Hey folks... 2dr 99 Zr2 here and i'm trying to install chrome sidesteps that came with the truck but not on it. The previous owner claims the ones in this pic...



...rusted out and therefore he replaced them with new ones. He left the brackets on the truck in the rear body mounts(basically in line with teh back of teh door), but they're a bit loose(i can spin them around). After trying to remove those brackets to use the nice new ones I found I couldn't get the bolt out on the driver's side.

Is there a nut on top of the bolt that i would have to lift the carpet to get at??

 

Nobody? Crap

 

Yes, there is a nut on top, but it is a cage nut... Lifting the carpet will only get you 30% there. You will have to find the exact location and then drill/cut/hole-saw the sheet metal on the floor to gain access to it. I know of other means as well, but they are what I am comfortable doing with the tools that I have on hand...

 

Okay thanks.. now the fact that those bolts have already been removed and replaced once for another set of side steps would suggest that work has already been done(to the floor)?

Basically what's left is that the brackets are still mounted on the rear body mounts but the fronts were removed. The rear brackets are loose and can spin and I can neither tighten or loosen the bolts completely.

From what you're saying if holes were drilled in the floor, I should be able to feel them under the carpet...which i can't. They must have got to them another way?

 

That is not what I am saying. The nuts that are in the floor are called cage nuts. They are basically a square nut that just floats in a box. The configuration of the box is such that the nut should not be able to spin, but given corrosion on the threads and enough force on the bolt, the corners of the square nut can round over, causing it to spin in the cage. This cage is formed in a support brace that runs from side to side under the truck and is capped off on top by the sheetmetal that makes up the floor board of the truck.

To get to the nut and hold it, you must cut the floor board (a hole saw works good for this). You will have to line up / measure / whatever you need to do in order to precisely mark the location of the body mount inside the cab, then cut away above the mount to access the cage nut. This is what must be done if you are unable to remove the bolt.

Sounds like someone gave up before you purchased it.

 

Ah I see... so likely in the front mounts, the cage nut is still in place as the previous owner was able to remove the front brackets, but in the case of the rears like you suggest he probably gave up and left the mounts on.

thanks