Running board support removal

R

roblesterjr04

Senior Member
I need to replace my running board supports as they are pretty foul.

Anybody have any simple solutions for removing the rivets? We tried to pop the rivets with an air hammer already and either our hammer is weak, or these things are too strong for it.

Hoping for one of the magic solutions the more experienced people have :)
 
Use a 1/4" drill bit and drill the depth of the head and then use a 1/4" pin punch and remove the head and then punch out the shank and the bucked end of the rivet. This is and for the most part has always been the best way to remove rivets. Rod
 
I have removed and replace two sets of runningboard brackets. I drill out the rivets. The rivets aren't made of real hard material. I center punch the head and then drill with a small drill bit, maybe 1/8" first about half way through. You can angle the drill, you can to get the hole perfectly centered in the rivet. Then I drill the hole larger with a 1/4" drill bit, again about half way or slightly more through the rivet. You want to leave some of the rivet undrilled so you can use a punch to knock it out. Sometime I can drive the rivet out with a punch and large hammer with a 1/4" hole. If it wont budge, drill the rivet hole to 9/32". The rivets will come out easy with that size hole. The rivets are 5/16" so you don't want to drill with a 5/16" or it might enlarge the hole if the hole is slightly off center. I have seen too many knucklehead people try to use a grinder to grind off the rivet heads. Usually it doesn't turn out well, as it messes up the brackets or frame. I have some pictures of replacing the runningboard brackets (the riveting part) if you need to see how I did it, send me a PM with your email address.
Rusty Nelson
 
Rob I am not sure if your body is still on the frame or not. I had a body on the frame and did it with a chisel bit on an air hammer. I had to sharpen it constantly but it did shear the rivets off, working on the inside of the frame rail. Rather tedious and very noisy.
 
Rowdy said:
Use a 1/4" drill bit and drill the depth of the head and then use a 1/4" pin punch and remove the head and then punch out the shank and the bucked end of the rivet. This is and for the most part has always been the best way to remove rivets. Rod
Click to expand...

My Son used this method for his repairs.
 
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