frame coating

Weather permitting the first week of april i plan on removing the bed and sanding down my frame. Then going over it with a rust protectant paint front to rear. In the process fixing minor rust issues on the bed itself, now myrear roll pan under the tailgate is well... to say the least lost the battle and is in rusty raggedy pieces, so im thinking of buying some sheet metal and working it into a shaved style from scratch. Making it wide enough to have welded together to the tailgate area etc much like one of the grants. ( not as pretty of course lol) but no money to buy a grant so better built than bought.

Now my question is i know there are 4 bolts two on each side of the bed. But where are the last two located, and how should i go about pulling the taillight harness and wires running to the license plate lights off or even worry with these? Also the brakelines are they attached to the frame itself by clips thatcan just be screwed or unbolted off?

Any an all info on removing the bed is appreciated.

Yes i know i must disconnect the filler neck and read the writeup on that in a writeup on a fuel pump replacement.

Hey xX,

I think there are 8 bolts in the bed......might be 6, it's been a while.......just have a good look with a light under there and you will see them all. They all have a 17mm head on them.......brake lines should be able to be removed, some of them are held on with a plastic fastener that they are "clipped" into......and the plastic fastener is pinned to a hole in the frame.......might need to leave those plastic fasteners in place if you can't get to the backside of it to release the "holder" for it, but the brake lines should be able to be pried out of the plastic fastener/holder. There are a few tail light wires that you'll need to unhook from the rear of the bed.....and the tail lights will need to come off to unplug the wires from them......spare tire can stay put.

Six bolts. Front, rear, and the middle pair should be at the back of the wheel-well. A long breaker bar and a pipe to supplement it should come in handy if the bolts have never been out before.

I've pulled these beds off many, many times.

There are 3 bolts per side, the last two you probably are looking for are under the very end of the frame rails near where the bumper bolts would be.

You need to remove the fuel filler hoses (2) and the best way is to pull the hoses off because every single one I have done in 10+ years, the phillips head bolts will break off in the fuel filler receptacle ( the ones behind the gas door) I usually just destroy the original hose clamp on the big one and the little spring clamp type one will come off pretty easy.

No need to touch any brake lines, and you just unplug the tail light and license wires.

As far as the bed bolts, soak them real good with liquid wrench or PB blaster, do it well in advance - even soak them a few times over a week or so - they should come out, I use an impact gun.

I'd remove the bed, then pressure wash the frame really good, next let it dry and spray it down with rust mort, this will stop the rust process and convert the surface to a hard oxide finish that you can paint or leave - either way it's about the only way to turn back the clock on rust.

Long bed has 8, short bed and extended cab 6.

I could have sworn my short bed reg cab had 8 bolts. I removed my bed, pressure washed everything, then wire brushed frame, and coated it with POR-15, looks good. I dont think you can remove the brake line too easily with the cab still attached, as the brake lines run above all of the crossmembers on the passenger side along with the fuel lines, but you may be able to wiggle it out.

Thanks for the tips, not to sure if ill be able to pressure wash it. I dont own one and im in maine and well its rather illegal to drive without a bed here as to why i said id be sanding ( lightly ) of course. And i will look into the POR 15 i had planned on just using some rostoleum to coat the frame but if thats what you recommend i will look into that thanks.

Well, if you are already going through the effort to pull the bed and do some cleaning of the rust, you might as well spend a few extra bucks and go the POR 15 route (or something comparable)... especially in that environment. I used to spend some time in Portland, ME so I know how tough that environment is on cars.

Well being from tennessee i never had worry with rust issues lol. So if you know of anything comparable id appreciate the info. And would i sand it much like peeling paint go from a 60 grit and up to a 400 of course using the grades in between.

If you simply want rid of the rust, then pressure wash it and (if you have flakes then wire brush it and pressure wash) then spray it with rust mort in a had spray bottle, you should be good.