Rivnut or similar Brisbane

[S3ute]

Hello from Sherwood.

I am trying to fit a short light bar and two HID lamps on to my son's Hilux before he heads back out to Camooweal in a couple of weeks for the season.

The truck has a TJM steel bull bar which accommodates the two spots in the open central area, but not the light bar which despite being a short model is too long to allow the spots to be adjusted.

It could be fixed underneath the top bar but there is an issue there too. The top bar is 3" and the kits for bars are for 1.5 to 2 inch only - and don't look that great.

An apparent solution is to tap two holes under the top bar and fit appropriate size rivnuts that the light bar mounts can bolt into. Fairly neat if it can be effected.

Problem is I don't have a rivnut insert tool and only need to do two inserts which doesn't warrant buying one. So, I'm hoping I might find someone locally who has a tool or can help me find a firm who might do that trivial a job without wanting an arm and a leg for it.

Any leads?

Cheers,

Neil

[stewie110]

I had a similar problem recently where I had done the rivnuts using the special tool free method. Unfortunately one of the rivnuts was not so great so I had to drill it out. I ended up calling a few fabricators in the area to find someone who had the tool.. $5 and 5 minutes later the job was done properly using stainless steel rivnuts.

[The ho har's]

I am pretty sure we have one. I will ask hh when he comes in :)

Yes we do, he can't remember if it 5mm or 6mm.

Mrs hh:angel:

[S3ute]

I am pretty sure we have one. I will ask hh when he comes in :)

Yes we do, he can't remember if it 5mm or 6mm.

Mrs hh:angel:

Hello again.

Did you find out if Harry has a rivnut device? If so, I may sneak down with the enemy's vehicle on Saturday and see if I can finish fitting the light bar.

Cheers,

Neil

[The ho har's]

Yes we have:D

Mrs hh:angel:

[weeds]

I'm not sure how good rivnuts will work on tube.....along with a constant hanging weight bouncing long the road.....I'm guessing they will loosen up pretty quick.

[S3ute]

Hello again.

I'm open to alternatives to locating rivnuts under the top bar.

Basically need a way to neatly locate the light bar above the spots without ending up with some Heath Robinson arrangement to hold it there. Rivnuts seemed to be a solution, but only if they don't end up coming loose.

Might be back to the drawing board. Bit of time pressure on this job - the truck heads to Camooweal next Thursday.

Cheers,

Neil

[mick88]

Use decent size stainless rivnuts and a bit of high strength Loctite on them where they contact the bulbar.


Cheers, Mick.

[S3ute]

Hello again.

Thanks for the various responses and suggestions - appreciated.

As it eventuated we didn't proceed with the job. Basically we didn't locate a suitable applicator for the size of stainless steel insert required before the ute headed to Camooweal. Also, S3 junior was erring towards just sticking with the spotlights for now which was probably the right call as it won't get a lot of night driving cf where he was previously a couple of hours out of Windorah.

Plenty of scope to reconsider when the truck comes back to Brisbane or through a third party in Mt Isa.

Cheers,

Neil

[Lionelgee]

Hello Neil,

Since the vehicle is now out in the countryside, when it returns you could contact a mobile welder and get them to weld on two nuts after you have drilled holes into the bar. There are usually a few mobile welders who don't mind doing small jobs. Otherwise you have to find a very friendly local welding shop that do not charge like a wounded bull; or tell you where you can put your small job.

A weld offers more of a guarantee when defying gravity while negotiating bumpy roads over a prolonged period of time. You would still need some type of thread lock product though just to make sure the bolt stays in company with the welded nut. Or even some aviation safety wire ties as added security for the investment in the light bar.

I once had a rather expensive spot light bounce its way merrily down a country road because I had not taken an extra step fixing it in place. At the time I thought that any extra steps were unwarranted since I had followed the manufacturer's installation advice to the letter. Lesson learnt ;)

Kind Regards
Lionel

[AndyG]

And from another thread disconnect the battery and Ecu to be sure

[Blknight.aus]

I'm not sure how good rivnuts will work on tube.....along with a constant hanging weight bouncing long the road.....I'm guessing they will loosen up pretty quick.

you can get rivnuts with a curved back on the lip to suit some curves. Generally Id just peen the area to flat with a hammer (or use weld in nuts)


And from another thread disconnect the battery and Ecu to be sure

Yep, disconnecting the battery can (under some circumstances) save the regualtor and rectifier diodes. Removing the ECU from a series prior to any work on the electricals is always a good idea. I strongly recommend doing so along with any other accessories that it connects to. When you goto put it all back you should probably do so in reverse order and put in OEM spec hardware on the way.