How are the factory 3rd Gen 4Runner running boards attached?

And how do you remove them?

If you remove them, are you left with a bunch of holes in the body?

Thanks!!

 

They are attached by 6 bolts per running board. You undo the bolts to remove them. The holes are up under the body/ not visible.

 

Thanks for the reply!


So if I remove the running boards, how do I then prevent road salt / water / crap / etc from getting up into those holes?

 

There attached to 3 brackets that are attached to the frame. You don't need to worry about filling the holes. If you really want just grab a can of spray paint and spray them a little. Rust shouldn't really be an issue. I live in ontario and we get a good bit of snow and salt and I've had my running boards off for a while and No difference really.

 

drop those babies before you crunch them up offroad.

get out the spray bolt soak spray and blast them for a week. Even then you may have to torch a bolt or two to loosen them up, some of us had to....

 

If I remove the running boards, should I put the bolts (that hold the running boards in place) back in the holes in the body, just to keep crap from getting up in there?

 

if you want to but it's not necessary.

 

I think you're missing the point on how they are mounted. The boards bolt to brackets which are mounted to the frame. You're only going to remove the boards from the brackets via the 6 bolts per side. At which point there isn't anything different about the situation other than the lack of bolts through the bracket and the mysterious vanishing act your running boards will have done. There are also screws in the wheel wells holding the end caps depending on what year you're dealing with.

 

I think the best thing for you to do is crawl under your truck and take a look for yourself. In the time you've spent on this thread you could have taken them off. I don't like being a smart a$$ but do a little leg work and then if you don't understand ask your questions.

 

I took mine off about a year ago. Since my tires stick out past the fenders, I did get some chips in the paint on my fenders from rocks being thrown about.
Just something to keep in mine