Bed bolts are loose again ... Gen 2
- Thread starter JayQQ97
- Start date
JayQQ97
MW surVivor ... clutched. 357k on the 0D0
think we Finally found the pesky rattle issue this rig has been having
only took six+ months to find it
and Stop it
Hey all, I haven't read thru all the replies to this post, but the all the talk about tightening the bolts and using loctite and all that... you guys obviously have not really fixed this issue in the past. If you had, you would KNOW it's has nothing to do w/the bedliner bolts being tight enough.
What follows is an email I sent out to friends when I fixed my rattle, a year or so ago. And YES, mine is rattling again. This isn't an ideal OEM design, so unfortunately it seems that this 'fix' has to be done again and again.
================================================
attached are pics are of the bolts that hold my bedliner down.
so when the truck was almost out of warranty, like a few years ago, i took it to Toy dlrship, cause there was this loud bump-bump coming from the back, and i didn't kno what it was. thought maybe my shocks were bad or suttin
turned out it was the bedliner. but the dlrshp, they didn't REALLY fix it.
they just tightened the bejesus out of the bolts. it stopped for a few months, thatz it. those bolts were so GD tite, even w/the breaker bar, i could barely crack them.
as U can C, it don't matter how tight i make the bolt, cause the bushing sticks up, and will still keep the washer off the liner, and the plastic gonna bang up and down anyway.
before i took them out, i thought the fix was gonna B simple - add another washer or two. but when i got the thing off, i realized that wasn't gonna do it. then i considered grinding the bushing down so the bolt/washer would contact the liner more flush. but my bench grinder ain't set up for that and i didn't feel like changing out the wheels.
But then...
i realized, that bushing is split for a REASON. all i gotta do is pry it apart, then stuff it back inna hole! tried w/a couple pair of pliers but it's way too stiff for that. but a chainsaw wrench, the flathead screwdriver w/T-handle socket wrenches on other end, was perfect. T-handle gave the perfect twist to stick the blade in the slit and torque that mother open.
then i compressed it a bit w/a visegrips so i could bang it back in the hole.
DONE. no more bump-bump, and no reason to make the bolts crazy tight.
my plan was to also take the entire bedliner out, clean under it, and put a protective coat of wax down. but O man, that thing does NOT come out easy. wen i saw wat's involved taking it out? i said, 'i'll take the zero'.
(the T55 torx bit i had to buy. didn't have any torx that big)
What follows is an email I sent out to friends when I fixed my rattle, a year or so ago. And YES, mine is rattling again. This isn't an ideal OEM design, so unfortunately it seems that this 'fix' has to be done again and again.
================================================
attached are pics are of the bolts that hold my bedliner down.
so when the truck was almost out of warranty, like a few years ago, i took it to Toy dlrship, cause there was this loud bump-bump coming from the back, and i didn't kno what it was. thought maybe my shocks were bad or suttin
turned out it was the bedliner. but the dlrshp, they didn't REALLY fix it.
they just tightened the bejesus out of the bolts. it stopped for a few months, thatz it. those bolts were so GD tite, even w/the breaker bar, i could barely crack them.
as U can C, it don't matter how tight i make the bolt, cause the bushing sticks up, and will still keep the washer off the liner, and the plastic gonna bang up and down anyway.
before i took them out, i thought the fix was gonna B simple - add another washer or two. but when i got the thing off, i realized that wasn't gonna do it. then i considered grinding the bushing down so the bolt/washer would contact the liner more flush. but my bench grinder ain't set up for that and i didn't feel like changing out the wheels.
But then...
i realized, that bushing is split for a REASON. all i gotta do is pry it apart, then stuff it back inna hole! tried w/a couple pair of pliers but it's way too stiff for that. but a chainsaw wrench, the flathead screwdriver w/T-handle socket wrenches on other end, was perfect. T-handle gave the perfect twist to stick the blade in the slit and torque that mother open.
then i compressed it a bit w/a visegrips so i could bang it back in the hole.
DONE. no more bump-bump, and no reason to make the bolts crazy tight.
my plan was to also take the entire bedliner out, clean under it, and put a protective coat of wax down. but O man, that thing does NOT come out easy. wen i saw wat's involved taking it out? i said, 'i'll take the zero'.
(the T55 torx bit i had to buy. didn't have any torx that big)
