It depends on the location of the stud...

Is it an upper stud that is about 5" more or less above the pinch flange?

Or is it a lower stud that is right at the pinch flange?

In the case of lower studs, if the failure is a tear out, such as what was posted above by @Dent777 , then no one has reported a successful DIY fix or work around for the tear out.

In the case of the upper studs, an FTE member up in the 2017+ Super Duty sub-forum encountered a separation of the stud head from the aluminum sheet metal, where the entire stud dropped into the body cavity. He was able to fish it out with a magnet, and then able to hold it in position to get a nut on it, and then continue holding it until the nut was torqued.

It sounds like your failed stud has remained in place.... it just spins in place, as the head flange is no longer fixed to the aluminum.

In this case, I'd start a couple of days ahead of time by cleaning the tips of needle nose pliers with denatured alcohol, and leaving the jaws open, putting a dab of silicon sealant on each tip. Let that set up for a day or two.

Alternatively, if you can find some 1/8" vinyl vacuum caps to place over the jaw tips of needle nose pliers, you can dispense with the 2 day in advance silly cone idea.

At the time of installation, I would use painters tape to hold a loose upper stud in position to keep it from being poked down into the body cavity. The tape will not be necessary if the issue is with a lower stud, as the stud is held captive by the pinch flange.

With the stud secure from axial movement (even if not adequately fixed for rotational movement), I would mount the running boards, and tighten all other fasteners.

I would then hold the rotating stud with the vacuum cap covered (or dried silicon tipped) needle nose pliers to start the nut, and run the nut down to expose enough threads at the tail end of the stud to switch grip with the needle nose pliers in order to run the nut the rest of the way to tighten against the sheet metal, using an open wrench on the nut.

Here is the thread from the Super Duty forum:

Running board stud snapped off

 

So it's unfortunately the top stud on the front set of mounts. It was the last nut I was taking off on the driver side and it made it about half way off before it broke loose. I was able to get a flat head behind the original mounting bracket and just pry it out while loosing the screw. My AMP's won't be here for a couple more days so I may be able to explore the route you suggested. Luckily the stud didn't fall down in the rocker panel and I was able to get one of the nuts pretty snug on the stud to keep from falling inside.

Thanks for the very detailed reply.

 

I will try to get underneath and take a pic of what my buddys fix was. I have no idea what he did but the are still on and secure.

 

Any update to a fix here?

 

Dent777, Did you find a solution on this? This just happened to me, a post or something was sticking up in the field the same part of my bracket ripped off from the factory mounting point

 

I’ve got the same issue as you and Dent777 except it’s on a F250.

im looking to put a set of amp powersteps on but need to find a fix for the two lower studs that ripped out.

 

More research and I found the answer. Doesn’t seem too bad. Just requires a quick quote from a body shop it seems.

https://rts.i-car.com/collision-repa...irability.html

 

I ran into this issue tonight on the top front most mounts for my 2019 F250 running boards. On the passenger side I was able to get the nut off the spinning bolt by using a small pry bar between the washer and the body and putting pressure toward the nut which allowed the bolt to press against the body and stay in place enough to zip the nut off with an impact gun. I was able to put some tape around the loose bolt before removing the nut completely to stop it from falling in. I was then able to do reverse to reinstall using a pry bar to apply pressure to the nut and zip it on. Once it gets snug the bolt won't spin and you can torque it down normally.

On the driver side I lost the bolt into the cavity and I don't see any way to fish it out. I don't see how you can get in there with a magnet unless I am missing an opening. All I have is the bolt hole to work with.

 

Try popping of the plastic door sill covers and see if there is an access point.

 

Hi I'm not familiar with vinyl vacuum caps.. are you talking about the thing I attached to this post? Is the purpose to prevent damaging the threads on the stud?

Sorry I'm sort of a rookie with the wrench.