Removing Smittybilt side steps

buzhazzard

New Member
Original poster
Joined
Feb 10, 2025
Messages
13
Location
Houston
Alright everyone, the time to remove parts installed by PO has begun. I took off the side steps yesterday and the brackets were held on by two bolts welded to a piece of flat bar and are slid into the tub channel that is just under the doors. The rear was easy to get out as I just removed the rear fender liner. The fronts are giving me a bit of a problem though. They will not rotate through the hole on the bottom, nor will they make it through the drain hole inside the tub. I ran a piece of wire from the rear fender well, tied it to the piece and when pulling it toward the rear, it got hung up. I am pretty sure it is getting hung up by the mid tub body mount. I can't imaging that they would be designed to have to send this mounting bracket all the way from the rear but could be wrong on that.

Has anyone come across removing a bracket like this? I have done some searching and don't find this style of insert. I am trying to not just grind it off so I can provide it to whoever is the next owner of these steps. I don't have a pic but can take them later. My son said it is already looking better.
 
Are you sure the side steps are Smittybilts ?
They may be an older discontinued version ??
I searched thru the Smittybilt website; the only steps for the TJ on their website are attached to the frame rails with 3/8" self tapping screws.
 
They are definitely a discontinued version. My Dad reached out to Smittybilt a couple of years ago to replace the black plastic portion and they informed him of this version being discontinued I will get some pics of this piece when I get home from work.
 
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Here is a pic of the bracket and how it sits in the tub rail. The front ones have the same size bolts which are welded to the metal cross piece.
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