The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Doors 55.2 Hinge bolt & square nut removal- Ideas?

Driver side on a 55.2 3100; here. I have previously left the hinges on the cab because the doors were aligned pretty good...

I need to replace the dr side top hinge pin & bushing but I can not physically get to the square nut that is exterior to the cab in order to remove the hinge. This is the hinge's recessed bolt & here's the best picture I could get. I do not know the origin of the square nut as it relates to this hinge, but it has got to come off.

I was able to get an adjustable wrench to fit the square nut to start removing it, but there is not a good enough grip to continue. Tried channel locks. Tried a huge socket, but there's no room to attach anything to the socket. Tried vise-grips, but there's not room enough for 'clamping' action up in there.

Any ideas that would grasp the square nut tight enough to remove the bolt??? I'm going to rebuild both hinges while I'm there.

Thanks for any help-
Brad

The top hinge has a center bolt from inside of pocket and threads into a floating captive square nut. Nut is held in place by a sheet metal surround to keep it from turning while floating. If broken or turning maybe take off inner fender or fender or try reach in from under truck.
Bottom hinge has a center bolt from outside into weld nut on hinge.

OK, thanks- I thought it might be a weld nut, but resorted to 'square' for a nomenclature description since it is no longer exhibiting any 'welded' properties. (Spinning & such)

It still needs to come off.

Brad

I have modified my post please read. Not exactly a weld nut at top. If bolt is rusted tight to nut and slipping in "holder", you are in for a fight.

That's what I was afraid of; I was hoping for some creative ideas out of the group... I already have a busted finger trying to hold the adj. wrench in place.

Last option is fender removal. And I mean-- borderline-- 'leave the worn hinge alone' before I'll take the fenders off. Their respective alignment & shimming- now THAT was a fight.

Brad

How much access do you have to that captive nut? You may be surprised to see that only a few bolts need loosened to pull fender back a little. It will pivot and move due to the many "joints" in the front clip. Maybe just the main body mount on drivers side front, front bumper loose and the fender-to-cab bolts. The inner fender can stay attached to fender. The whole left side of clip may move forward some. Just need enough to bend the captive metal back and get to the actual nut and spray and loosen.
Option: Take off door, make a support mandrel to floor so that when hammering/drilling/reaming is done to pin hole, the load is carried by floor, not hinge.

If I make a "fist" with my hand when reaching in, I can not get to it. I'm about to look at it after my ThermaCell heats up. All this rain got the skeeters out big time.

Brad

edit- if I don't take my watch off, I can't reach it.

roger. good luck Brad.

I could not sleep, so I fought to remove the #@$! nut some more. I won. I was actually having to take pictures to see what was going on.

I found some pre-k sized needle nose vice grips (in my son's tool box) and was finally able to torque it into a bind somewhere on the cowl. I will have to touch up those scratched spots somehow; another day.

I hope none of you ever have to deal with this.

Off to sleep.
Brad

My only advice: know this information bartamos posted PRIOR to beginning hinge removal; AND: if you need to remove hinges (completely off), do it prior to fender installation. This is 'duh' advice, but...I hope none of you have to deal with it like I did.

Brad

You sound like me, I go to sleep thinking about my truck Do-list/problems. Very rewarding to get things like that off the list. Good job.

It will be a few days, but I would like to begin to plan how to get this hinge nut/bolt back on when I re-install the door...

I had planned on super gluing a nut on its backside, and then sticking it to the pillar in that hard to reach spot. Talking with another bolter- that just won't work because it needs to be moveable during door installation.

Ideas?

Thx- Brad

Well I guess you can't get in there enough to "rebuild" the captive nature of the nut so....Get bolt started in that nut, adjust door and tighten other two bolts, then reach in and hold middle nut and tighten middle bolt. Since it is a square nut, you can make a long, thin "wrench" from a 3/16-1/4 thk metal strap with an opening in the end. Drill a hole same size as flats on nut and slot to the hole to make a "wrench". This piece can be bent to accommodate access angles... Or hold it any way you want. Be sure to oil and chase those other two threads (nuts), very gently, so that you don't bust them loose when tightening bolts.
There is another method I've used, piece of 1/4-3/8 thick bar, maybe 3/4"-1" wide, maybe 2"-3" long. Drill and tap, near one end, for that bolt. It will spin and catch on a place on firewall/fender/wherever...if there is a place. It will float until final tightening and then be "captive". Just have to get it started on bolt by reach in.
True "Captive" means no wrench is necessary and/or it won't fall off when fastener is unthreaded. There are captive floating, like yours used to be and just captive, like a weld nut or press nut, etc.
There are captive and captive floating screws also.

Nice explanation- thanks! You made me think of my neodymium magnets, possibly, to hold the square nut in place...

I like the "captive" bar idea, too.

Thanks-
Brad

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