I want to paint the chassis and diff etc and do a decent job, but I wondered how difficult it is to unbolt the bed and remove it so I can make the job a lot easier.

Thanks !

 

if the nuts and bolts are not corroded, it is easy.
if they are like the ones on my 88 were, you will need to grind the heads off the bed bolts and replace them.
the bed itself weighs around 400 lbs. 4 big guys can lift it off, but 6-8 guys make it a lot easier.

 

^^ And don't forget the fuel hose or hoses and the wiring harness underneath. If you can get the bolts out without cutting them, I'd think about replacing them or at least cleaning up the threads and use some antisieze compound when you put them back in. Good luck!

 

good catch Kevin!!
the fuel filler tubes are attached to the bed with a hose clamp on a small arm connected to the bed.
the wiring is with a single plug at the back of the truck behind the bumper, driver side frame rail.

 

I've ruined a filler tube or two in my younger years

 

If you are rusted up and don't have a pneumatic impact I would go strait to cutting the bolt heads off... I love PB blaster but there are some jobs even the PB can't handle. I sprayed PB on my bed for a week (couple times a day) and then tried to get the bolts off and it was a no go... Even after the impact went on them.

Grade 5 carriage bolts is all you need to replace them. I think used 2x 4in long and 4x 5in long... Granted the OEM bolts I believe are 3 different lengths (correct me if I'm wrong Tom).

The fuel filler necks can also be taken off by 3 small sheet metal screws around the filling neck behind the fuel door... I wanted to leave the caps on my fuel filler tubes is the reason I did it that way.

You might also want to think about whether a fuel sending unit is bad (do ur fuel guages work?)? do you need to wire a 4,6,or 7 pin for towing? any exhaust leaks? bad break lines??? there is a huge list of stuff that is easy to fix once the bed is off... Just a heads up if you wanted to do more than just paint the chassis...

Which btw... Por15 and Chassis Saver seem to be the popular brands of undercoating around this thread...

Hope all goes well and let us know how it turns out!

 

Thats great, thanks !

With the bed off soon I'd want to do every possible task I can.

I'e got a liner in the bed at the moment, so tomorrow maybe I Will lift that out and get a good look at the bolt heads and see if they are going to come out the easy way or the brutal way

 

yup, the original bed bolts were 3 different sizes. and metric, too.
once you have the bed off, you can do all kinds of neat things.
it makes changing broken springs a snap!!.

just be careful if you decide to try to drive it without the bed.
with no weight back there, it is real squirrelly, and loves to smoke the tires.

 

You need to look at the bottom side of the bolts under the chassis more than under your bed liner. All you'll see under the liner is the top of a carriage bolt head. You need to see how rusty the threads are under the nut... that will tell you how much work the bed will be to get off. And really it's not that bad if you have a die grinder or angle grinder and some cut off wheels! The hard part is lifting it off...

Which BTW... if you want a good addition to your bed... Add some extra metal (welded or bolted in your choice...) to the underside of your bed and put some cargo hooks in like the new trucks have! something Ford overlooked until recently... I plan to eventually weld some extra metal to the inside sides so I have a better base to add cargo hooks/loops, and then rhino, linex, or some other DIY bed liner kit!

 

That's what I thought but I just bought the longer 5-6inch size and put them in all 4 of the back bolt holes since there was plenty of room for the extra length underneath... Plus it was easier to buy 2 bulk packs at DSM bolt supple co. instead of 3!

 

Taking the bed off my 96 F150 was a nasty job.Grinding the heads off the bolts wont let you take the bed off.The front and rear bolts have an oval lump under the head.The bolts will drop down so you can use a sawzall to cut the bolts off.I ran a hole saw down over the center bolts because there were rust holes in the floor.The sheet metal channel spot welded to the bed was rusted away.I used an engine hoist to lift the bed off.The center bolts were cut off with a sawzall.They had square shanks under the bolt heads.Ive heard the Ford stealer gets 20 bucks each for new bolts.I bought 6 new hex head grade 5 bolts & nuts and lock washers for 3 bucks .I buy bolts and nuts for 1.50 a pound in bulk.Any one who tells you that taking the bed off a Ford is easy is lying.

 

i take them off all the time, and just did one 2 weeks ago to change the fuel pump and fix the sending unit. if you cut or grind the head of the bolt off clean, the bolt shank will pull through the bed. it takes longer to cut the heads off the bolts than it does to remove the bed.

 

when all else fails you can take the cutting torch to the bolts , thats what fender washers are for !

 

Grade 5 carriage bolts are a little harder to find but I found some here in Des Moines if anyone is in need. I can usually ship a set of 6 out to anyone with new nuts for $20... A little more than the $1.50 you spent but it looks OEM and wont give you problems later (ie catching your toe or pulling lumber out!).

'
If I had a torch when I was cutting mine off I would have just cut the nuts off the bottom!

I used my die grinder with a thin cutting wheel and cut the edges off to make the bolt head square and mine pulled right off! Besides that it depends on what your doing... If you just filled a 17gallon tank and your pump when out... Well I'd rather cut the bolts than drop a tank that's full of gas. Plus working under a rusty dirty truck is no fun when all that junk keeps falling off in your face. Once you get the bolt off and use antiseeze on the new bolts it will be 100x easier to pull it for future maintence!

 

Torch next to fuel tanks?.... No thanks. I just did this yesterday at work popped bed bolts of with a 18 mm swivel with extension and impact, two wiring harnesses on the back, three 7 mm self tappers on fuel doors, and a 5/16 for the hose clamp connecting the filler neck to the bed, ..... And I lifted it with the lift and drove out GhettoJoe figured out a good way to secure it to the lift this was on my 96 good luck on dads 96 we welded bolts to the top of the bolts