Removing rusted in seat bolts - 06 Chevy 3500 Chassis

[SteelWheels42]

I am starting a conversion on an '06 Chevy 3500 short bus. I'm from the northeast so she's got some rust. The frame was sprayed with some undercoat and is in good shape, but the seat bolts are so rusty I can barely get the socket on. It took about an hour to get a single bolt loose and it took a 2' pipe for leverage. The location of the bolts makes them near impossible to hit with a grinder. A local friend recommended a cutting torch but I think that would spell the end of the plywood subfloor. Any folks here experience anything similar?

If anyone here is local to upstate NY and wants to tackle this I'd happily pay, all this crouching is no good for my old bones...

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

the plywood subfloor needs to come out anyway.
guaranteed to have rust under it.
get a torch a helper for fire watch and a couple of fire extinguishers and cut away

[SteelWheels42]

Originally Posted by Jolly Roger bus 223

the plywood subfloor needs to come out anyway.
guaranteed to have rust under it.

My bus has no metal subfloor, just some thick plywood with some sort of coating on the bottom. The only metal bits seem to be around the wheel wells, and the cross bars that the plywood floor is attached to. The ply seems to be in good shape (will confirm when I pull the rest of the rubber floor), so I'd rather not replace the subfloor unless I find rotten wood. Unfortunately it makes it damn near impossible to use a torch anywhere near it without burning a nice hole through

[Jolly Roger bus 223]

ok sorry.
my 04 chevy collins body has tin underneath.
it will suck but you can still use a torch.
i would question what the structural steel/ribs look like where the ply is attached?
but in moving forward please fill out your profile
chassis is chevy
coachwork is your bus body and list motor so we can give you more specific advice if and when you have a question.
with your last response i assume you have a shuttle body and there are members here that can help
soak the top of the ply or get some fire blankets.
or make kind of a sheetmetal cup that wraps around the seat foot that will help contain the torch slag.
they also make a product called cool gel but it will leave a mess if you want to re use the floor

[SteelWheels42]

I do appreciate the help, my apologies if I sounded rude about the floor. I'd fill out the coachwork section if I knew the maker of my bus, I haven't seen a tag, so I presumed it was chevy too. I will post a picture when I figure out how and maybe on of you guys can identify it for me. I don't have access to a cutting torch myself so I've been searching around for a place to do it for me. Went to a mechanic and they wanted $1000 for the job . I'll see if the welding shop near me will touch it on Monday, any other suggestions for places to look to get the job done?

[musigenesis]

If your seat bolts are rusted, there's a good chance your plywood has some severe rot going on and might be due for replacement anyway. The undercoating wouldn't have protected the plywood from internal leaks, which is what caused the rusting of the seat bolts.

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by SteelWheels42

I am starting a conversion on an '06 Chevy 3500 short bus. I'm from the northeast so she's got some rust. The frame was sprayed with some undercoat and is in good shape, but the seat bolts are so rusty I can barely get the socket on. It took about an hour to get a single bolt loose and it took a 2' pipe for leverage. The location of the bolts makes them near impossible to hit with a grinder. A local friend recommended a cutting torch but I think that would spell the end of the plywood subfloor. Any folks here experience anything similar?

If anyone here is local to upstate NY and wants to tackle this I'd happily pay, all this crouching is no good for my old bones...

Take the seat bottoms off then you can reach through with a grinder with a cutting wheel on it.

[PhilipE]

If the bolts are that rusty a good impact wrench will break them off. Just leave it on tighten. They should snap off.

When I say good impact if it has CP on the side of it. That won't do it.

[SteelWheels42]

Made a small amount of progress this weekend. Took an impact to them (Ryobi electric), it managed to snap one and get a single other one that I was previously wrenching on out. The rest seem rock solid, they don't wanna spin off or snap. I found an ad on facebook for some folks that do conversions a couple hours away from me,. I gave them a call and they said they can pull the seats for me this week for $350, which sounds like a deal to me! I'm a little afraid they'll charge more once they see how tough they are but I want them gone at this point.

I'm a bit excited for the journey, it will be the first time taking my bus out for more than the 30 minute or so drive when I purchased it. Hopefully things go well, I'll post an update when they are out.

[EastCoastCB]

have you considered grinding the heads off them with an angle grinder?
350 is quite a bit of money. Its a shorty, right?
a $15 grinder and a few hours max would prob save you that money for other parts of the build.
Anyone in FL wanting seats pulled hit me up. I'll do it pretty cheap. Hell I don't think I'd charge $350 to pull the seats from a full forty footer, man.

[SteelWheels42]

It is a shorty, so 12 seats total in mine, plus 2 of the dividers between the seating area and seat/stairs. Access from the underside is terrible, I can't get a grinder in there due to the frame rail/driveshaft/diff, other than the last row of seats. On the topside the bolt is recessed, so I'd have to grind down a big chunk of the seat mount itself to get it done. I'd like to reuse at least 2 of the seats for my dinette, and I think that route would ruin them.

$350 is expensive, but nothing is cheap up here. Just last week I paid $120 for a synthetic oil change in my little Subaru, a few years back I could get it for $40 or 50. I put an ad on Craigslist offering $20 for each seat removed and not even the local yokels will do it. Crazy world we live in.

[EastCoastCB]

Originally Posted by SteelWheels42

It is a shorty, so 12 seats total in mine, plus 2 of the dividers between the seating area and seat/stairs. Access from the underside is terrible, I can't get a grinder in there due to the frame rail/driveshaft/diff, other than the last row of seats. On the topside the bolt is recessed, so I'd have to grind down a big chunk of the seat mount itself to get it done. I'd like to reuse at least 2 of the seats for my dinette, and I think that route would ruin them.

$350 is expensive, but nothing is cheap up here. Just last week I paid $120 for a synthetic oil change in my little Subaru, a few years back I could get it for $40 or 50. I put an ad on Craigslist offering $20 for each seat removed and not even the local yokels will do it. Crazy world we live in.

Whats your location?

[Rock-N-Ruth]

Originally Posted by SteelWheels42

It is a shorty, so 12 seats total in mine, plus 2 of the dividers between the seating area and seat/stairs. Access from the underside is terrible, I can't get a grinder in there due to the frame rail/driveshaft/diff, other than the last row of seats. On the topside the bolt is recessed, so I'd have to grind down a big chunk of the seat mount itself to get it done. I'd like to reuse at least 2 of the seats for my dinette, and I think that route would ruin them.

$350 is expensive, but nothing is cheap up here. Just last week I paid $120 for a synthetic oil change in my little Subaru, a few years back I could get it for $40 or 50. I put an ad on Craigslist offering $20 for each seat removed and not even the local yokels will do it. Crazy world we live in.

Don't try to grind from below. On the inside of the bus, with a cutting wheel on your grinder, cut off the heads of the bolts.
Bada bing. Bada boom.
Been there. Done it.

[Foamenter]

Use a center punch on the head of the bolt, drill small, then progressively larger holes. You only need to drill as deep as the head is thick. You might need to use a wrench to stop it spinning. When the hole is close to the size of the bolt, whack it with a cold chisel and you'll break the head off. Then you can push it through the bracket and floor. Use a 90° drill or adapter as needed to fit under the seat frames.

[LargeMargeInBaja]

Originally Posted by SteelWheels42

My bus has no metal subfloor, just some thick plywood...

.
a)
From your description, I get the impression the seats bolt though some thick plywood.
If this's the situation, perhaps retirement was the best result for this vehicle.
I say this because that seems a shaky foundation for carrying our most precious possessions -- our family members.
.
b)
To remove your rusted bolts, I would use an air-chisel.
Goggle up, protect your hearing.
.
c)
If you go the torch route, have at least one alert focused helper with a garden-hose to flood your remnants.
This's a two-person job:
* one handles the bright shiny hot end...
* the other handles the squirts.
Never shall the twain meet as one.
.
d)
If I was me, I think I might anticipate replacing sections of some thick plywood.

[kirkdc]

I agree with the above post of drilling the heads off them from the tops. Get a brand new drill bit, no cheapies, maybe two or three. An angle drill may help in getting in tight spots. And as mentioned center punching them is key.

[Mainegunner]

I used a grinder and a cutoff wheel to remove the bolt heads from my seats. It is nasty. Definitely need hearing protection/ eye protection and I'd recommend a cartridge respirator. It is going to kick up a lot of smoke and crap which you don't want in your lungs. Believe me.