Well, got a worst case situation with a spinning rivnut. I was swapping out the stock Metalcloak black oxide 3/8 button head bolts to some stainless that won’t corrode during the lovely Ohio and West Virginia winters with the salt and stuff and I got them all replaced except one. I had three others give me a hard time but I was able to get the bolt to break free by pulling out on the rocker guard and creating pressure on the backside (mushroomed) of the rivnut. But this bugger won’t break free. Spins in both directions. It was the last one I had to do also.

I’m pretty inventive when it comes to this kind of thing but I worked on it for about 45 minutes and was starting to get frustrated so I stopped before I did something stupid that I would regret later.

One of the things that just popped into my head is maybe, just maybe I can access the backside of the rivnut by removing the insert of the MC vented fender liner kit that covers up the area in front of there. My other idea is to possibly get a metal plastic trim tool under the head of the bolt and try tightening the bolt down to maybe get the rivnut to catch and tighten back up again.

The main reason for getting the hardware out is to get the rocker guards off so I can get them Bullet Lined on the outside to match the Overline Fenders. Purely cosmetic but I’d like to do it before winter if possible.

The rivnut in question is the upper left closest to the fender.



The part I am wondering about removing that would maybe give me access to that rivnut is part number 3 in the following picture:

 

I am fenderless so easy for me to run look at mine. If you remove #3 in that picture above, you can easily grab that top nutsert and hold it. I think that is the one you are referencing. You can access the bottom one as well, but it would sure be a little more cumbersome to do so if that is the one that is problematic.

 

Awesome! If what you said is true I know exactly what to do tomorrow. I'll pull that insert, grab that sucker gently with a pair of channel locks enough to hold it so I can spin the bolt out and then use the MC nutsert tool to retighten that sucker back up. Might chase the threads before sticking a new stainless bolt in. I had to retighten the rivnuts on the other three that gave me a problem and the MC nutsert tool did the job perfectly.

That also tells me that I need to spray the inside of that are really well with either some spray paint or something else to prevent rust in there. Might spray primer, then hose it down in there with Fluid Film afterwards.

Thanks!

 

On aircraft when we had a rivnut that would spin, half the time we got the bolt out by putting a small flat screwdriver under the head of the bolt and pried upwards while removing the bolt. This pulls the rivnut towards the sheet metal so it can get grip. Once you have the bolt out, you can see if the rivnut can be squeezed more or replaced.

Otherwise, resharp had a easy solution to access the backside of the panel.

 

I tried doing exactly that and I also tried gently putting a plastic wedge between the Jeep body panel and the rocker guard trying to create the same effect you mentioned but had no luck unfortunately. Had to do that with 2 of the other three that gave me a problem and it worked after a few tries. The third one I just had to use my 1/4" drive impact to spin it back and forth a few times to get the bolt threads to break free. Then it came out no problem.

 

So, just to follow up with this post and what happened and hopefully help someone searching for the solution to the same problem in the future, @resharp001 was correct about accessing the rivnut from the fender opening as I also thought could be done. I pulled the insert out, grabbed ahold of the rivnut from the backside with a pair of channel locks and 15 minutes later I was back on the road all buttoned up and happy with my new non-corroded, anti-seized, stainless buttonhead bolt.



Pulled the insert out

You can see the offending rivnut here at the top

Old bolt removed

Retightening the rivnut using the MC rivnut “Tool”

New bolt installed with a liberal amount of Loctite marine grade anti seize compound on the threads.

 

Glad you got it figured out! It is definitely recommended to hit the edges of the newly drilled holes with some touch-up paint before you install the rivnut to avoid any future rust. It is also recommended to coat the grooves of the rivnut with red Loctite just before you install it. Anyone looking for info on doing this...do yourself a favor and get a rivnut installation tool. Not the nut/wrench method...the actual tool. I think Smittybuilt sells one for $50. It will save you a ton of headache and will ensure that they are fully crimped/seated to the sheet metal. I actually drove over to @resharp001 's house and used his whenever I installed my front and rear Nemesis Notorious fenders. I had all of the rivnuts installed in 10-15 minutes. Some of that time was spent figuring out exactly how that tool worked. Game...Changer!!! Thanks again for that Russel!

 

Glad you got that resolved. What I noticed when looking at mine in the process, was how much dirt I had thrown back into that alcove without having something like what you have blocking it.