Fluid Film or paint bed bolts?

Prior to buying a 2016 I looked at quite a few pre-owned 2nd gen trucks. Every one of them had the bed bolts either covered in rust or starting to rust. It appears that the 3rd gen bolts are the same.

Are you guys painting them or just protecting them with something like FF?

 

I am. That's one thing that always bothered me.

 

I bought used, they had surface rust, I removed the rust and painted them. Keeping the drain holes in the bed clear is also a good idea.

 

Did you remove them or just tape around?

 

I removed them, my bed was on crooked. I would think taping around would suffice, threads were not bad.

 

The second gen bed bolts use a T55 Torx bit, not sure if the third gen is the same.

 

Those bolts look like Aluminum on my 2016 - truck bed/frame made out of steel.... maybe the reason for the corrosion is dis-similar metal?? I haven't looked close but that was my initial thought when I saw those bolts and they "look" aluminum to me. You would think engineers know this but there may be another reason for not using harder steel bolts. Maybe a tighter fit with softer bolts into steel frame??

 

Galvanized, check with a magnet.

 

Good point... if they're galvanized why are they rusting?? I'm going to hit mine with some FF when I do the frame tomorrow.

 

Galvanized bolts are just coated, scratch through the coating and you get rust.

 

Exactly. Galvanizing deck screws for example add years but it does not prevent rusting. For nuts and bolts, just paint a glob of wheel bearing grease on them. It will last a very long time, several years, in areas that don't get a direct spray. Think of what wheel bearing grease is made for. Good adhesive power that will hold up to water infiltration....but not direct power wash unless it's thick. It isn't perfect so it should be inspected and recoated; the thicker the better !

 

Take them out one at a time , spray them with Rust Cure Formula 3000 , replace