Hard time removing bed bolts

[odog]

AH the spud gun. What fun those are. I never used a torch for fuel, I never thought of that, we did fill garbage bags with the mixture and rattled a few windows. It was always fun.

[kcfirstbuild]

ALL DONE with taking apart the bed !! What a nightmare !

[68gmsee]

What method did you wind up using?

I found that tightening mine only rounded the square hole as mentioned above. I believe the easiest method, if I ever encounter that again, is going to be the cutoff wheel. Drilling is too tedious and time consuming and I don't have the fancy equipment like torches and plasma.

[hjewell2]

Originally Posted by red69ss

I center punched them , then step drilled them till the heads came off from the top. deffinently the easiest way I've found to remove them , its probaly easier if you don't try to loosen them first, but still may be effective.

This quote right here is the ticket. I tried this after other methods and found this to be the best.

[Gobbles]

I used the bolt welding tactic. I welded a bolt onto the carriage bolt and then had an assistant hold it while I went underneath and broke the bolt.

I think I did one or two on my own by just resting the wrench on the welded on bolt and used a cheating bar for the wrench to just bind with my bed sidewall as I turned from under. SNAP!

[DANTIP]

Originally Posted by Gobbles

I used the bolt welding tactic. I welded a bolt onto the carriage bolt and then had an assistant hold it while I went underneath and broke the bolt.

I think I did one or two on my own by just resting the wrench on the welded on bolt and used a cheating bar for the wrench to just bind with my bed sidewall as I turned from under. SNAP!

I've always liked the welded nut approach. I'm sure the heat from the weld helps break things loose! I started a fire under a car once using a gas-wrench, now I spark the torch only as a last resort.

[1972RedNeck]

Originally Posted by Rooster's 67

Also used to fill potato cannons with very effective mix of combustible gases.

Originally Posted by odog

AH the spud gun. What fun those are. I never used a torch for fuel, I never thought of that, we did fill garbage bags with the mixture and rattled a few windows. It was always fun.

The oxygen, acetylene, or both?

[odog]

Originally Posted by 1972redneck

the oxygen, acetylene, or both?

both

[kcfirstbuild]

YEp I thought I could tighten them up and BOOM done. NOt the case. I didn't have anything but a 4" grinder to work with. I ended up Grinding the heads flat and thin and Hitting them with a punch once they were paper thin.

[64GMCpickup]

I am still trying to get mine off. I ground about 90 of them with my 9" angle grinder (now it is a 5" grinder) and punched them through. But, I am still left with all of the outside edge. I don't want to grind them because they are too close to the bed walls and the wheel tubs, (I do not want to damage the sheet metal). I tried to drill them out and couldn't even get the drill started. I don't have a torch. This has put a stop to my progress. (extremely frustrating).

Steve

[Clavo106]

if its the bolt head. with 4 1/2 elec grinder I grind in the middle head carefuly and then punch it out. for the bolt stud nut side I use air 3inch angle grinder and split the nut in half. usual works. I've try other methods but that works the best.

[mike16]

Originally Posted by red69ss

I center punched them , then step drilled them till the heads came off from the top. deffinently the easiest way I've found to remove them , its probaly easier if you don't try to loosen them first, but still may be effective.

this is the way to do it

especialy if its one man operation

think of it this way

you know all those millions of rivets that hold an aircraft together?

thats the quickest and most cost effective way to remove them

[englands 71]

I had two stuck . took a cut off wheel and ground the head off and it fell off.

[toolboxchev]

PB Blaster a couple of times, let soak for a day or two, repeat. Then hit them with some heat until you get smoke and hose with cold water. Repeat.

They come right apart. Impact socket works wonders on the little buggers. Get the Benzomatic torch head at Napa and use the green propane cans at the sporting goods stores. (about 25 bucks ) It will get them glowing if you leave it on em long enough. I never had to wait that long.

The cold water shocks them and the rust bond is broken, PB buster is for penetration.

[64GMCpickup]

As stated, I have gone the "angle grind the heads and punch them through) method for 90 or so of them. But, there are about 35 or so left all around the edges (up against the inside bed wall). I have ground some of them flat on top, but in the corners.......... no way. After grinding them flat I think I will try the step-drill method previously described. But I have not been able to find a quality step drill bit (since there are 35 or so left...quality drill bit is a must).
Went to Home Depot and found the Milwaukie step bits.... pretty spendie, but looked to be low quality.
Those of you who have used this method... any suggestions on which type of bits to use?
Thanks for your help everyone.
Steve

[64GMCpickup]

Thank god......... the bed bolts are finally off. WHAT A PAIN IN THE A##.
I tried drilling them out (I don't think so), I tried spraying liquid wrench and impacting them... got a couple, but as a rule they just ended up spinning.
by far the most successful way was to grind off as much of the head as I dared and then using a punch to punch them through. But that was only good for about 90 or 100 of them. For the ones around the edge it is trickier. Sprayed the bolts again with some high priced Aero rust penetrator to some success (about 10 more came loose, and spun a bunch more).
Then busted out the last of the bed boards with a chisel, a saw and a pry bar. Then just had one person hold the bolts while my son used a saws all to get the rest. Thank you Billy.... I was all out of patience for it. But the bed is off and now progress can continue. This was a major hold up.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by 57larry

hot wrench is the way to go

Not on a truck with a wood bed!

[REEDS 72]

Originally Posted by lolife99

Definitely cut them, before you ruin the "square hole" in the bed floor.
New bed bolts are a lot cheaper than repairing the bed floor.

x2