OK.. I'd like to start off by saying... that despite whatever my wife thinks this really isn't my fault... not like it matters..

Here's what happened, I decided to attempt a Body Lift on my 98 Taco... things were going well... just minor issues.. but I came to the rear drivers side
cab mount, and as I was trying to loosen the bolt... the thing ripped in half

No biggie, I ripped the nut off with the end of the bolt nuthing holding it in, the bolt should come right out... right.... wrong!

I assumed it would come right out and I continued removing/loosening the rest of the mounting nuts.

Now, the guide for the Performance Accessories 2" lift I was using said Loosen all 6 mounts but leave the bolts in... then remove the passengers side, lift passenger side, put blocks in new bolts, nuts, etc, don't tighten yet, then repeat on drivers side....

Well I get to the driver side and I can't get the Dang Bolt out of the rear Cab mount... there's nothing holding it in... I couldn't knock it out, I couldn't even turn the bolt from the top.. it was frozen in there solid.

I bathed the stupid thing in PB Blaster from all angle's repeatedly but it wouldn't budge. I tried to drill it out... no luck I was able to drill up the bolt about 2' but I still couldn't get the thing to knock loose or even turn!

after it was bathed for several hours in PB Blaster, I kept thinking.. well.. nothing is holding it in, it's got PB Blaster on it, I'll just jack up the body on the side and the weight of the frame will pull down on it and pull the bolt loose... nope... the thing stuck tight

at this point 12 hours into a 4 hour job, desperate, dark out, and severly pissed off, I kept the body raised, got in the back of the bed, and jumped up and down repeatedly to break the damn bolt loose and free the from the cab.

Well... it finally broke loose and the frame and bed fell and the body stayed raised... I thought the bolt came loose.... but OH NO!!!

The Bolt is frozen-rust-welded into the mounting pad that sits on top of the frame mount and makes contact with the bottom of the cab. When it broke loose the mounting pad is frozen-rust-welded to the cab (and the damn bolt) and it tore up through the bottom on the mounting pad under the frame mount.

see pictures below.











I woke at 6am went to Home Depot and bought a DeWalt Hammer Drill and a carbon bit... I still haven't been able to drill the rest of the bolt out...

I can't knock it out with a punch and Hammer.. I still can't even turn the damn thing!!!! and of course it has to the rear driver side.. the hardest one to get to... I can't even a ratchet on it straight, it's all at a funky angle.

then it occured to me... Hey, all the other bolts drop right in and have lots of room to bang around... the diameter of the cylinder that the bolt drops into is almost 2x's the diameter of the bolt... but when I'm trying to drill / knock the bolt out from the bottom... there is NO play.. the bolt is 360 degree fused to the wall of the sleeve surrounding it in the mounting pad's bracket thingy.


I'm screwed, I have NO idea what to do next..

I might be able to cut it off if I can get to it.. but then I would need to get a new mounting pad... where could I find one.... maybe from the dealer for about $200 and a 4 week wait

I've got 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound bag. any help would be appreciated. I don't know what to do at this point.

 

Cant get a punch from the top of the cab and smack it with a sledgehammer from the top down?
Im not sure what im seeing though.
The bolt is frozen into the rubber mounting pad?
But the nut is gonezo?

 

yeah.. it's nutless

I could smack it down from the top.. but the head of the bolt prevents that.
Cutting off the head would be difficult... but I could probably do it with a dremmel... but It would seriously damage the Stock Washer wish I need intact.

P.S. reload the page.. I updated the images

 

have you tried heat?

roger brown sells the body mounts.
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/BodyLiftKit.shtml

 

Thx cootees...

My Dad mentioned that.. I don't have a blow torch...

I've tried to wedging a flat head b/w the cab and the mount and
whacking it off with a hammer... but no luck... heating it with a blow
torch and then getting the flat head and hammer and smacking it
may do the job... I think that's what you're suggesting?

but I don't have a blow torch... any other ideas... I could use a cigarette lighter

 

well when you get the bolt out get a piece of 3/16 steel and drill a hole in it the same size as the body mount bolt and put it over the frame where the piece tore off, dont forget to shave the puck on that mount to accomidate the extra 3/16, as far as the bolt goes keep spraying it and hit it with a big sledge or you may be stuck with a cutoff wheel, drill, and beer for company for a while. good luck!

 

cover it with 3/16 plate with a bolt hole drilled through it. you can get that stuff anywhere for cheaoer than dirt for a small piece.

 

can you cut/grind the bolt head off? That way you'd be able to atleast get the thing out of there.

 

OK...

worst case senario, I suppose I can try to cut it off and just buy a replacement from Roger over at 4 crawler.

Interesting comparison.. I got a picture of a normal mount from 4 crawler next to mine


you'll note that mount is curve up like a saucer, but it's been pressed flat against the bottom of my cab.

 

Been suggested... good idea too.. but that will surely ruin the stock washer which needs to be re-used... apparently those stock washers are very important.. there super thick and tough and I guess nobody makes them, they aren't in any of the kits I've seen... and all the kit instructions tell you to keep those washers.

 

Victory is MINE!!!

Jeez... that thing was stuck in there good.

I decided to cut, grind and drill the head off and give it the smack down to knock it out from the top... lets just say it wasn't quite as easy as it sounds.

here is what it looked like from the cab.

gettin there


head almost off


and got it off


Just because I took the head off doesn't mean it came out easy... I was banging on that thing forever with a 4 lb. hammer.... it was so tough because I couldn't get a clean shot at it... I couldn't put the punch str8 up and down, I had to do it at an angle.. plus the punch wasn't long enough... so I had to use a 3/8 socket extenstion.. but that was too wide 1/2 the time I wasn't hitting the bolt, I would end up hitting the washer ... so I put a 1/4 socket conversion on the end so the strike point was smaller...

even still I had to smack that thing like I was Ike Turner to get it off.



that bolt was stuck in there good!







See what I mean... that damn thing was frozen-rust-welded in there... as you can see my initial attempt to drill it out was futile... lol.. there was NO play in there at all... the bolt expanded as it rusted to fill the entire cylinder, more than fill it, you can see it actually split it open at the seam and started to expand further... Frozen solid!



However, now that I had it out and I could get a clear shot at it, the thing didn't stand a chance! I knocked it out with a few good whacks




Crazy how screwed up that thing was.






The washer did get damaged... but still useable...




after I cleaned up the mounting pad,




I drilled it out cleaned it up again, cleaned up the cab and the washer, put the lift block in and put the darn thing together!

Hallelujah!


and a really nice guy here on the forums offered to give me one thx!

now that that's done, I'll finish off the job with it the way it is...

but I'm gonna order a New Mounting Pad from 4crawler.com, along with some Grade 8 Heavy Duty Hardware and some quality oversized UHMH lift blocks...

switching out the blocks, pads and hardware will be a walk in the park... hour, maybe two max, now that the lift is done.

thx to everyone for the help!

 

JINX!

Glad you got it handled!

 

Congrats on getting it done. Good job with the persistence. You did an awesome job documenting exactly what was going on. Your pictures and drawings with labels really illustrated the problem. But best of all, you're done!

 

hey man we aould like to see some pics of the truck all done, all of that work blood sweat and tears you at least need to post your finished product ha ha

 

Will do.. I was putting it back together (mounting the radiator etc.) when some friends came over... so I won't be able to finish it till the weekend...

hopefully I won't run into any other major problem...

Don't JINX me Wabbit!

 

Note that the above annotated photo is of two different type body mount bushings. The early pickup/4Runner mounts are 2-piece (basically 2 rubber donuts) and sit in the cup as shown on the left of that photo, or like below:


The later pickups/4Runners use some 1-piece bushings which are molded into a steel bracket and that is bolted to the frame, like below:


Shown above is a replacement (polyurethane replacement) bushings, thee factory one has an outer steel shell with rubber molded inside:
- http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/...l#PolyBushings

 

Correct... I realized that after I had posted that... and I saw the above picture for the correct replacement as well...

when I get a minute I need to order one of those from you, with HD grade 8 hardware and Bed Spacers...

you'll get an e-mail from me soon roger... probably tonight or tomorrow.

thx for dropping in =)

 

great detail-way to stick with it. I can just about read your fingerprints your pics are so good.

It sounds like you could have used some more tools, some more expertise, and a 4crawler kit to make your struggle a lot easier.

I find when I am getting even just a bit frustrated on truck or car projects-it's best to step away, get an adult beverage, and go online and vent a bit. As you can see everyone steps up to give suggestions that are constructive in nature.

Treat your lady to a nice dinner and a scenic ride in your newly lifted and I almost bet she will forgive you for a day or two.

 

OK... well it's done... or at least the cab is... I can lift the bed next week when I get my bed spacers...





it's not really much without seeing a before picture.. but I don't have any...
the main thing is that the lift is allowing me to use my new centerline wheels with my 32" BFG's with rubbing the wheel wells

here is a shot of the brand new mounting pad I put on it...



you can see I still need to tighten the nuts on it hehehe.... and replace that one nut that's stripped, but hey



thx for all the help guys