CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

K5 Blazer Body Mounts R&R

B

Bohemian

Guest
82 Chevy K5 Blazer.

I'm in the process of trying to r&r my 38 year old body mounts.

The truck has been in the southern nevada desert it's entire life so there's no rust.

Before I started I read everything I could google on doing this job.

I presoaked everything with PB Blaster for weeks before I started.

The concensus seemed to be that the rear most 4 are typically the most problematic.

So I started at the back & worked towards the front, which served me well.

Everything I read said to loosen but not remove the body bolts, till you replace the mounts 1 at a time, 1 side of truck at a time. I suspect to help keep body movement to a minimum once they're all loose.

I was able to get the nuts off the 4 rear carriage bolts, and the two front most mounts and loosen the 4 center most bolts enough to be able to remove them with my fingers when it came to actually replacing the mounts.

After verifying there was nothing keeping the body from being lifted up a few inches to r&r the mounts; I jacked up one side of truck and started replacing mounts back to front.

All was well until I got to the front mount & while the nut was off the bolt; the special dished cup & spacer with a eliptical metal boss that holds the mount appears to be seized onto the bolt. If you turn the bolt the whole thing turns as one assembly; and I can't separate it from the bolt to remove it.

I've beat on the bolt from underneath the truck with a big drift & a bfh, I've tried to beat a chisel between the radiator core support & mount as a wedge, I've tried several different prybars, I've PB Blaster'd it and repeated the bfh & drift treatment for several days. It just seems rust welded in there, even though the threads that are exposed are clean & rust free and the nut came off pretty easy that pos ain't budging. I can't get a sawzall blade in-between the radiator core support and body mount base to move on either.

So I'm stuck at the moment if anybody has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

thanks in advance.
 
Put nut on end of bolt,Use an air hammer with the flat/anvil bit to force it up,shake it loose?
 
82 Chevy K5 Blazer.

I'm in the process of trying to r&r my 38 year old body mounts.

The truck has been in the southern nevada desert it's entire life so there's no rust.

Before I started I read everything I could google on doing this job.

I presoaked everything with PB Blaster for weeks before I started.

The concensus seemed to be that the rear most 4 are typically the most problematic.

So I started at the back & worked towards the front, which served me well.

Everything I read said to loosen but not remove the body bolts, till you replace the mounts 1 at a time, 1 side of truck at a time. I suspect to help keep body movement to a minimum once they're all loose.

I was able to get the nuts off the 4 rear carriage bolts, and the two front most mounts and loosen the 4 center most bolts enough to be able to remove them with my fingers when it came to actually replacing the mounts.

After verifying there was nothing keeping the body from being lifted up a few inches to r&r the mounts; I jacked up one side of truck and started replacing mounts back to front.

All was well until I got to the front mount & while the nut was off the bolt; the special dished cup & spacer with a eliptical metal boss that holds the mount appears to be seized onto the bolt. If you turn the bolt the whole thing turns as one assembly; and I can't separate it from the bolt to remove it.

I've beat on the bolt from underneath the truck with a big drift & a bfh, I've tried to beat a chisel between the radiator core support & mount as a wedge, I've tried several different prybars, I've PB Blaster'd it and repeated the bfh & drift treatment for several days. It just seems rust welded in there, even though the threads that are exposed are clean & rust free and the nut came off pretty easy that pos ain't budging. I can't get a sawzall blade in-between the radiator core support and body mount base to move on either.

So I'm stuck at the moment if anybody has any suggestions, I'd appreciate it.

thanks in advance.
Is the bolt and the washer inside the core support?
The only thing I can think of is to try and hold the bolt tight from the bottom but not tighten it and then beat on the washer and separate it from the bolt
 
Sometimes just jacking up the radiator core support will pull the bolt out. As the radiator core support goes up, the bolt has to pull out...unless the whole truck comes up with the core support because the is bolt seized hard like cement into the body mount and mount cup.
 
He may be able to put a shallow socket on the nut after loosening it enough so no threads are showing,then put a block of wood ,or a hunk of metal on the socket ,and use a jack to push the bolt upward..
That worked for me when I had body mount bolts stuck in the metal sleeve inside the bushings before..once the rust bond broke free I was able to get the bolt out..
 
so you all can see what i'm up against here's a picture i took this am...

no matter how the picture looks there's no getting a sawzall blade between the radiator core support & the base of the body mount that must be reused...

there's no cutting threw any part of the body mount shown in the picture that will bypass the seized bolt and not ruin, destroy the part of the body mount that must be reused...

I can't find any place to order that body mount base piece with the cup & oval shaped boss that the replaceable body mount insert sits on...

I tried using a floor jack & a piece of bar stock to jack the bolt out & I just jacked the truck up off the ground...

I'm going to see what if anything the heat wrench does besides burn what's left of the 38 year old rubber mount out...

smh

20200229_074010.jpg
 
Maybe beating on the cupped washer with the jack pushing up on the bolt will shock it free eventually..try using something like a ball joint fork between the washer and the radiator support..

If letting the rubber bisquit burn wont threaten burning the rest of the truck up,that will make some good heat to the metal sleeve the bolt goes thru inside it and will help it break free..
 
got-er-done finally

There was no getting any kind of sawzall or other blade betweeen the core support & the mount where the cut needed to be made, I couldn't get a dollar bill in between the two.

So I think it was a combination of PB Blaster, BFH & Bar Stock Wailing, Floor Jack & Bar Stock jacking, and Air Hammer ing with the Long Hammer Bit I'm Referencing Here, with my air compressor cranked up to 150 PSI.

As far as the cause of the seized bolt it apprars at some point in the last 38 years a PO had a radiator leak finding it's way onto this bolt.

Mayhew Tools® - .401 Shank Long Hammer Bit

900ef737-1e19-4b45-89e9-b244ce3dd8a7.png
 
I was able to order new body mounts from LMC with all the metal cups. Maybe it's worth taking a look? This was 5-6 years ago.
 
Top Bottom