HELP: Spare tire kit - removal?

[sleepyhuman]

Hi All -

I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get these out - any ideas?

[boywonder]

Is your top picture upside down?? Can't really make heads or tails of what you have going on...


It helps a lot if you post the year and model of your van..assuming a Ford?

[JWA]

You're simply dealing with removing larger "pop rivets" which require knocking the center pin out of the rivet body then drilling through the head and body removing it from the part and the inner structure of the van body.

Typically you'll use a 1/4" drill bit, perhaps a 5/16" will be necessary.

These photos are indeed inverted, should be rotated for a more clear view.

[sleepyhuman]

Originally Posted by boywonder

Is your top picture upside down?? Can't really make heads or tails of what you have going on...


It helps a lot if you post the year and model of your van..assuming a Ford?

YES - sorry. It's a 2001 ford E350 ext passenger van. The top picture is upside down but it's the hardware that held the spare tire crank rod on the far rear passenger side of the van. I can't identify any head to screw it out, or access point for the other side so I'm trying to figure a way to screw off the washer ( I think? )

[sleepyhuman]

Originally Posted by JWA

You're simply dealing with removing larger "pop rivets" which require knocking the center pin out of the rivet body then drilling through the head and body removing it from the part and the inner structure of the van body.

Typically you'll use a 1/4" drill bit, perhaps a 5/16" will be necessary.

These photos are indeed inverted, should be rotated for a more clear view.

So I tried this, and the center threaded bit won't budge but the outside (black part in view) is partially demolished.

Thoughts?

[boywonder]

Originally Posted by sleepyhuman

So I tried this, and the center threaded bit won't budge but the outside (black part in view) is partially demolished.

Thoughts?

Keep drilling.......as JWA mentioned they are giant rivets.....when you get the shank part thin enough it will usually separate, although as mentioned you can persuade it with a hammer and a punch too.


If the rivet starts spinning you can sometimes lean the drill bit over to one side to get some friction to stop it from spinning.....there are various techniques.

[JWA]

^^^Agreed there's no one perfect way to remove those type rivets---I've had my own struggles with them from time-to-time myself.

The idea is removing the rivet head which really all that's holding the fittings to the sheet metal.

Originally Posted by sleepyhuman

So I tried this, and the center threaded bit won't budge but the outside (black part in view) is partially demolished.

Thoughts?

You need to use a larger center punch and probably bigger hammer too---sometimes the center mandrels are a but PITA to punch out. I've found brute force isn't the answer but rather short sharp raps with the center punch held firmly. You cannot easily drill through the center mandrel as its much harder than the rivet head or body.

After the center mandrel is out I've used up to 1/2" bits to completely remove the rivet head, stop drilling before the bit digs into the backing sheet metal.

Not sure we're being that helpful, mostly this is a learned experience where doing it a few times makes subsequent attempts much easier.