Snapped Bed Bolts

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Curious Hound I don't ever ignore you.
You know more about these trucks in your little finger then I do in my whole body.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

I just think/thought that the sides of the clip that lay on top of the frame rail will fight being bent and pushed through the hole while the punch is being hammered.

 

[Brain75]

I've sat back and watched this drama unfold and I keep thinking one thing... It can't be tight if it's a liquid... blue axe time!


(take a bunch of soaking wet bath towels and drape and wad em up against/on everything remotely related to gas tank, and have a fire extinguisher handy... might even wheel it outside just for the extra safety.)

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Brain
What is:
Blue axe?

 

[Brain75]

It's also way way too late for a pro tip, but I nearly broke my bed bolts off too (1st thing I did when it became mine was fix the broken gas gauge)... Breakover bar is actually worse for snapping em, a good air impact is best... and lots of pb blaster and patience...

 

[Brain75]

cutting torch

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Thank you Brain.
I'm taking it a Blue axe is a cutting torch.

The two times my brother and I've took a bed off a Ranger since I've been out we've used a cordless battery powered 20v impact.

 

[Brain75]

another pro tip on that (and any other large bolt) if you get it to move even a tiny bit, switch to tighten and work it back and forth tightening/loosening - just don't over-tighten it to the point you shear the head off... more wd40/pb blaster/similar and more patience....

Try getting head bolts of a 1948 flathead that was parked for 40 years and the last rebuild was 1952

 

[Curious Hound]

I just think/thought that the sides of the clip that lay on top of the frame rail will fight being bent and pushed through the hole while the punch is being hammered.

That's the puzzling part because the clip is only supposed to have threads on the bottom side. Once the clip is broken in half, the top part should, in theory slide off the broken bolt. The hammer and punch is supposed to break the rust loose and allow the broken bolt and bottom half of the clip to fall free. Obviously, things are worse than they should be.

 

[Curious Hound]

Thank you Brain.
I'm taking it a Blue axe is a cutting torch.

The two times my brother and I've took a bed off a Ranger since I've been out we've used a cordless battery powered 20v impact.

First time I took my bed off, I used a long 1/2" breaker bar with a 2ft piece of pipe to extend the handle. Broke my first torx bit. But I got the screws out.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Curious, he said that the bolt moves around in the hole but the clip is still making it so the bolt won't come out.

 

[Brain75]

I am of course being a little bit funny, I don't think we are at the point of blue axe just yet. a nice sharp chisel and a 10 pound sledge and any remnants of the clips would be gone or I would have spent 8 hours on it and busted my knuckle before i fired up a torch with fuel lines on one side and tank on the other... not really a good way to blanket everything that is in there, and flying slag likes to melt through hoses and leave leaks.

I'd just chisel the hell out of the clip till it was all busted off if you think that will remove it at this point.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

My phone is slow as all get out tonight.

 

[ShhhhhDougsHere]

Now my phone just said 21 updates available.

 

[Snoranger]

I’ve ran into this once before. That little tab is the strongest piece of metal on the planet. You could use a punch and a sledgehammer and hope the bolt will come out. I’d just put the bed back on with 5 bolts.