolts that most of them brok or spun in the top strip, so in the last 5 strips, I just tightened them and it was alot quicker.

I used 9/16 sockets because I thought that a stronger bolt was needed than the ones I was triing to break.

[sactoC10]

WB72,

I can't visualize what you are describing... almost sounds do-able, but not quite getting it.

[WB72]

See if you can understand my rough drawing.

An artist, I am not.

[truckman32]

wb72 Carriage bolts is what he should have holding his bed down so they have the button head on them so there is no way to hold them from turning

[Fred T]

Got torch?

[WB72]

Oh, my mistake. My only thoughts might be to smash them with a hammerfrom the bottom of the bed. Or as Fred T says torch em.