someone please help!!! 3" BL on 1st gen gone sour!

[udmsvt]

ok, so i started installing my body lift on my '93 ex sport the other day and one thing after another is going bad. on the driver's side, the head on the first bolt is striped, the second is out, the third, the nut/bushing spserated and the nut is rusted to the bottom of the bol and i cant get it off. the fourth and fifth are out.

on the passenger side, the first head is stripped, the second the head snapped off and i cant get the rest of the assemble out, the third the head snapped off but i was able to knock it out with a screwdriver and hammer. the fourth is loose and should be ok to get out and the fifth, the bushing/nut are spinning with the bolt and i cant get a good enough grip on the bottom while trying to wrench the top.

because of these, i have already bought 3 replacement bushings, for d3 and p2 and p3, but i cant get the rest off. i have no air tools, no garage access (its in my driveway) and no body to help me. i have tomarrow off (sunday, may18) but i have been stuck in this same rut now for 3 days! anybody in se mich willing to help, please post, pm me or e-mail me so we can hook up! anybody with ideas please post pm or e-mail them!

my truck has most of the interior stripped and the front bumper and fan shroud off and the e-brake is just hanging and with only a few bolts holding frame to body, it really cant be driven.

i also have 2 days off mid-week, i think tues and weds.

 

[udmsvt]

i have to get to work soon but if anyone has any ideas or wants to help me, pleaes let me know

 

[93urbanexploder]

hey im the kid that came to ur house the one day y dont u just sell me ur body lift and forget about it on ur truck!!! cause u have no clue what u are doing esacplly with euro tail's haha peace

 

[udmsvt]

excuse me! drive your @$$ down to moroe and buy your own! you are probably the jerkoff that stole my spare! and what do you mean that i dont know what i am doing with the euro tails? i bought them and installed them and they leak, just need new seals.

listen here, i dont even know your name but i gave you info on my truck when you asked about it and led you to this site. then, when i went to tell you where i bought the lift and how much it was so you could get your own, you just gave me a dirty look and wouldnt speak to me.

 

[mrboyle]

The only thing I could recomend is to take a sawsall and cut through the mount/bolt then jack up the body, remove the mount and attempt to remove the remaining bolt using vice grips.

 

[udmsvt]

cant get bolt cutters in there, getting my hands on a sawzall this week probably and if i had to use a 4-ft breaker bar to move the bolt, there is no way i can do it with 12-inch vice grips. for one of the front ones, i got a gator gip socket from sears and put it to it, yeah it spinned it, snapped the head right off! and now, that head is stuck un the sicket. the mount on that one still has part of the bolt in it, so i'm not quite sure what to do, maybe drill it out? i dont think my drill has enough power to try reverse drill bit.

 

[Doug]

I had similiar problems when i did my bodylift. i had a problem with the bushings spinning as well, i put a strap wrench on the bushing then spun the bolt out with an impact gun. i also stripped one of the body mounts so i cut off the bottom where the threads are and ran a bolt down through it and secured it with a nut. If you can get your hands on a sawzall and cut off the threadded part of the body mounts. you might have to go out and get new bolts and nuts if you do make sure you get grade 8.

 

[udmsvt]

would i have to get a locking nut of just touque the crap outta it? that would take care of the fron 2, but on onw, the head is gone...its on the pass side in the fron footwell. there is 3/4 bolt stuck in the bushing/nut and i cant seem to tap it from above...it is threaded to the top buching too? and for the other 2, i thought about a strap wrench but the problem is that i cant get enough grip to hold that one down while wrenching the other side....as a matter of fact, on the one the buching fell off so i just have a nut on the end of the bolt. i can probably get that one with the sawzall and the int that still has the bushing, i might be able to get with the sawzall, but that stil kinda leaves me with that pesky one that has no head and i cant tap out.

 

[Doug]

If you cut out the threaded section with the sawzall the whole bolt should drop out unless its rusted in place. if thats the case hit it with some wd-40 or heat it up with a torch. As far as the hardware i'd put a washer and lockwasher on the end and use locktight as well.

 

[udmsvt]

ok, well i get the sawzall tomarrow but it is supposed to rain. i'll tackle it on wednesday hopefully and let you know how it goes.

 

[Doug]

goodluck with it.

 

[udmsvt]

ok, so i cut off the bottom part of one of the front bolts (along with about half inch of the trhradded mount). how far up do the threads go because it appears to still be threadded in...i cant get it out!

 

[Doug]

I'm not really sure about the 1st gens, i have a 97 and just the bottom portion was threaded. the bolt might have rusted itself in place. does it look like its still threaded in? have you tried tapping it out with a hammer?

 

[udmsvt]

i did try tapping it and i trieed puttng a screwdriver to the center and tapping that. since i vut it, its pretty much smooth. i cant see any threads. id ont think its rusted in place because i was able to get it most of the way off before the head stripped off. u whould have done more research on this brcause it turns out that the bolts are supposed to have threadlock and it had heated them up first, life would have been easier for me. i have my laptop with me out at the truck and i have a wireless network so i can keep an eye on posts while i work so if you think of something, let me know. i am grinding off another bolt as we speek.

 

[udmsvt]

UPDATE.....

ok, here is the progress...got the drivers side done (but need to buy another bushing). the pass side, i will try a new gator grip socket on and if worse comes to worse, i will gring off the bottom and try it from the top. i still have that one tuck in the #2 position on the pass side...havent figured anything out yet. and in back on pass side, i ground off the head but cant tap it through...maybe try to wre4nch it from underneath or wonder-bar it?

here are some pics (and yes, i know it looks dumb like this):

 

[Doug]

threadlock only works on the threads. if you have cut out the threaded section the bolt will come out. threadlock wont hold the bolts in place.

 

[njsjfonline]

love the pictures

First off good luck. I hope you are taking lots of pictures.
TO bad your so far away. I would have tryed to help.

 

[udmsvt]

yeah but i had no idea about the threadlock until i dove into it...and on the front, it was threadded too high to get the sawzall into so i cut as far as i could and tried it from the top and since there were only 3 threads left, i was able to get it out...i just hope i have the same luck on the other side. i should take some pics of some of the bolts i have had to cut or grind...some are almost comical. i dont have another day off until tuesday but i will try to work on it friday morning. it sucks because i only know a few locals, there is one guy here ion garden city who is in high school and...well, he is the one who posted above so i wont ask him for help, and there is a guy 15 min away, also in high school and i dont really know him and another guy an hour away that i dont really know. my few guy friends have full time jobs and girlfriends that keep them pretty busy and dad isnt in the picture so i get stuck doing whatever i do alone. mom is handicapped, stepdad is like 350lbs and not very competant, dad is a wuss and lives in detroit with his new wife who hates me and my girlfriends dad works like 60hrs/week and goes to school (which is a real bummer because he is the only one who actually knows what he is doing). the only other person is my girlfriends brother who lives an hour away and just graduated from hight school so he is doing the prom and party thing because he leaves for the marines in 4 weeks (he owes me though because we are letting him drive the other ex!)

soory bout that but my parents just nagged at me all day "when are you going to get this done so you can move your truck?"..."ya know, i really need you to get that radio put in my car (one of their cars was stolen a few weeks ago and now it has no radio)"

...."you need to go help your grandmother pull weeds"....."we need to get that backyard cleaned up"...and on and on and on.............

 

[tomblin1]

Your making me nervous. My 3" kit is on its way now.
One thing I have going for me is My X only spent about 1.5 years in wet climate (corrosion). The rest in San Diego.
Im keeping my eye on your progress. Keep posting with any hurdles you have to overcome.
At least the left side looks cool!!

Good luck.

 

[udmsvt]

i have 2 different setos of directions for 2 different kits that help tooi, i kinda get 2 pespectives. i am using a trailmaster kit which has less to it than the PA kit. i would (while you are waiting) pull out the seats and the carpet for the back cargo area and pull out the plugs and inspect all 10 bolts for any rust. please dont forget that they will have threadlock so heat them up first..i didnt know this until after the fact. also, you WILL need a breaker bar, good set of sockets (or air impact gun). i used an elec impact gun and it did absolutely nothing. also, want to make sure you have an extra vehicle. even though i did an inspection, i had planned to get it all done in one day. it has now been over a week and i have had to put out 150 bucks extra for parts and tools...and i have more to order from ford today.

it all depends on the truck. oh, and a gator grip socket may come in handy.let mne know if you have any questions but otherwise, i will update the thread as i progress.