Will this work?

[possum]

I have used everything on the broken bolts that are supposed to hold my rear bumper on. Now my question is can I drill a 3/4" or 1" hole through the bottom of the "frame" to gain access to the weld nuts on the inside of the frame? Would this affect the integrity of the frame at all? My idea is to chisel the spot welds and break the nuts free.

[mjeff87]

are the bolts snapped off inside the nuts? is there any of the bolt shank still sticking out of the framerail? If yes, a few good whacks with a deadblow ought to break the welds off the nuts. I know there's not alot of swing-room there with the bottom of the bed section so close to the framerail.

 

I had to use a right angle drill on a couple of mine. Drilled thru the nut and the opposite side of the framerail and then ran a long bolt the whole way through with washers and nuts.

 

If you take the bumper off you can look thru the ends of the framerails and see the nuts, but they're too far back in the frame to get on them with anything (that I can think of anyway....) Good luck.

 

Jeff

[possum]

Yeah they are broke off in the nuts. :wall: Aint really much sticking up past the side of the frame. I will try the hammer idea before cutting.

[Pete M]

What about drilling new holes through the frame for new bolts? Maybe tying into the big shackle bolt?

[MrSimon]

I'd think you can drill a hole in the frame rail without causing any trouble. There are holes like that drilled by the factory in a handful of places on these trucks. Might be a good idea to weld a piece of metal over the hole after you are done.

 

Have you tried getting at the nuts through the open end of the frame rail just below the tailgate? I was able to fit some 1" gas pipe in there and wail on the end of it to brake a bolt out.

 

Also, the 90 degree drill is a great idea. There should be enough room in there to drill it all out - Home Depot rents then for about $20 a day. Just get some 1" grade 8 bolts, lock washers, and nuts .... use some good ol fashion fanagl'n to get the washers and nuts through the frame from the back onto the bolt. You can buy a 24" bendy grabby tool from Autozone for about $7 ... they work.

 

I wouldn't recommend putting a bolt all the way through both frame rails - when you tighten it down, it will sqeeze the rail and cause a weak spot in the frame.

[Pete M]

I wouldn't recommend putting a bolt all the way through both frame rails - when you tighten it down, it will sqeeze the rail and cause a weak spot in the frame.

 

That's actually pretty easy to overcome. Tighten it down a bit, then add a second nut to lock everything in place. That way it isn't relying on the crush tension to keep it put. :D

[Eagle]

That's actually pretty easy to overcome. Tighten it down a bit, then add a second nut to lock everything in place. That way it isn't relying on the crush tension to keep it put. :D

Not a good idea.

[Pete M]

Locktite then?

[MrSimon]

A crush sleave inside the frame would be best.

 

It might be a pain to get in there though. If you can get a sleave in there, might as well just do a bolt through one side of the frame and be done with it.

[possum]

I tried putting a pipe in the frame rail and was able to break a few bolts free. Gonna finish up tonight. Thanks guys for the feedback. :cheers:

[possum]

Breaking the bolts off works very well and it isn't too hard to thread nuts on the bolts inside the frame. The farthest ones foreward I just put a little super glue on the nut glued it on my wrench, tightened it down and broke the glue free. :cheers: