Bed tie down bolts snapped and drilled out by topper installer. Any fixes that don't require grinding and welding?

[GLW]

As suggested earlier, a rivnut would do it and having the tool and various sizes comes in handy.

This is what I got.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NDFZV6Z?ref_=ppx_hzod_title_mob_b_fed_asin_title_0_0

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[Captcarbide]

holy cow!!! that is crazy that they did that and thought it was acceptable and you wouldn't notice. thats amazingly terrible work.

they need to take your truck back to original specs or someone from some type of law office needs to step in. i would be so mad if i came out to that i would have had to be away from some cooling off time too.

god dang thats bad

In talking to Ford and the installers it sounds like rivnuts are the way to go. The guy at the installer called the work "embarrassing" so it sounds like it was the back of the house guys that tried to cover it up.

I checked the specs on the steel rivnuts and they are more impressive than I originally thought. Pull-out strength was in the hundreds of pounds.

The other options I could think of involved welding and I'm worried that'll lead to corrosion issues if the back side up in the rear corner panels don't get painted. I tried to get up in there after taking the fender liners off and it's pretty inaccessible.

Bottom line the installer is willing to work with me to make it right and their work aligns with what the Ford body shop recommended.

 

[Ron Quixote]

Sounds like a solid make-right solution. I only hate the actual work of installing rivnuts. They work well tho.

 

[av8r]

Good idea. I'd have to see if i can get a hand up the fender to tape off the back of the nut on the front one. I'm not too worried about pull out as this is mostly a sheer load.

I'm ready to just drill it out and weld in a threaded bung myself. hardest part would be rust protection for the back side in the fender. I'd have to take it somewhere to get the bed liner patched too.

Please don't use JB for this.

 

[superj]

rivnuts do work well. we use them at work

 

[Raptor Family]

I think the Rivnut is not the right repair. Rivnuts are generally for thin metal, they require a large hole, they do not sit flush, and they come loose and spin easy. More importantly, you have the thickness of the sheetmetal and the weld nut on the back which the Rivnut would have to go through and expand behind to work correctly. You would have to chisel off the the weld nut to use. the tie down will not sit flush.

I would recommend locking thread insert--not a helical, and entire insert like

To use a locking insert: drill the hole oversize, tap the hole, screw in stainless insert--use Red thread locker, tap (hammer) in thread lockers. I think the insert is a far better repair than removing the weld nut--its the go to method for repairing severely damaged threads where a Helicoil won't work.

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