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kotton
Regular
Date registered: Sep 2014
Location: California, Orange County
Vehicle(s): 2006 G-500
Posts: 84
| Hit a snag removing factory running boards
Hi all,
I was removing the factory running boards today from my '06 G500. The drivers side came off no problem, but the right hand side was another story. The previous owners wife scraped the rear of the right hand side on the garage when she was pulling in. Honestly the damage was so minor I didnt think anything of it until I tried to remove that running board today. The rear most bracket has a bolt that will not come out, its not that I cant get it to turn, its that it turns but doesnt back out. I take it there is a nut welded in place somewhere inside the body, that broke its weld when she hit the running board on the garage. Does anyone know if there is a way to get to that nut?
Thanks in advance |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
An equally likely scenario is that the threads rusted where the nut rested in the nut. Then when you twisted the threads failed. Either way, I think your best bet is to grind off the head of the bolt.
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kotton
Regular
Date registered: Sep 2014
Location: California, Orange County
Vehicle(s): 2006 G-500
Posts: 84
| RE: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
That very well could have been the case as well, its just too much of coincidence that every bolt was issue free but the one right next to where the running board was contacted.
I guess its time to break our the trusty sawzall |
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Otiswesty
Administrator
Date registered: Jun 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle(s): 463.241, 461.213
Posts: 3004
| Re: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
Chop chop |
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kotton
Regular
Date registered: Sep 2014
Location: California, Orange County
Vehicle(s): 2006 G-500
Posts: 84
| Re: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
Well its been chop chopped, and now I can install the VTS rock sliders.
I guess I will have to do without that single bolt as the nut obviously fell into the body panel somewhere. I also scratched off a good amount of that grey rubberized undercoating around that bracket, so I'll have to find something similar to spray back on there. |
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| Re: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
kotton - 4/19/2016 6:50 PM
Well its been chop chopped, and now I can install the VTS rock sliders.
I guess I will have to do without that single bolt as the nut obviously fell into the body panel somewhere.
Nut-Sert? |
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Otiswesty
Administrator
Date registered: Jun 2007
Location: Portland, Oregon
Vehicle(s): 463.241, 461.213
Posts: 3004
| Re: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
I agree with Dutch. Put a nut sert in there before you mount the slider. They are easy to install, and there are tons of good Youtube videos out there on the subject.
Having a fastener in there will prevent water ingress into the rocker body channel as well.
http://www.clipsandfasteners.com/Metric_Thinsheet_Nutsert_M8_1_25_p... |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
Installing a nutsert would require getting to the back side of the sheet metal. I think that is inside the bodywork.
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DUTCH
Administrator Doppelgänger
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, GA, Atlanta
Vehicle(s): 2015 Audi Q7 3.0 TDI,2018 Sprinter
Posts: 9963
| RE: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
AlanMcR - 4/19/2016 10:07 PM
Installing a nutsert would require getting to the back side of the sheet metal. I think that is inside the bodywork.
Not so. Installation does not even require special tools. Check out any number of YouTube "how to" videos. Here are a couple:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfQIYLSKGwI
and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Og-tHIR_0I |
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AlanMcR
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: US, CA, Los Altos
Vehicle(s): G300DT E300DT 230SL
Posts: 3500
| RE: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
Very cool! I can think of several uses for these.
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kotton
Regular
Date registered: Sep 2014
Location: California, Orange County
Vehicle(s): 2006 G-500
Posts: 84
| Re: Hit a snag removing factory running boards
The m8 nutsert otiswesty posted above was the cure, and the sliders are now on and looking great. That sure isnt as easy of a job for 1 person as I thought it would be, due to the heft of these sliders and the small amount of space near the bolts. I'm still sore from contorting my body while on the creeper, holding the slider up with one hand, while trying to screw the bolt in with my middle and index fingers.
A good tip to anyone putting these on in the future if your doing it by yourself is to start at the end with the most access room and just get the bottom bolt finger tightened to help hold the slider up. After that do the top bolts first because they are the biggest pain in the ass to get started without stripping the threads. Also I had to trim off the bottom 3.5"'s of my exhaust tip on the drivers side because it made contact with the slider resulting in a jackhammer sound when the engine revved. |
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