87 G20 Van Seat Bench Seat Removal

[Patrick]

I decided to take my rear seat out and replace it with a wood frame bed.
I got a crescent wrench on the strap down bold and turned and it continued to turn but did not losen.
I guess that means there is a nut under the van holding it.  
Seems like a 5/8 bold head, I'll throw a vice grip on it and get under there and see if I can locate the nut.

Anyone had experience with this, let me know if I'm thinking right.

 

[abnorm]

Crescent Wrench ?............You need a better toolbox for the job

 

[nature lover]

Hate to tell you this but the easiest way is to have help somebody on top somebody on bottom and get a little bit of WD-40 or something like that because they definitely rust.

 

[Sofisintown]

I decided to take my rear seat out and replace it with a wood frame bed.
I got a crescent wrench on the strap down bold and turned and it continued to turn but did not losen.
I guess that means there is a nut under the van holding it.  
Seems like a 5/8 bold head, I'll throw a vice grip on it and get under there and see if I can locate the nut.

Anyone had experience with this, let me know if I'm thinking right.

Yeah, I had the same problem when I removed the third seat from my van. I couldn't take the seat base out.
I sprayed DW40, and I muscled the bolts to no end till I was sore.

Finally I drove the van to my mechanic's and he took the bolts out in less than 5 minutes.
He didn't even charge me.

 

[bullfrog]

Harbor Freight sells cut off wheels, lots of sparks but fast to cut the heads off. They fit on the cheap grinder they sell seems with the discount less than $15.

 

[highdesertranger]

"Crescent Wrench ?............You need a better toolbox for the job"

I have to agree with this. when I was a young lad if I got caught using a crescent on anything I would be in trouble. you know what it stuck.

highdesertranger

 

[nature lover]

Just A precaution - if you use the cutting wheel please wear eye protection I have a friend who didn’t and regrets it To this day. .-)

 

[Patrick]

Well I really do need some new tools.

I had most all deep well sockets, except the one that I apparently need.

Could it be a 9/16............yeah, I know, I live on the forth floor and all my tools are in a closet up here with me. I went up and down a few times. Just needed a deep well socket organizer, but I don't have one.

I thought it was half inch, but did not have a 1/2 in DW socket. 13 MM is just a little bigger and it did not fit.

If I had my calipers I could measure it.........duh, WTF are my calipers!

Dark out now, and I'm researching a deep well socket set.

Vice grips are working fin.

 

[bullfrog]

Where I grew up many couldn’t afford tools except they would buy the large Craftsman common tip screwdriver with the lifetime guarantee. They seldom used it as a screwdriver but as a pry bar, chisel, wrench, opener, wedge and the handle end as a hammer. They would grind the handle to use as an alignment tool as well if they couldn’t find a socket and extension they could tape up. They would have cut or bent the straps or wedged the screwdriver tip between the bracket and the floor using the Crescent wrench for a hammer to get a good grip on the assembly to keep it from moving then gone underneath and tried to turn it. When that failed it was time for the only other tool in the tool box, the cutting torch and the main reason they had a Crescent wrench was in order to change tanks on the cutting torch. Lol!!! Reminds me I need to see about exchanging my screwdriver for a new one! That also reminds me of the time I saw one used as a weapon when they refused to exchange the screwdriver, something about abuse. The tip seems to be bent even though I’ve got a brand new set of pry bars! Old habits are hard to break!

 

[Patrick]

SITREP

Situation report.

I went to Lows this morning a bought a 9/16 deep well socket.

Went geocaching in the mountains and then came home and put the socket to work.

Vice grips on the top bolt head. The 9/16 DW socket worked great. Took about 45 minutes to get the four bolts out with no help from anyone but the vice grips.

Enjoyed the hints that everyone gave in this thread

 

[VanFan]

I used a torque wrench on mine.  That was the day this little bit felt like Superwoman!

Now that I think about it, the actual hold downs are still in the van.  I only removed the bolts connecting the bench seat/electric bed to the through-the-floor hold downs.  Still love that torque wrench, though.

 

[abnorm]

^^^^^^I'm betting you're talking about using an Impact Wrench

 

[bullfrog]

You sure it wasn’t an impact wrench? Torque wrenches are generally used for tightening. Boy you sure are quicker than me today Abnorm!

 

[VanFan]

^^^^^^I'm betting you're talking about using an Impact Wrench

Well guys, it is not an impact wrench, but it may not be a torque wrench either.  Maybe you can tell me:  It is long and has a socket on the business end, and a semi-circle with a scale on the other end.  When I looked on the net, "breaker bar" came up, but I don't see one with the scale.  (When it comes to tools, I can be pretty clueless.  I think it's because of a deprived childhood where we made a "monkey wrench," hammer, flat head, Phillips and file do it all!)

Here's hoping the OP has a successful extraction!

 

[abnorm]

SORRY........That's a TORQUE WRENCH........a rather delicate instrument used to check the tightness of fittings

If all you own is a Hammer........everything looks like a NAIL

 

[Sofisintown]

Well guys, it is not an impact wrench, but it may not be a torque wrench either.  Maybe you can tell me:  It is long and has a socket on the business end, and a semi-circle with a scale on the other end.  When I looked on the net, "breaker bar" came up, but I don't see one with the scale.  (When it comes to tools, I can be pretty clueless.  I think it's because of a deprived childhood where we made a "monkey wrench," hammer, flat head, Phillips and file do it all!)
Here's hoping the OP has a successful extraction!

We didn't have tools at home when I was a kid. Only a hammer and a screwdriver in a kitchen drawer. Always a handyman would come to repair stuff.
Maybe that explains my fascination and obsession with tools.

 

[VanFan]

SORRY........That's a TORQUE WRENCH........a rather delicate instrument used to check the tightness of fittings

Oh dear...  I can promise it wasn't used like a delicate instrument!  All that leverage sure made a difference.  Thanks!

 

[Patrick]

Could it be a ratchet wrench?

That's what I used.

 

[Patrick]

Gotter done.

I now have a 6x6 MDF particle board bed in the back. It turned out a little higher then is probably best, but it is stable.

I went 18 inches high with 2 x 4 slats on top of that.

Gonna put a 6 x 6 carpet on top of that...........is there a best carpet for this application?

 

[bullfrog]

Okay Patrick stop right there. Think about how much weight you have added and if you made it lighter how much more important stuff you could possibly haul later. 2”x4” and thick MDF are way more than you need. Now is the time to consider these things. You could get two damaged interior doors 36” wide and glue good 1/4” plywood on top of them for a good light weight platform. The legs could be made of 1 1/2”x1 1/2” by ripping the 2”x4” in half. If you want stable and sturdy simply make a rectangle front and back with a center support out of them. Even that is probably way more than you need. Milk crates or totes with a piece of 1/2” plywood layer on top makes a good bed as well and gives you complete storage underneath with a stable bed on top. Using a mat designed to allow air flow under your mattress like they use on boats is a good idea if you are using unvented propane for heat or cooking inside the van. Slow down and consider the best advice you can find here by asking lots of questions. Building too heavy is a common mistake.