Side Rail Replacement

[David Dunn]

Well nuts would easily be considered the rubber version of the TSN (thin sheetmetal nutsert) or a flanged type of nutsert . These flare to be held in place like a pop rivet. The rivnut I normally use are a flush surface mount that actually seperate into 2 pieces when installed. The drilled hole needs to be maintained to the proper dimension for max holding power. They also will come apart sometimes on disassembly.

The most common use of well nuts for automotive use is for mounting roof racks where you can't get to the back side or in fibreglass.
They're best for use where you're trying to seal the surface, the mounting surface is somewhat fragile or insulating the materials.
For mounting the rub rails on the Pinz, the large flange TSN is prefered , and originally used by SDP.

[djw]

I was not sure what a well-nut was
Interesting and there are a lot that have higher failure specs
http://www.thread-rite.com/pop_nuts/wel ... andard.htm
Nice find!
I would paint them

Well-nuts are fairly common on motorcycles, I first ran across them in some light airplane applications. I had a bunch of well-nuts in my bike spares and already had to use one on the pinz for a stripped/corroded rivnut for the front plate mount.

I need to redo my rub rails and about half the rivnuts are uncooperative. Since the well-nuts are not terribly expensive and easy to re-do without tools (and never rust), I thought it might be worth experimenting and maybe even step down a bolt size on the rub rail to use the remaining hole size once the rivnut and bolt head is drilled out. If it doesn't work out then it is still easy to go back to rivnuts.

The only issue I have ever had with well-nuts in my applications is you can't over torque them because you will tear and ruin them. Just need to tighten down 'enough' and not pinch the life out of them.

[berger]

The only issue I have ever had with well-nuts in my applications is you can't over torque them because you will tear and ruin them. Just need to tighten down 'enough' and not pinch the life out of them.

Ya, the ones I went with, if I remember correctly, were like 10-15inlbs. I am really liking them, and they hold tight.

[texas pinzgauer]

I'll tell what I'd like to see is if someone has retrofitted the side rub rails on one of our old 710/712 to replicate the look of the newer models where the rub rail continues down and below the front doors. Has anyone ever considered a way to do that?

[4x4Pinz]

we take them all the way to the front
http://www.swpinzgauer.org/message_boar ... affdd5b0ea

[totaljoint]

Andre Swanson (Fat Fabrications) took my side rail down to the front like this.

[texas pinzgauer]

Both examples look great! Thanks for passing those options along for consideration. I should be seeing Andre in the next few months to retreive some work he's been doing for me so I can quiz him then.

[berger]

we take them all the way to the front
http://www.swpinzgauer.org/message_boar ... affdd5b0ea

Very nice! How are they mounted to the body?

[4x4Pinz]

they are mounted using riv nuts. A couple new ones are added at the front to support the rails where the wood stopped.

[audiocontr]

Andre Swanson (Fat Fabrications) took my side rail down to the front like this.

Whats your total height? Will you fit under an 8ft barrier?

[djw]

I was not sure what a well-nut was
Interesting and there are a lot that have higher failure specs
http://www.thread-rite.com/pop_nuts/wel ... andard.htm
Nice find!
I would paint them

Thanks! Ya, they seem really resilient...and that is the website I was reading.

I think I will paint the rails. The black contrast looks good on the truck.

I ended up stripping, sanding, and painting mine black again and they turned out just fine.

Still in the process of replacing loose rivnuts. The M6 rivnuts linked to in another thread from McMaster did not fit and are too large in diameter (10mm) to fit the existing holes. There was one loose M6 SS rivnut that was in the rivnut tool case that fit fine, so I presume it was a 9mm M6 (forgot to measure it before I installed it). Have been using M5 well-nuts as a temporary and that seems to also work fine.

[totaljoint]

Whats your total height? Will you fit under an 8ft barrier?

As I recall, it sits just a hair under 8ft. Pinz is visiting Jim L. right now, so can't measure it.
Ed

[Tyler]

I replaced my rub rails with "trex" decking material. I had a guy that does decks and porches measure, and "mill" them to the exact specs as the originals. The milling was basically no more than some masterfull placement of clamps, sawhorses and a tablesaw. There are quite a few great attributes to this material. Its waterproof, semi flexible, corrosion proof, uv proof, easy to tool and its tough as nails. It even comes in several colors, and one of its best attributes is that the color is through and through. If you scuff it, you really cant tell. The holes are countersunk and i retained the factory holes using nutzerts. The edges are nice and sharp, but without the splinters. They are just fantastic. If i ever paint my rig, i may change the color. They have a really dark green available and a charcoal grey.
Tyler

[Tyler]

I replaced mine with "Trex" decking material. Its waterproof, uv proof, semi flexible, comes in several colors, and is incredibly easy to tool. Its tough as nails and if scuffed, you often cant tell depending on the severity of your carnage because the color is completely through the material. I had a guy that builds decks and porches mill them using simple tools and a tablesaw to the exact specs as the originals. I highly recommend the effort to find a deck guy and have him expand his horizons a little. I love mine. They look great, and definatly serve the purpose. The color of mine is basically a reddish beige. Almost like stained oak. It both emulates the nostalgic aspect of the rails, but with a modern, tough touch.
Tyler