Body mount troubles

[Clockwork71]

I just started taking my old body mounts off today and it looks like it might be a little more work than I expected. Most of the nuts came off fine but three of the screws broke. I got all of the rubber and washers on the bottom half off but some of the sleeves are rusted to the screw. Does anyone have suggestions as to how to get the sleeves off? I also noticed the screw for the mount that goes through the floor by your feet is welded to the floor. Do i grind that weld off and remove the screw or can i jack the body high enough to get the upper rubber mount out? I haven't looked at any of the other screws to see if they are welded to the floor. I just figured they were carridge bolts. Also, does anyone sell a bolt kit for body mounts or can i get all the bolts from the hardware store? On a different subject, what inlet/outlet do you guys use for your mufflers? It looks like a center/center would work for my 71 Blazer. Any help is greatly appreciated, as I am getting very close to getting my truck on the road after 2 months of wrenching. Have a nice memorial day weekend!

 

[jaros44]

I used an angle grinder with a 4 1/2" cut off wheel. They are carriage bolts and mine weren't welded. Cut which ever end you can get at and bang it thru with a punch.
Careful with the cut off blade it is extremely dangerous. If you can do it safer another way go for it!!

You can also center punch the head and drill it out until you get to the diameter of the bolt, this might be safer for you, then punch it out.

 

[Greg72]

I'd probably try to get those carriage bolts out too... With the rust that's typically on those parts, you're likely to find that the bolts are rusted/worn to half of their original thickness in some areas.

I had decent luck using a dremel tool to cut the welds on those bolts. The ones in the front footwells (that are in pockets) are tougher to do cleanly. I ended up cutting small slices in the floor as I ground the weld off, but simply welded them back up once I had the bolts out.

 

[Clockwork71]

Thanks for the tips. It looks like I'm going to try grinding the welds off and hammering the bolts out from the bottom. On some of the bolts, I can't get the rusted sleeve off. Those I'm going to try grinding the whole head off and pounding them out through the top.

 

[Burt4x4]

Ya when I did mine I had the same issues. I used a 4-1/2" grinder with a cutting wheel on it and the grinding one too. I got new bolts from my local harware store. I also used nylon lock nuts to keep things snug

 

[Greg72]

If you're committed to ruining the bolts anyway, you could try centerpunching the head of the bolt and then using a drill bit that's the same size (or slightly larger) than the bolt shank itself.

As you drill through the bolt head, it will seperate from the shank and you should be able to drive the rest out. It might be less work that trying to grind off the ENTIRE bolt head on every bolt!!!!!!

 

[jaros44]

I thought I said that?

 

[Clockwork71]

Thanks again for the input. Tonight I battle the bolts. I'll try drilling where I can and grind where I can't.
By the way, what offsets are on your mufflers?

 

[jaros44]

Didn't get that far yet, going on my 2nd year of restor. Soon that problem will arise, I'm staying with original stuff for the moment