# Stuck cab bolt NEED HELP



## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

Im putting a body lift in my truck, and need to remove three bolts on both sides of the cab. I got the driver side bolts and the front one on the pasenger side loose, but the middle and back one on the pass. side got stuck and I ground off the head, and pulled out the pads between the cab and frame. I got a vise grips on the middle one and got it off. The back one wont move, the vise grips just spins. Ive sprayed it with PB Blaster and heated it but it wont budge. I know its not plowing related but my truck is now not driveable, and you guys all really know your stuff, so I figured Id ask, Im kinda in a real pickle here. 
The truck is a 1996 Chevy Cheyenne 2wd 2500.


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## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

Just cut that bolt and jack cab to up then push bolt out it.

That what we did with 79 F150 and we put new bolts on it. It have body lift kit so I remove because I didn't like it.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

Its going up into the cab.


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## Milwaukee (Dec 28, 2007)

farmerkev;622959 said:


> Its going up into the cab.


No bolt from cab to under frame?


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## heavyiron (Dec 7, 2007)

Kev,

I've never had a look at cab mount bolts on your model truck so I don't know about clearances, etc.... But can you weld a nut onto the bolt to replace the bolt head and go at it again with a wrench?


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

It goes from the frame, up into the cab.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

heavyiron;622963 said:


> Kev,
> 
> I've never had a look at cab mount bolts on your model truck so I don't know about clearances, etc.... But can you weld a nut onto the bolt to replace the bolt head and go at it again with a wrench?


I can but I dont have the stuff to do it.


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## heavyiron (Dec 7, 2007)

How big is the bolt, like 1/2" or 5/8"? Can you grind two flat spots onto opposite sides of it and use an open- end wrench?


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

The head was a 15mm bolt, but the head was ground off, the shank that is left is only probably a 1/4" round. But that is a dood idea.


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

thay had loc-tite on them factory and years of rust. since you have old body bushing out then heat the ever lovin piss out of the bolt till glowing red all the way up in the cab area. it will come out. 

and the nut is captured in the floor and no way to pop up and out like the older trucks,


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

sweetk30;622988 said:


> thay had loc-tite on them factory and years of rust. since you have old body bushing out then heat the ever lovin piss out of the bolt till glowing red all the way up in the cab area. it will come out.
> 
> and the nut is captured in the floor and no way to pop up and out like the older trucks,


Yep, nowhere for it to go up. I heated them up, but not that hot. Im using a soldering torch, will it give out that kinda heat?


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## exmark1 (Nov 30, 2005)

Not related to how to fix the problem... But why a lift in a 4x2 pickup? Whats the purpose


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

exmark1;622998 said:


> Not related to how to fix the problem... But why a lift in a 4x2 pickup? Whats the purpose


Why lift a 4x4?


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## theplowmeister (Nov 14, 2006)

It looks COOOOL


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## exmark1 (Nov 30, 2005)

Alot of people do it for ground clearance reasons... or like has been said it looks cool


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

theplowmeister;623028 said:


> It looks COOOOL


Thats why Im doing it on this truck. I also may throw in 4x4 later on down the road.

Back on topic, any other suggestions?


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## gd8boltman (Dec 18, 2002)

*There is no way a soldering torch will provide enough*

heat to turn out that bolt. You need to use a real torch and it will come out no question.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

gd8boltman;623067 said:


> heat to turn out that bolt. You need to use a real torch and it will come out no question.


I dont have acsess to a real torch.

Any good heavy duty EZ out things out there.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

If I was to heat it up to say almost red hot, would i still use the vise grips to turn it?


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

red-hot

visegrips

turn-it-out.

like-i-said-before


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## ken75ranger (Mar 17, 2007)

I'd go with a sawsall or cut off wheel right through the mount.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

I still need the mounts to be uesable.


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## sechracer (Nov 4, 2007)

Like sweetk30 said, heat the pi$$ out of it and turn it with vice grips, your bensol torch might get it hot enough but it will take a lil bit to get it there. I know when I am working with bolts like thatr, if I can get it to do it safely, I will prop the mini torch and let it sit there heating it up while I smoke a cig or drink a beer or both. Also, before you try to heat it up, take a dead blow hammer and whack the bolt on the end, may help with breaking up the loctite and taking some of the stress off of the threads.


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## TLB (Jan 19, 2007)

any members in your area with a torch?

How about taking it down to the local muffler shop and offering a few bucks to heat the bolts up,, just a thought.


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## Vulcanclassic15 (Feb 6, 2007)

All you need is a small torch. You can get one at Lowes / Home Depot for like $20.00. You can get differant types of gas for it. Heat it up, smack it with a hammer & turn it out with vise grips.


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## Dstosh (Dec 30, 2003)

get a mapp gas torch. should be in a yellow can Should cost less than $50


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

I got it with the propane soldering torch. The cab is now 3" taller than the bed. Tommorow Ill do the cab. 

Theres still 3 bolts on both side of the bed, Ive sprayed them with PB blaster and I think Ill heat them up for a minute before I do each one, to make sure I dont have to grind them, because Ill never get a grinder up there. Any other suggestions to make sure they come off the first time?


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

OMG you guys are silly.... you gringd the bold head smoth, then center punch it, drill a small hole and use an EASY OUT SET.... then the threads will be fine,.... and for those that havnt used this before... they work too well - $20


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

you take your easy out and keep it. in the heavy rust belt and gm / loctite corporation you need heat. 

and try drilling hardened bolts in the grd 8 range. not to easy to do.

and when bolt does come out with full 650ft lb impact sometimes i dont think your easy out will get it. 

dont get me wrong i have had the pleasure of working on super clean stuff and yep it comes out like butter most of the time. 

glad you got it with what you had.


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

well theres not alot of choices here

if an easy out doesnt work you can always tourch it out

but i personally dont like the idea of heating anything that would be remotley close to the floor, cab , or interior of the truck. and the purpose of heating it , isnt to heat the acctual blot, but rather the nut thats holding it in... so it expands, and seperates from the bold


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

sweetk30;624062 said:


> you take your easy out and keep it. in the heavy rust belt and gm / loctite corporation you need heat.
> 
> and try drilling hardened bolts in the grd 8 range. not to easy to do.
> 
> ...


Any advice on getting the other bolts out before they break?


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

elite1msmith;624075 said:


> well theres not alot of choices here
> 
> if an easy out doesnt work you can always tourch it out
> 
> but i personally dont like the idea of heating anything that would be remotley close to the floor, cab , or interior of the truck. and the purpose of heating it , isnt to heat the acctual blot, but rather the nut thats holding it in... so it expands, and seperates from the bold


I already got the problem bolt out.


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

good work , vise grips i take it?


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## brad96z28 (Aug 21, 2005)

elite1msmith;623956 said:


> OMG you guys are silly.... you gringd the bold head smoth, then center punch it, drill a small hole and use an EASY OUT SET.... then the threads will be fine,.... and for those that havnt used this before... they work too well - $20


If it where that easy it would have came out when it had a head on it.


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

heat worked last time .

heat up the bolt and let it cool a bit then try it. if no repeat. 

i work on this stuff all day and even frozen suspension bolts. i use the best and fastest tricks i have. and these are it. 

big impact.

big air hammer with lots of diffrent bits.

big heat like oxy/act tourch outfit.


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## elite1msmith (Sep 10, 2007)

brad96z28;624105 said:


> If it where that easy it would have came out when it had a head on it.


if it were the case , than why was that tool invented in the first place? my guess is situations were the head had to be cut off, or snapped off ?


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

More problems. I backed the truck up into grandmas garage tonight so Id have some light and a dry surface to work on. I got the front bolt on the pass. side no problem, then went onto the same bolt on the drivers side. I had loosened this bolt about 1-2 turns holding an electric impact on it for about 5 minnutes. I put the breaker on it, and SNAP! Now I can move it up and down a little bit (about as much as it was loosened) and I can turn it all I want but it wont come any looser. Its threaded into some C channel on the bed bottom that Im sure has a nut welded into it, and I think I broke the weld. Ill have to cut about a 2"x2" hole in the bed to get down into the c channel, and I can weld in a new bolt, or use a regular bolt.


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## Vulcanclassic15 (Feb 6, 2007)

I would just remove the rest of the bolts that hold the bed (you will be takeing them out any way) then remove bed from truck (jack it up to split it from fram & clear the lenght of the stuck bolts), get some help to completly remove bed from the truck & flip it over or on its side, then you can take the bolts out the easy way.


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## farmerkev (Dec 7, 2007)

The bolt that is now the problem is keeping the bed on the frame still.


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## sweetk30 (Sep 3, 2006)

you now need a tourch to melt the head off. wesport


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