Please help!!

[jaminalee]

I am currently replacing my sub floors and am soo stuck. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the elevator bolts out of my floor! I've tried the wiggle method but the head of the bolts underneath are flush with the plywood so there's no way to get a hold of them to hold them tight so I could unscrew the nuts on top. I have the belly pan off, all interior wall panels removed and am so ready to get the old rotted sub floor OUT! So please if anyone has any advice on different ways to go about it please help!

[DanB]

4" angle head grinder being careful!

[danny-]

I ground the heads of with a 5'' right angle grinder. I figured the bolts would be so rusty they would not break loose anyway. Good luck

[Minno]

Or a dremel tool with a cut off head. I used both methods, depending on where the bolt was. Both will create a fair amount of smoke as they burn through the wood to cut off the bolt head, so ventilation is important.

Chris

[wasagachris]

I very easily removed mine by clamping a pair of vice grips to the end of the bolt and by flexing them back and forth I fatigued the metal and the bolt just snapped off above the nut. Then with a hammer and punch pushed the rest of the bolt up through the hole. No fuss no mess and no smoke or flames.
others have used a hole saw to create a hole in the sub floor around the bolt so as to gain space to clamp the head of the bolt.

[IndyAnne]

Like the others have said, you'll have to take the belly pan off, get access to the frame. The bolts most likely have been bent to prevent the nuts from vibrating and coming loose or off.

I used a cut-off wheel on a Dremel rotary tool, with an extension attachment for hard to reach areas. I got the extension at Harbor Freight. I wonder if the new multi-tool would be even better, not so much slinging metal shavings all over the place.

I'm sure you are already doing so, but, be sure to wear good eye protection. I also wore a hat, sleeves, and buttoned my shirt all the way to my chin. Metal shavings can be very irritating, even painful, in my noobie experience.

Anne

Originally Posted by jaminalee

I am currently replacing my sub floors and am soo stuck. I can't for the life of me figure out how to get the elevator bolts out of my floor! I've tried the wiggle method but the head of the bolts underneath are flush with the plywood so there's no way to get a hold of them to hold them tight so I could unscrew the nuts on top. I have the belly pan off, all interior wall panels removed and am so ready to get the old rotted sub floor OUT! So please if anyone has any advice on different ways to go about it please help!

[jaminalee]

Thank you everyone for your advice, I will try all these methods and let you know which worked best for me

[Stefrobrts]

Good luck! I did this a couple years ago. It's a puzzler, and the part you're doing is the toughest part. After this, stuff will start going back together pretty quickly.

[baby_beluga]

+ 1 on the 4" angle grinder. It has gotten me through a couple other spots on the renovation. It was great for cutting through the rusted u bolt hangers holding the axle to the leaf springs. The threads were too rusted and damaged to muscle the nuts off.