Bed Bolt Frozen for Additional Tie Down Point

So, i went to add 2 more tie down locations per the DIY on here. I'm doing this so i have 2 more points to tie down my dog's crate when she is in the back of the truck. i did the same process for my previous tacoma and had zero issues. This is referencing the bolts closest to the front of the bed. I did the passenger side first and finished that side in about 15 minutes. The driver's side is being super stubborn. My impact gun that does 700 ft lbs in reverse will not budge the bolt. And, it doesnt appear i can spray anything on the bolt to loosen it up a bit because the fuel tank is right in the way. So....two part question.

1. any other ideas on how to remove this bolt?
2. any other ideas on how to tie down my dog crate?

 

Just a guess below:

 

I didnt think the bed cleats were sturdy enough to have something ratchet strapped to them?

 

I've tied down two 450lb sport bikes with the cleats at the same time, the rails did look strained - it held 800miles.

 

thats good to know, i didnt know they could handle that much pressure on them. thanks!

 

What type of dog crate? If it's the typical pet store ones, there will be no issues.

 

Airline track.

 

Just your basic one, nothing special.

 

Those cleats should be fine for dog crates. I wouldn't trust it for any heavy loads. I think the limit is around 200lbs per cleat but I would be more worried about the rails bending.

 

Bumping this up to add another idea. This would not be to tie down my dog crate, but just so i have another tie down point in general on the floor of the truck. I'm not sure how much this would apply though since this is a composite bed - but what about using a propane torch to heat up the bolt? Granted, i would only be able to heat up the head of the bolt since the rest is blocked by the fuel tank. Thoughts?

 

You'll melt the composite bed.

 

Yup, thats pretty much what i was thinking but wanted to double check.

 

go down the street to a mechanic with a snap on air impact gun and be done with it

 

And yes you can heat the bolt, if you are careful. I did it to remove my bed and it worked fine, and I did not melt my bed. I heated successfully from both above and below.

 

We're talking the big T55 bolts right? I want to say you can get to it pretty easy via the rear wheel well. Maybe jack the frame up so the wheel droops, or take the wheel off altogether. Get in there with some PB blaster and try it again in a week. Might take a few treatments to work all the way in

 

Yes, they are T55 bolts. PB blaster may help. I used PB blaster first, then heat, and if that did not work, I used a powerful air impact gun from my mechanic friend down the street.

 

If you don’t want to fight with that stuck bolt. You could make a plywood base for the dog crate, just make it wider and longer that the crate and then strap the crate to the base. 3/4 plywood should work.

The plywood would make it stable and removable. A bed mat would keep if from sliding.

 

50/50 mix of acetone & ATF = best penetrant

 

Is your impact gun air powered or battery powered? Sometimes the cordless guns just don't have the oomph to break bolts loose even though they might have the same torque rating as an air gun. I found that out years ago trying to remove lug nuts with a DeWalt cordless impact.

I removed the rusted bed bolts on my truck last summer with an IR air gun. I tried first with a 24" breaker bar but it would cam out and start to strip the head.

 

I could not break one T55 bolt with my milwaukee torque cordless. Needed air gun to finish the job.