Noob Running Board Removal Question

[flood]

So I removed the running boards off my LX 470 and had no issue with it except for the passenger side front most L-Bracket. The bolt (in the picture) is seemingly impossible to reach.

Do I just remove the metal housing around those lines that are blocking it or what?

Also, how do I go about getting the track lighting connector out of the way? I was thinking about just electrical taping it and just leaving it there but I'm sure there is a more elegant solution.

 

[rking]

I just bloodied up my knuckles.... I used a 3" extension and used my left hand to slightly move the metal out of the way.... But if you search the forum for running board removal I'm sure people have done it an easier and less bloody way. I just didn't have the patience to read all that info for one bolt.

 

[Manhattan]

I did what rking (minus the bloody knuckles)... just move/pushed the lines out of the way and turned the bolt about 1/16 a turn at a time... Fortunately none of the bolts were very tight.

 

[Yukon LX]

I took off the little metal covering. It made it very easy. And added 3 minutes.

 

[jonharis]

So I removed the running boards off my LX 470 and had no issue with it except for the passenger side front most L-Bracket. The bolt (in the picture) is seemingly impossible to reach.

Do I just remove the metal housing around those lines that are blocking it or what?

Also, how do I go about getting the track lighting connector out of the way? I was thinking about just electrical taping it and just leaving it there but I'm sure there is a more elegant solution.

View attachment 527529

I just bloodied up my knuckles.... I used a 3" extension and used my left hand to slightly move the metal out of the way.... But if you search the forum for running board removal I'm sure people have done it an easier and less bloody way. I just didn't have the patience to read all that info for one bolt.

I did what they did. The lines moved enough for me to get to the bolt.

 

[TheFuzz]

I also removed the bracket holding the lines. Here is my removal thread from last year. I didn't take any pics of the actual job but I did detail how I got them off.

https://forum.ih8mud.com/100-series-cruisers/441359-finally-pulled-running-boards.html

 

[flood]

Success!...after a lot of swearing, but success all the same!

 

[coffmedicine]

I also removed the bracket holding the lines. Here is my removal thread from last year. I didn't take any pics of the actual job but I did detail how I got them off.

Finally pulled the running boards

Hey TheFuzz, I read your write up and took a look at the after pics. So I recently purchased a 06 LX where a previous owner ran over something and tore up the boards. Luckily the guts of the boards are fine just cosmetic paint and plastic damage.

I know it's probably a sin on this site but I'm actually looking to just replace the plastic trim with the pre-painted OEM sets. I'd like to do this at home and like yours my truck came out of Chicago/southern MI so I'm trying to avoid as much bolt rust as possible. Since I don't want to fully remove the boards, if I wanted to could I just removed the board, swap out the plastic and lights, and reinstall without having to remove the brackets from the body of the truck?

 

[Slashzero]

Holy crap! I just removed my running boards tonight on my 2003 LC, and am having the same issue on the darned front passenger bracket. The metal plate and bolts / clips holding the lines are rusted (thanks NE winters!) so I’m worried if I try to remove them they will snap (like a lot of the running board bolts did).

The LC bracket is slightly different than the LX one you have pictured. The bottom 12mm bolt is at an angle. I was able to move the lines and plate enough to get a 12mm socket the bolt plus universal joint plus 3 inch extension on there, but there is no way I can get enough force on there to get it to turn without the socket popping off. I guess I need to try moving the line further so that I can get the 3 inch extension on there without the universal joint. I will have to wait until tomorrow to try again.

The truck looks amazing without running boards... except for that darned bracket sticking out on the passenger side.

 

[Trailguy]

I kept the wiring connections and reused them to mount LED rock lights on the frame.
I don’t really recall having to much trouble getting the brackets off of the frame. They were a piece of cake compared to removing all of the AHC hardware.