Body Bolt Nut Spinning Free - Advice

[danflashes]

Was installing rock hard slides on my JT and despite trying to be gentle it seems all three passenger side body bolt nuts are spinning free inside the frame. Oddly enough driver side ones tightened up just fine, just cannot get the passenger side ones on! Have seen in other threads that people drilled access holes in the floor to be able to reach in with pliers and hold the nut - was wondering if anyone had pictures of where theirs are. It’s not immediately obvious from the inside where the best place to cut a hole is and I’d rather cut one clean hole than go on a fishing expedition if I can avoid it. I think the rear one I might just be able to access through the side of the housing around the bolt unless someone tells me that’s a terrible idea, ha!

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[thedeatons]

Do not drill.

Slowly push the long bolt into the hole while slowly turning righty-tighty (clockwise) in hopes you can get the bolt to catch the first thread on the nut. If you can get it to catch, then pull down on the bolt while slowly turning righty-tighty and it should cinch up that way.

I drove around for a week with 3 bolts out while I tried to figure it out....

James

 

[danflashes]

Do not drill.

Slowly push the long bolt into the hole while slowly turning righty-tighty (clockwise) in hopes you can get the bolt to catch the first thread on the nut. If you can get it to catch, then pull down on the bolt while slowly turning righty-tighty and it should cinch up that way.

I drove around for a week with 3 bolts out while I tried to figure it out....

James

thanks, that helped me get one of them, but the other two seem to catch in some sort of nut and keep spinning. If I pull down on them, they won’t pull out so it seems like they’re threaded into something but they just won’t tighten up.

 

[danflashes]

6/6 torqued to spec! I was really worried I had broken one of the nuts inside and would need to do something drastic but the advice above worked. I probably just had trouble with these because I’m a doofus, but for posterity in case any other doofuses like me are having trouble getting these bolts back on after installing sliders:

- if the bolt won’t pull out with a tug, it is threaded on to the nut.
- if it is threaded on the nut, you may need *firm* downward pressure on the washer/bolt to put enough preload in the system to get the nut to stay put while you tighten the bolt. I had to use a claw hammer on a couple of them to pull down but it worked.
- the bolts from rock hard were great for the front and middle, but the oem bolts were the only ones to work in the rear. They have a tapered tip that I think helps center them in the nut
-try, try, try and don’t stop trying. These were super finicky to get in just right so they would start tightening. A couple of them went in first try, and a couple needed 20+ attempts.

off to clean up and have a beer and journal some of the wonderful new profanities I invented

 

[thedeatons]

I have two set sets of Rock Hard sliders (angled-down). Love them. I used these for shoe grip on the round tubes:

https://www.amazon.com/GT-5000-Stri...35589&sprefix=gt-5000+6+strips,aps,141&sr=8-1

*Also you will eventually notice surface rusting on the front side of the short sections that connect the outer step to the main tube. Not sure how I will eventually attack that... Either a respray with enamel, or some type of bedliner...

 

[Lost1wing]

6/6 torqued to spec! I was really worried I had broken one of the nuts inside and would need to do something drastic but the advice above worked. I probably just had trouble with these because I’m a doofus, but for posterity in case any other doofuses like me are having trouble getting these bolts back on after installing sliders:

- if the bolt won’t pull out with a tug, it is threaded on to the nut.
- if it is threaded on the nut, you may need *firm* downward pressure on the washer/bolt to put enough preload in the system to get the nut to stay put while you tighten the bolt. I had to use a claw hammer on a couple of them to pull down but it worked.
- the bolts from rock hard were great for the front and middle, but the oem bolts were the only ones to work in the rear. They have a tapered tip that I think helps center them in the nut
-try, try, try and don’t stop trying. These were super finicky to get in just right so they would start tightening. A couple of them went in first try, and a couple needed 20+ attempts.

off to clean up and have a beer and journal some of the wonderful new profanities I invented

If you ever need to remove the sliders, use the same technique. You will need to pull down on the bolt while you loosen it. Kind of too late to mention the best way to remove the original bolts.

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