Need help with running boards

My mom has a 1997 Tahoe that does not have side steps. She wants them because the truck is too high for her. So I bought a pair of OEM 94-99 running boards on craigslist thinking they would bolt right up. I was wrong.

The running boards have the L-bracket attached to them and came with the mounting hardware, but there is no way to attach them to the body. The bolts that came with them are like a T-bolt and it seems like I'm missing a bracket to use them on. The passenger side does have several small holes along the inner rocker panel (if that's what it's called), but there are no holes whatsoever on the drivers side.

Am I missing a bracket or another part. If anyone has a '94-'99 Tahoe with running boards, could you please take a look or even a pic and let me know what I'm missing. Thank you!

I encountered the same issue when I was trying to install OEM 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe Z71 step bars to my 1997 Chevrolet Tahoe LT that was not equipped from the factory with running boards. So I thought I would share with you the information that I found.

After conducting a little bit of research I found that I needed the mounting brackets that are welded to the inside of the rocker panel and allow either OEM running boards or step bars to be mounted. I also found that both the OEM running boards and step bars mount to the vehicle using the same brackets. Anyway, I needed to purchase four of the front mounting brackets and one of the rear mounting brackets for each step bar, for a total of eight front brackets and two rear brackets. The local dealership wanted $16.00 per bracket for the front brackets, multiplyed by eight equals $128.00 for just the front brackets. I didn't even ask about the rear brackets because I knew I could find them cheaper elsewhere.

So instead I went to GM Parts Direct where the same front brackets sell for $6.14 per bracket. (GM part number 15978912). The rear bracket sells for $12.13 per bracket from the same website (GM part number 15978913). As I said, you will need eight front brackets (8 X $6.14 = $49.12) and two rear brackets (2 X $12.13 = $24.26)to install OEM running boards to a Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon that did not come from the factory with that option, so the total without shipping would come to $73.78 when ordering from this website, which is considerably less expensive than visiting the local Chevrolet dealership.

This link should help illustrate what I am talking about (part seven is the front bracket, while part eight is the rear bracket).
Running Board Components

An additional option that you could try is to visit a salvage yard and try to pull the part from a salvaged vehicle, but I think that would be rather difficult considering the bracket is welded to the vehicle rather than bolted. I think the best option is to purchase the brackets new from GM Parts Direct.

Finally, once you aquire these brackets you will then need to have them welded the in the correct spaces on the rocker panel of the vehicle in order to then bolt the OEM running board or step bar to the brackets.

Hopefully this helps you out so that you don't have to go through all the trouble to find out the same information that I did. It's a lot of trouble, but worth it in my opinion because the OEM Chevrolet Tahoe step bars look better than any aftermarket step bar I have seen, same goes for the OEM running boards. Let me know if this helps!

Or... you could sell the stock ones and get a set of after-market nerf bars that mount to the frame (already drilled holes, no new holes) and call it a day.

djtecthreat said:

Or... you could sell the stock ones and get a set of after-market nerf bars that mount to the frame (already drilled holes, no new holes) and call it a day.

Click to expand...

Yeah... but like I said previously, I prefer the appearance of the OEM running boards and step bars to aftermarket accessories, so to me the additional labor to mount them is completely worth it.

Thank you for all of the info Jsn! I agree that the OEM ones look better.

How did you know exactly where to weld the brackets? I would assume that you would need to somehow hold the running board in place while you mark the locations for the brackets. I can weld, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough to weld the thick bracket to the thin sheet metal of the rocker panel without burning through.

I guess I could find someone who has a Tahoe with running boards and take some measurements. Thanks!

BTW, mine is exactly the same color as yours. Green with gray bottom.:thumbsup:

djtecthreat said:

Or... you could sell the stock ones and get a set of after-market nerf bars that mount to the frame (already drilled holes, no new holes) and call it a day.

Click to expand...

I thought about doing this. I'm not completely ruling it out yet.

Tahoe1997 said:

Thank you for all of the info Jsn! I agree that the OEM ones look better.

How did you know exactly where to weld the brackets? I would assume that you would need to somehow hold the running board in place while you mark the locations for the brackets. I can weld, but I'm not sure if I'm good enough to weld the thick bracket to the thin sheet metal of the rocker panel without burning through.

I guess I could find someone who has a Tahoe with running boards and take some measurements. Thanks!

BTW, mine is exactly the same color as yours. Green with gray bottom.:thumbsup:

Click to expand...

Well I have not advanced that far yet, right now I am waiting on the brackets to be shipped to me. But when they do, I am going to have to pay someone to weld them in the correct place because I have no idea how to weld.

I imagine that it would be easiest just to place the running board in place underneath the vehicle and chalk off where the brackets should go, or maybe bolt the brackets to the running board first and then weld the whole structure to the vehicle. I will let you know how they end up doing it for me when I get it finished. Happy to have been helpul, sorry I couldn't answer your last question though.

BTW, nice color combination, you should post some pictures.

Thanks for your help so far. I think I'm going to find a Tahoe with running boards just to take a look at the brackets. Then I'll know if I can do it or not.

If anyone has a '94-'99 Tahoe, feel free to post a couple pics of the running board brackets.

Mine isn't here at the moment, it's in the body shop. I can get the pics for you in a week or so if no one else can.

These are the running board brackets from the driver side of a 1999 GMC Suburban that I had access to, essentially the same as the Chevrolet Tahoe / GMC Yukon as far as I can tell.

Front Bracket
Rear Bracket

In these pictures you can see the driver side rocker panel of the vehicle, the brackets, and the mounting points for the OEM running boards. It is all a little dirty, but does this help at all?

Thanks Jsn. It's hard to tell what the welds look like in those pics. It almost seems like the brackets are spot welded to the rocker.

Question for someone with the factory running boards: Are all of the the plastic body plugs close the running board brackets? Just wondering if a set of new brackets can be drilled and a bolted to the car. Would be tough but if the plugs could be popped off maybe there is enough room to reach behind to hold the nut in place while tightening the bolt from the bracket side.

I'm just a little leary about welding the brackets on, especially if there is no way to protect the metal where the paint gets burned off during the welding process.

Mine doesn't have any plastic body plugs that I can remember. Hopefully someone else will chime in. I'm not sure how thick the rocker panel is, but like I said before, I would be afraid of burning through if I tried to weld the brackets on.

Look carefully at JsnChristianson photo post and you can see one of the body plugs:


Rear Bracket:
http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/JsnChristianson/Car%20group%20pics/rearbracket.jpg

I sucessfully installed the side assist step bars today on my Chevrolet Tahoe, so this is definitely a managable modification.

The mounting brackets were welded on to the rocker panel of the vehicle with no problems regarding burning through the sheet metal, although care was taken to direct the majority of the heat towards the thick metal of the bracket rather than towards the thin sheet metal of the vehicle.

The metal of the brackets is relatively thick, so drilling a hole through them in order to bolt rather than weld the brackets to the vehicle may prove to be more difficult than it sounds.

I will post pictures soon, but in summary all that was needed was to;

* Initially bolt the brackets (four front brackets and one rear bracket) loosely to the running boards/step bars and then line up the part in place underneath the vehicle.

*Then, using a jack placed between the frame and the loosely mounted bracket to firmly hold the running boards/step bars in place on the vehicle, carefully weld the brackets to the inner rocker panel of the vehicle.

*In order to prevent from burning through the thin metal of the vehicle, we directed the majority of the heat towards the thick metal of the bracket as the brackets were welded to the vehicle.

*Additionally, the plastic plugs that are located near the bracket mounting points will need to be removed prior to welding in order to prevent them from being damaged. Remember to place them back on the vehicle after welding is finished.

*After all of the brackets are securely welded to the vehicle, tighten the bolts that fasten the brackets to the running boards/step bars and the installation is finished.

The step bars on my Chevrolet Tahoe are firm and secure and were a great addition to the vehicle. After all of this is finished, this has been a worthwile modification.

Hopefully this helps, and I will be sure to post pictures within a couple of days. I just wanted to let others know that this can sucessfully be done as long as care is taken during the welding process. Take care!

I finished a detailed write up with pictures today, showing how I installed the running boards to my vehicle. I placed in in the technical write ups portion of the forum. Here is the link to my write up.

Installation of OEM running boards/step bars for Chevrolet Tahoe/GMC Yukon (GMT 400)

Hopefully this helps everyone. Take care!