Rear body panel fastener replacement.

6

6cuda6

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Jul 1, 2019
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Well its finally warm enough out and i have mucho time not working/traveling so i figured id tackle the rear body panel fasterners as they are rusted, loose or plain missing.......its gonna be a can of worms i know it as this kind of thing never goes well. 20200327_161745.jpg
 
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Of course their always has to be some behind the ladder brackets which means i had to fight to get the mounting screws out of the mounts. 20200327_170419.webp

Got lucky though and i got them out without breaking them.....20200327_170423.webp

The screws were totally done.....i just got lucky this time......only a dozen or more to go.....20200327_170452.webp
 
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So it turned out to be unteresting removing some of the screws.....some looked loose, some looked tight and some were just looked so bad .....but it needed to be done so i set off anticipating the worsed but hoping for the best. 20200328_131650.webp

I was able to get some out as they were loose or thight but had good engagement slots. 20200328_131657.webp

Things were moving along quite well till i had a tube blow out on my 25$ cartridge of SikaFlex221.....not wanting to waste it and i was only half way done.....i did what any good field mechanic would do....electical tape to the rescue.....lol. Nice of my wife to tell me after " oh, yeah, dont use the blue caulk gun it blows tubes out".... sheesh thanks...20200328_141615.webp
 
Of course there had to be 2 screw that just would not come out.....either they were stripped by the PO or just simply to rotten for a screw driver. 20200328_150732.webp

This one i knew was gonna be bad.20200327_170419.webp

So out came the Dremmel with a cut off wheel and i cut some slots for a huge a** flat screw driver or worse case a punch and hammer. 20200328_152154.webp

Luck was on my side and i managed to get them out.....this is usually a fluke and not normal. 20200328_151224.webp
 
And at they end of a 4 hour stint i got all the panels bolts replaced and sealed internally.....next will be to fill the seam all the way around with sealer as Jim B suggests to make a totally water tight panel. 20200328_155239.webp

What a mess of screws....some ill keep as spares. 20200328_163323.webp
 
Yes they are very specific to the application as they screw into the fiberglass lip of the body.
I got the replacements from Jim B....im sure i could have sourced them myself but between the time, cost etc it just wouldn't have been worth it....plus i dont mind supporting the GMC vendors once and a while.
 
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6cuda6 said:
Yes they are very specific to the application as they screw into the fiberglass lip of the body.
I got the replacements from Jim B....im sure i could have sourced them myself but between the time, cost etc it just wouldn't have been worth it....plus i dont mind supporting the GMC vendors once and a while.
Click to expand...

What did that set you back? I need to order some.
 
Those stripped heads that you dremeled to create a screwdriver slot look like perfect candidates for a tiny set of EZ-outs that I have. On one end there is a small CCW drill bit, and the other end is its matching EZ-out. I've had pretty good luck with them getting screws out of the GMC.
 
My automotive apprenticeship teacher once said "there is no such thing as an easy out".....lol. The tool you talk of is a pretty good one and i know works well BUT i don't have it, so.....lol....dremel it was :)

If i had access to my tool box, which is in storage, I have a full set of CCW drill bits and alot of time just reverse drilling will remove these type of things.
 
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I am removing all the screws on my 78. I have found penetrating oil (I use Kano Aerokroil. It’s great stuff.), and have found that application of that, followed by immediate application of a pneumatic impact driver, then wait several hours, and repeat this process. Over several days I have managed to remove 28 of the original 32 Hi-Lo 5/16” screws. The remaining 4 are being drilled, and removed with a screw extractor. The Hi-Lo screwS are apparently hardened as they are dulling my best Cobalt drill bit.
 
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