I was installing running boards on my new to me 2019 Lariat and sheared off one of the mounting studs while trying to tighten to the recommended 16 ft/lb's.
Has anyone else run into this and if so, how did you fix it?

 

At 16ftlb this would be hard to do. Sounds like a defective stud.

 

Grind it off, drill a hole in the floor and put the same size bolt through it with a large washer with some sealant under it.

 

Can you explain your idea a bit further?

Here are some photos of the studs and their location, if that will help.

 

I should have gone to look at mine before my suggestion. This is a little more challenging. A picture of the broken stud would help, that way we can get a better idea on how to approach it.

 

Same approach as above to start. Grind it off, drill it out. Slip in a body nut and use a bolt?

 

I'm not the "Official Wet Blanket" , but I do see Two problems with this approach...

1. Body nuts, aka speed nuts, as illustrated in the photo above, rely on a pawl and spring tension to hold them in place. The pawl means that they will scratch through the paint into the parent metal of the body part that they are clipped into, and the spring tension means that these body nuts are all made of spring steel. And the body is aluminum. Now scratched aluminum. In direct contact with steel. In the constant path of tire flung water and road salt spray. Dissimilar metal galvanic corrosion. Not good. This could be why Ford stopped mounting running boards using bolts and speed nuts when Ford transitioned to the aluminum body. Previously, with steel bodies, Ford did use speed nuts and bolts, instead of studs, but Ford stamped the holes for the speed nuts above the bottom of the pinch flange, because...

2. There may not be enough space in the drain divot to fit the throat of the speed nut. For purposes of explanation, the "drain divot" is that hollow of space afforded by the intentionally gapped separation between the inner and outer aluminum sheet metal of the pinch flange, where the circular flange of the stud is nested. The inner panel has the undulations that form what I have called "drain divots" for lack of a better term, and not every undulation has a stud. But the gap created by the undulation of the inner panel may not be deep enough to accommodate the threaded throat of any steel body nut forced up in there, and then there is the question of the bolt itself... how short will the bolt have to be in order to not poke through the outer panel, and if a body bolt is used, the first three threads are tapered in order to start in the body nut, as the body nut threads are often ovalized or distorted in order to "lock" the body bolt into place. A certain number of threads must be engaged at the prevailing torque designed into the body nut's "distortion" in order for the bolt to stay put in a vibrating road shock environment.

I'm not seeing a simple slam dunk solution here, which is why I am so interested in this OP's problem. I keep thinking about solutions, but end up nixing each one as I think it through. It would help if @PeteD44 would post a photo of the broken stud, because upper studs may be easier to solve than lower studs.

 

I was thinking of grinding off the stud, then a slot next to it on the sloped side. Then slide a new stainless bolt and washer in. Use an RTV or epoxy adhesive on the washer so that it wont slide off afterward. But once it's tightened it should stay.

 

Fair point, one would have to make sure the body nut (or any fasteners) are compatible with aluminum. I wondered the same thing when I was installing my wheel well liners and contacted Husky about it. They claimed that the fasters they provided were correctly coated (I don't remember exactly how or with what) to be compatible with aluminum. So proper fasteners, however you decide to proceed, are important, and probably available, although I'm not sure how readily.

 

What was the final fix here? I have a 16 that had four bolts sheer of removing the old running boards

 

So far, no one with the problem has posted any photos of actual damaged studs. Some photos would provide viewers with an idea about where and how exactly the studs are breaking, so that our collective experience can suggest potential solutions.

I'm the only member who has posted any photos at all, and that was of a brand new truck without any running boards attached. (I later installed a set of take offs).

It would be useful to have an idea of where and how the studs are breaking. Mid-span in the threads? At the flat head? At the intersection between bolt and body? How much stud remains? Are the studs corroding at the intersection from dissimilar metal combined with road salt? What does the cross section of the stud look like? Are only the lower studs breaking, or are any upper studs breaking also? Upper and lower studs present very different problems.

 

Time to visit a welding shop.

 

 

Looks like the studs pulled through the aluminum? I think thats what I’m seeing.

 

I'm gonna bring this thread back instead of starting a new one. Anyone with the problem studs find a solution? I was removing the running boards today on my 2021 with 1100 miles and one of the studs tack weld that holds the head on the back side broke loose. I was still able to get the factory steps off, but now i'm wondering how to get the AMP's back on when it comes to tightening that one bolt. Suggestions?