# Creaking Nerf Bars



## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Has anyone else added nerf bars (side steps, running boards) and found them to be noisy? Mine boom a bit when a bump is hit - ok, they are tubular steel - but whenever the chassis flexes (which seems to be often), they creak and or pop like Grandpa's back.
Any suggestions? The TV is an 05 2500HD CC


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## vdub (Jun 19, 2004)

The very first thing I added to my new rig was tube steps. Mine attached to frame where the cab attaches to the frame. I had to remove the cab bolts and replace them with new, slightly longer bolts. I think it would be virtually impossible to get any twisting from my steps since they are essentially part of the frame now. I don't hear any noises from the steps and I take my rig over some pretty uneven ground quite often. How do your steps mount to the rig? Is twisting possible?


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## 54telluride (Feb 1, 2005)

I have had nerf bars on the last three trucks. I have never known them to flex or creak. 
I wonder how well they are attached to your frame? Check to make sure the bolts are tight. Mine had a real high torque number for the nuts and bolts.
Are they binding the emergency cable or anything else? 
Do they make noise when you step in them? It seems like if you hear noise when your driving you should be able to simulate that by bouncing on them.

Bruce


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

vdub said:


> The very first thing I added to my new rig was tube steps. Mine attached to frame where the cab attaches to the frame. I had to remove the cab bolts and replace them with new, slightly longer bolts. I think it would be virtually impossible to get any twisting from my steps since they are essentially part of the frame now. I don't hear any noises from the steps and I take my rig over some pretty uneven ground quite often. How do your steps mount to the rig? Is twisting possible?
> [snapback]45352[/snapback]​


Mine attach the same way; 1/4" thick mounting brackets that go between the bolt and the cab mount. I don't have but a generic torque figure. Even for Gr 8, the max is suggested at 119 lbs-ft for 1/2' close to the 12mm of the bolts. I re-used the original bolts, adding washers and lock washers, as they were no shorter than the ones in the kit. The originals had been threadlock of some sort on them. Been wondering if the problem might lie in the vinyl gidget that covers the end of the tube and lies against the bracket. 
The center brace angle was off a bit, but bolted up ok with a bit of persuasion and fastened down tight.
I can take them off the brackets, and no noise. Re-mount them, noise is back. 
I'm puzzled...


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Are they binding the emergency cable or anything else? 
Do they make noise when you step in them? It seems like if you hear noise when your driving you should be able to simulate that by bouncing on them.

Bruce

There's no interference with anything but air - not a thing in the way. I can make no noise by bouncing on them, nor by wailing on them with a rubber mallet. I worked my up and down the critter with that mallet - nothing that sounded like what I am hearing...

Sluggo


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## Highlander96 (Mar 1, 2005)

I have the same ride.....Well the cab is a little shorter. The dealer put tube steps on as part of the deal and they are actually drilled into the frame. They are fine, no noise at all!

Happy Outbacking!

Tim action


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## CamperDC (Oct 30, 2003)

I have this exact same problem. My TV is a Dodge RAM 1500 and I have Westin step bars. One thing I have noticed is that I only have this issue during the warmer months. During the winter the creaking goes away. My bars bolt in the same way as you describe.

No one has been able to tell my why I have this noise.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

No one has been able to tell my why I have this noise.

Whew! I'm NOT nuts. Well, I may be nuts, but not on this topic, altogether...

I am going to try to find some corded rubber - like the stuff exhaust hangers are made of - on the way home and see if a 1/4" of that will calm it down. Wish us luck.

Slug


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

I had sort of the same problem. After I installed my step bars they cause a weird feeling when I applied the brakes (almost like a brake grabbing or even a loose wheel). My problem was easily solved by using teflon washers everywhere that the mounting brakets made contact with the truck.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

I had sort of the same problem. After I installed my step bars they cause a weird feeling when I applied the brakes (almost like a brake grabbing or even a loose wheel). My problem was easily solved by using teflon washers everywhere that the mounting brakets made contact with the truck.

I'll give that a try; I stopped last night on the way home and got the washers - Also, I talked to our fleet manager, and he told me that over-tightening the frame/cab mounting bolts, which compresses the "doughnuts" will cause some of these symptoms. (Remember, this is a Chebbie. YMMV) The instructions with the bars had no torque values. I downloaded instructions from the Westin site. Their bars mount the same way. Their torque values were 65 lb/ft on the 12mm cab mount bolts, 65# sunny on the 1/2" bracket-to-bar bolts, and 35# on the one 3/8" bracket to bar bolt. I also picked up some blue loctite, since the original bolts had some sort of thread hucky-pucky on them. When the ground cools enough to lie on, I'll re-fit all this stuff and see what happens.


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

I don't know what brand or material yours are but if your bolts and nuts are stainless steel be sure to use some type of anti-seize lubricate such as "fel-pro" on the threads


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

east-tn-outbacker said:


> I don't know what brand or material yours are but if your bolts and nuts are stainless steel be sure to use some type of anti-seize lubricate such as "fel-pro" on the threads
> [snapback]47854[/snapback]​


They aren't - they appear to be cad-plated. I'm curious, though, as to why you recommend the anti-seize? Not sure I'd want that on the bolts holding the body to the frame...

Thanks,


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

Sluggo54 said:


> east-tn-outbacker said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know what brand or material yours are but if your bolts and nuts are stainless steel be sure to use some type of anti-seize lubricate such as "fel-pro" on the threads
> ...


Stainless steel bolts and nuts are very bad to gald or seize up if some type of lubricate isn't used on the threads.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

When the ground cools enough to lie on, I'll re-fit all this stuff and see what happens.

Update - it was only 95 Saturday, so I removed the fasteners one at a time, and this time, instead of using the original bolts, I used the ones supplied with the bars. I slipped teflon washers between the brackets and the outermost piece of OEM, loctited the fasteners, and torqued them to the suggested values (65 lbs/ft on the 12MM, 30 lbs/ft on the 3/8"). The noises were 80 - 90% improved. I was happy. Went fifteen miles down the road for dinner, fifteen miles home. Sunday, it didn't move. This morning, I started up my steep drive and the noises were worse than ever. Squeaks, gronks, pops, and groans like my 12D in a lineman's back. It was 25*F cooler this morning than when the changes were made. After a couple miles it seemed to settle in and get rearranged, and quieted down some, but not to Saturday's level. I will make about one more pass at this before I decide to remove them, live with it, or find something else - running boards, maybe - that bolt to the frame, and not to the body mounts. Gotta say, I am some distressed by the amount of flexing going on with this critter.

Also Saturday whilst rolling around on the concrete, I noticed a drop of tranny juice on the spin-on filter. I wiped it off, and put another 1/3 of a turn on it (it wasn't loose in the first place). After returning from dinner, there was another drop on the filter. There was none on the ground. This morning, back to the dealer. The tech thought there was a little-bitty hole (his technical terminology) where the can was crimped. A new filter was installed. I will check again tomorrow.

Chevrolet says a front mounting bracket for a license plate, which did not come with the truck, can be mine for only $38.00. Whee.


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Had my truck for about two weeks now.
Added stainless nerf bars about ten days ago.
No pops, creaks, or other noises from them at all.
Did pickup a nice dent in the passenger side one from a parking lot already though








Just can't seem to have anything anymore without somebody beating it up.

Try removing the bars, but leave the brackets bolted to the body mounts.
Drive around without the bars on.
If you still have noise, You know it is the brackes contacting the frame or body mounts.
If the noise stops, you know it is the bars and the brackets rubbing together.

Edit: after re-reading the post, it appears that if you remove the center bracket, the noise stops. The bars on my crew cab have no center bracket.
Maybe you can cut a piece of old inner tube and make a rubber piece to fit between the bar and the center bracket to stop them from rubbing.
Or just remove the center bracket. Since other bars have no center support, yours would prolly be OK without them.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Had my truck for about two weeks now.
> Added stainless nerf bars about ten days ago.
> No pops, creaks, or other noises from them at all.
> Did pickup a nice dent in the passenger side one from a parking lot already though
> ...


If I remove the complete tube step, it stops. Good diagnostic technique you laid out; the only exception might be if the weight of the bar is contributing to or causing the brackets to make noise. I did add nylon washers between brackets and truck (couldn't find teflon between here and home). I also put large nylon washers between ends of tubes and brackets. The whole works is very temperature reactive - I can loosen and retighten fasteners and as long as the temperature doesn't change, the noises are 80 - 90% gone. After a temp change, there is a period of time when the noises sound like a Halloween haunted house, then it sort of settles in to a quieter roar.
As for removing the center bracket - easy enough; I'll give that a try. Dunno how well that will work in practice, though, as I am no itty-bitty boy - about 260 lbs. 
The really irritating thing? The right side is utterly silent. Not a creak or a crack - it's all on one side. MY side!
I would like to stick a piece of heavy, reinforced rubber - like the corded rubber used in exhaust hangers - between bar end and bracket, but haven't found any large enough. 
The mystery rolls on.
One reason I wanted the bars was to intercept wayward doors and shopping carts. How about a piece of black body-side molding along the outer "edge" of the bar?


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Had my truck for about two weeks now.
> Added stainless nerf bars about ten days ago.
> No pops, creaks, or other noises from them at all.
> [snapback]48432[/snapback]​


What brand are your bars?


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Sluggo54 said:


> Katrina said:
> 
> 
> > Had my truck for about two weeks now.
> ...


Got them from Sumitt racing online.
They are Sumitt's own brand of stainless bars.
$238.00 delivered.

Sumitt step bar


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Sluggo54 said:
> 
> 
> > Katrina said:
> ...


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## east-tn-outbacker (Jul 21, 2005)

My next question was going to be "does your have a center support?". Mine is an ext. cab with no center support, but I've heard of the center support on the crew cabs causing some noises.


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Sluggo54 said:


> They look remarkably like these:
> 
> http://www.truckaddons.com/Catalog/subpage...e_tubesteps.asp
> 
> ...


Yes=crewcab
no=center support

Now granted, I've only had them two weeks, but they seem to be real secure and stable. I'm not exactly a lightweight guy either.

Truckaddons.com - Their store is local to me. I would go without most stuff before shopping there, I can not recomend them.

The following is taken from the BBB regarding truckaddons.com:

Customer Experience
Based on BBB files, this company has an unsatisfactory record with the Bureau due to unresolved complaints. The company has resolved most complaints presented by the Bureau, however the company did not always respond to complaints within the Bureau's time frame. At least one complaint remains unresolved because the customer was not satisfied with the company's response. Other complaints remain unanswered; the Bureau did not receive a response. 
The majority of complaints are the result of the firm's Internet sales. Complaints allege products are not as advertised, delivery of different parts than those ordered, and that when returning a part delivered in error, the company charges a restocking fee.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Sluggo54 said:
> 
> 
> > They look remarkably like these:
> ...


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## CamperDC (Oct 30, 2003)

FYI.

I have these:

http://www.westinautomotive.com/pages/west...ube%20step.html

They are the tubes and they have no center support and they are still creaking. I contacted Westin and was told that they had heard of this problem but were no help what so ever.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

CamperDC said:


> FYI.
> 
> I have these:
> 
> ...


I THINK it's fixed. Long story short, the left front mounting bracket was making contact with a small bolt which holds a ground wire to the chassis. To relieve the contact, I drilled a 9/16" hole at the point of contact in the side of the bracket, then two smaller holes toward the edge. I then hacksawed the part not drilled, to make a round-bottom V-shaped notch in the side of the bracket. The front edges of the bracket were very close to the chassis mount, so I ground a bit of relief there. Cleaned and painted, then reinstalled the mounting bracket. Blessed silence - depending on weather, I will reinstall the tube/step/bar/running board tonight.

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions - turns out there WAS interference, and I should have checked that first. Lesson learned.

Slug


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## Katrina (Dec 16, 2004)

Sluggo54 said:


> CamperDC said:
> 
> 
> > FYI.
> ...


good deal.
Let us know how it works after tubes are re-installed.


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## Sluggo54 (Jun 15, 2005)

Katrina said:


> Sluggo54 said:
> 
> 
> > CamperDC said:
> ...


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## RVCarolina (Jul 31, 2004)

Way to go Slug ! Once again perserverance pays off !


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