Threaded inserts. Have replaced the bad nuts and have not had any issues.
CK5
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How to properly repair cage nuts?
- Thread starter colbystephens
- Start date
I'm more concerned with the bad cages than bad nuts. Any thoughts there?
No, they don't. Those are like rack mount nuts.
These are a piece of maybe 1/4" stock with a 5/16" threaded hole inside a loose box made of sheetmetal, about 1" x 3.5". They're made to allow misalignment of the top bolts onto the bedrail, which has a slotted oversize hole. I imagine Broncos have something similar. Sometimes it would be helpful if you were Chevyum instead of Fordum
Pix, one as taken (from underneath the bedrail, remember) and the other brightened for clarity:
Colby, I suspect the answer is you gotta bend new sheetmetal and make your own cages, then spot-weld 'em on from underneath. MAYBE you could JB-weld 'em, maybe.
-- A
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mr250twostroke
1/2 ton status
Used these on my 74, called it a day http://www.apiclamps.com/shop/?p=productsList&iCategory=6
Thanks for posting the pics. That saves me time tomorrow since I don't have to do it now!
I have access to a sheet metal brake, so those would be easy to make, I suppose.That's not for me. Thanks for posting, though!
Well, there is a stupid design......... Looks like something GM would do.....
I have seen clamps like MR250 used in place of things like that, and they did OK.
A little awkward, but they got the job done.
Personally, I would take an air chisel to the ones that are there, make a threaded strip like I mentioned, and slot the holes in the top.
I think that was suggested here also.
However, here is an intermediate thought.
Ever heard of DIN rail? If you do any electronics work where components are mounted in boxes, odds are you have seen some.
Take my strip idea, but cut the strip into short pieces with a threaded hole in each one.
The DIN rail has multiple holes, so it would be easy to put bolts through it at each end of the short pieces to keep them in a certain range like they are now.
Lay the short strips in the rail, and then bolt it up from underneath like I suggested with the single strip.
With the "nut" being a half inch or so long, there is no way it would ever turn in the rail.
And if anything ever went wrong, DIN rail is easy to come by, and a saw, drill and tap makes all the nuts you need.
I can't post a PDF, since the limits are too small, but here is a link to the dimensions of the different sizes of the rail
It comes as 35mm and 15mm wide, with two depths each.
http://www.automationdirect.com/static/specs/dinrails.pdf
Not sure how wide the underside of the rail is.
I have seen clamps like MR250 used in place of things like that, and they did OK.
A little awkward, but they got the job done.
Personally, I would take an air chisel to the ones that are there, make a threaded strip like I mentioned, and slot the holes in the top.
I think that was suggested here also.
However, here is an intermediate thought.
Ever heard of DIN rail? If you do any electronics work where components are mounted in boxes, odds are you have seen some.
Take my strip idea, but cut the strip into short pieces with a threaded hole in each one.
The DIN rail has multiple holes, so it would be easy to put bolts through it at each end of the short pieces to keep them in a certain range like they are now.
Lay the short strips in the rail, and then bolt it up from underneath like I suggested with the single strip.
With the "nut" being a half inch or so long, there is no way it would ever turn in the rail.
And if anything ever went wrong, DIN rail is easy to come by, and a saw, drill and tap makes all the nuts you need.
I can't post a PDF, since the limits are too small, but here is a link to the dimensions of the different sizes of the rail
It comes as 35mm and 15mm wide, with two depths each.
http://www.automationdirect.com/static/specs/dinrails.pdf
Not sure how wide the underside of the rail is.
Some of you are crazy. These should just be repaired to work like the originals. Why hack up the bed rails for something experimental when the factory design often works for a few decades/100k's of miles? It looks like the little box holding the "cage nut" (not the same thing some people are suggesting in this thread) could be bent a little to fish the thing out. Then build a new one from a nut with the same thread, some flat stock and a welder. Or get them out of a junk truck or something.
If I was making my own, I would set the length of the flat stock so that the threaded hole can't get hidden under the sheet metal - because that is annoying.
If I was making my own, I would set the length of the flat stock so that the threaded hole can't get hidden under the sheet metal - because that is annoying.
Dogs, put the dogs on em. (channel locks)
He stated before he didn't want to weld the rails, that kind of leaves out the obvious "right" fix. But he explained his reasoning, so the intent is to work around that constraint.
Well, rather than full-on MIG welding, maybe spot-welding ... just providing options.
-- A
His concern was paint, without cutting one of those rails apart to check thickness, I'm not sure spot welding would ensure his paint wouldn't get messed up.
I completely agree, cleaning up the area, and welding in new cages is the right fix. But if trying to save the paint, I don't think I'd hit it with a welder, even just to tack it. Unless you get every surface very clean, my experience has been that even with thin metal, you've got to crank the juice way up to get enough penetration to stick.
I completely agree, cleaning up the area, and welding in new cages is the right fix. But if trying to save the paint, I don't think I'd hit it with a welder, even just to tack it. Unless you get every surface very clean, my experience has been that even with thin metal, you've got to crank the juice way up to get enough penetration to stick.
My plan is to just get in there and weld it. The bedrails are thick enough that I don't think I have to worry about the paint for tacking the cages in place. And I do have a sheet metal brake, so it will be easy to make new cages. I was just wanting to hear what other folks may have done, or if there was a supplier out there that made the cages, because I'd be willing to pay a dollar a piece or so just to not have to bother making the cages.
Lots of innovative solutions in this thread though. Thanks!
Lots of innovative solutions in this thread though. Thanks!
I've had good luck squeezing them back together like others have mentioned. Sometimes you have to hold the pliers around it, while you screw the bolt in place.
Martin
Martin
Colby, not trying to push my ideas, even though they are the best.....
But consider two things.
Unless you have a clamp-type spot welder, or a maybe a TIG, odds are you are going to burn the paint where it can be seen.
So, try to do the first one in the best place of touch up and least noticeable.
But, if you make your own cages with a brake, you are going to have to heat treat the cage afterward.
Any metal thin enough to bend with most brakes, is going to be too weak to hold for long.
All those cage nuts I posted before knowing what it looked like are hard spring steel.
You have to use square nuts, and even then, all the torque is concentrated on the tips of the square.
It takes hard steel to stand up to that.
Instead of trying to bend metal with a brake, I would look around for some thick U channel steel the right width.
Not 1/4 inch, or anything like that, but fairly thick.
Then cut it to length, saw through the sides on each end and flatten them out to make the flanges.
If its thick enough, it does not have to be hardened.
And even then, I would mount it with some small Allan head socket counter sunk screws.
The bed rail steel should be thick enough for the screw head to sit flush or even slightly below flush if its thick enough.
That is the way I mounted the 1/4 inch thick threaded hole steel bars that I put under my bed rails to mount my tool box with in 1989.
Before I tightened the counter-sunk screws down, I filled the hole under the head with some good quality synthetic wheel bearing grease.
When I tightened the screw down, the grease filled any voids, and was forced in between the layers of the bed rail steel if there was a gap there.
Then I filled the greasy depression above the top of the screw head with non corrosive silicone rubber.
When I took those pieces off in 2009, I just picked the piece of rubber out, and the screws backed right out.
No rust, no fuss.
A little more trouble than welding, but no heat problems.
Also, if you did go with 1/4 inch thick U channel, then you could thread the flanges and not have to worry with using nuts to hold the cages with the countersunk screws.
If not, then I would consider using the nylock type nuts.
Maybe in stainless......
The tailgate mechanism might need some lube, but I find that it has more to do with the tension on the latches when the tailgate is closed. Sometimes the adjustment that gives the best sheet metal lines doesn't let the thing "unlatch" very easily. This is easy to test by flipping the latches in by hand with the tailgate open. Then it's usually really easy to pull the handle. You can try messing with the striker locations to see if it makes a difference.Also, my tailgate handle is getting harder to use. I need to open things up and see what's going on in there, but I figure I might just tag this question on to my post too.
Sometimes the tailgate starts hitting somewhere before it's latched. This adds tension. Look at the clearance from the inside. In a perfect world, the tailgate seal is hitting all at once. You might need to adjust the hinges. Most of those holes are slotted.
As for the handle, the mechanism gets bent because it's just folded sheet metal and the pull rod is off to one side. The same thing happens in the rotating part in the center of the tailgate. The high force you have to put on the handle starts bending stuff so the handle action gets higher and higher. I recently tore out the handle mechanism and the rotating one, straightened them and welded in reinforcements. It's still hard to pull the handle, but at least the handle pulls straight and won't run out of travel before the tailgate releases.
Good info! Thanks!
I do have access to a spot welder, so I could try that on the cages, I suppose....
Any kind of welding is going to heat the metal, usually causing discolored paint and rust.
But spot welding concentrates the heat in one place, and applies it quickly and briefly enough that it does not usually spread.
And, from the pic, that was the original method.
Colby, I don't do CAD often enough to stay good at it, plus I was in a hurry. On top of that, I have never used this program's convert dwg to jpg function.
So, its pretty poor. The lettering is not big enough, the walls have no thickness, and I jump from side view to top view and back following no drafting standard.
But, maybe you can see how I say use a piece of channel iron to make the cages.
I can read the lettering OK if I click on it. Since its a jpg, you could blow it up.
Using a brake to make it would work, but here most of your bending is already done.
So, its pretty poor. The lettering is not big enough, the walls have no thickness, and I jump from side view to top view and back following no drafting standard.
But, maybe you can see how I say use a piece of channel iron to make the cages.
I can read the lettering OK if I click on it. Since its a jpg, you could blow it up.
Using a brake to make it would work, but here most of your bending is already done.
