how to remove 07 Denali Power Running Board Motors

[t69chevelle]

I have an 07 Denali that has the Factory Power Running Boards, they started to slow down last summer and over the winter they struggled. So I went ahead and paid the almost $800.00can for new GM motors, so I removed all of the Bolts that hold the motor to the Bracket and I removed the Aluminum Block that holds the shaft in place but I cannot get the motor to move. As far as I can tell there is nothing else holding the Shaft from the motor in place, it will not move even a little.
Heres what I have tried, I tried to rotate the motor with large channel locks, used Air Chisel on the exposed end of the shaft, have sprayed lots of WD rust Penetrant, use large hammer, I cannot get the shaft to move.
Does anyone or has anyone changed these motors, I was going to try heat but I am pretty sure the Hinges are a composite material and not Steel. Yes we do have winter here, so yes these motors have seen salt and snow for 7 years now. Any help or advice would be great, thanks Todd.

One other thing, does anyone know why one motor is almost $100.00can more then the other, they are just a mirror image of each other?

 

[nitrochad]

Did you get the motor off yet? I have one with the same problem. Left side.

 

[dragthepaint]

I dont know if it matters or not, but my boards were down when I removed my motor from driver side. Only issue I had was the back part of the motor kept hitting an overlapped portion of my frame (suburban/ not sure if it applies here) and did not want to come out the easy way. My motor shafts were not seized up in the hinges tho, they came out fairly smooth. I soaked them a week prior with Aero Kroil so they had time to absorb.

I dont know if it helped but I rocked the board up and down like a neanderthal while the motor was still bolted in place because I thought the hinges were froze up at first. It didnt move much maybe a half inch or so but maybe that helped free up my motor shaft. Be easy on them if you take that approach I still havent had time to put my new motor back on yet so Im not sure if I damaged anything as of yet. Hopefully I can get it back on this weekend.

 

[nitrochad]

Well I finally got my left running board motor off the Denali today. Let me tell you it was a Bastard!!! I already had it soaking with PB Blaster for a week and it still did not move. So I got out the air hammer and still no go. I then put some heat on it with a Benzomatic torch, air hammered again and she finally came out. Use Caution if you use PB Blaster and a open flame being that PB Blaster is flameable. I just wiped off the excess and all was good. It looks like motor shaft seizes in the hinge part because at the ends has bushings and I was able to see shaft moving freely in them. So just heat the hinge part where the wedge part is. This is Aluminum so don't get to crazy with the heat!!!!

 

[t69chevelle]

I forgot to update my own question, yes I did get the motors off. I am guessing it is because of our winters because the motors would not come out, we did end up getting them out but both front hinges broke, the Shafts were seized in the hinges and the cast aluminum broke(we also used heat). So I had to buy 2 new hinges from GM, they were $500.00can each. That puts me at $1800.00can($800.00 for both motors).
I finally changed the Hinges with the new motors attached, it went well considering the work it was to get the motors off. The big question now is did this fix the Boards, NO, they still will not retract on their own. They will come down when the Doors are Opened but they just move slightly and the motors makes a noise and the boards do not retract when the Doors are Closed, if I give them a slight push they retract properly. I know the motors were shot because they were very slow before, when they move now they move quite quickly.
I am wondering if the controller is not right, I even tried it with the Truck running to see if it is a Voltage thing. Does anyone have any ideas? I do not want to have to take it to the dealer now, they are just going to overcharge me. Does the computer need to be reset? The reason I did not remove the Boards to do the work was that I had read of others having them not work at all if the controller had not power. So now I have almost $2K into this and I still have boards that do not work properly.

 

[nitrochad]

I lubed the rear hinge pins good and had to work the right side in and out a few times to get it working free. I also had to help it in but then it started working freely.

 

[dragthepaint]

Damn......I think you could have bought a whole brand new set on eBay for around $1400. And your going to hate this even more, if your boards are down and your not hearing any noises when they are supposed to engage you have to reset the switch. I forget the technical name and I'm not at home currently to look it up. I will see if I can find the instructions again and post the link.

 

[dragthepaint]

found instructions here on resetting control switch. It's from another forum but useful info. But I did the reset on mine and then I could hear them trying to engage when I opened the doors.

Nevermind, I retract my UN-needed information, I just reread your post and seen your not having the problems I refer to. I was out running around earlier when I skimmed through the thread and I didn't fully read everything you wrote. Therefore.......sorry about the rambling.

 

[t69chevelle]

I had the exact same idea about the rear hinges, yes my motors do make an attempt to go up. I went to the Dealer and ask them and I really surprised that they actually help me, they told me about an Escalade with the same problem as mine, they replaced the motors and front hinges and they would not retract. So there fix was to remove the Rear Hinges and get them freed up, so I removed the 2 allen head bolts that attach the Hinge to the Board and while holding the rear of the board level I opened and closed the door and the boards went up. after trying to move the rear hinges by hand I realized that I on the right track, they would hardly move.
So I am now on my second try to get them freed up, first I used degreaser and brake clean and I let them soak for an our or so, they moved easier but still not free enough. I bought some Fluid Film, it is a penetrant, rust remover and lubricator, it also failed. So I am going to try some solvent and degreaser and let them soak over night(any other ideas as to what to use), the problem is that I do not want to drive the Truck with the Boards flopping around.
As far as the $1400.00 Ebay Boards, I still want the Factory setup. They look nicer when up and the aftermarket ones do not last very long in a harsh winter, I just hope I can get this fixed. I know what the problem is it is just figuring out how to get them loosened up. I think most of my problem is the Oil Spray that is done every year for rust protection, it is thick and gooey and the bottom of the hinges are coated in it. When I get this fixed I will make sure that when it gets sprayed that they stay away from the Hinges.
Completely different topic, I am on my second set of 4 Rims. After one winter the Chrome starts to flake off, these are $450.00us each at the dealer and the Chrome is crap, it is not really Chrome, it is a Film. The GM Dealership that replaced them under warranty a year after we bought the Denali told me that I really should get a set of Winter Rims, yes just more money and space. Thanks Todd.

 

[t69chevelle]

SUCCESS, I finally have them working. After soaking the Rear Hinges in everything from Degreaser to Fluid Film, I realized that although the Hinges were moving better then when I removed them they were never going to move free enough because the motors just seemed like they would not take the weight of the boards. So I started to disassemble the entire setup down to where the motors will work, I removed the Running Boards form the Hinges. After this the Motors worked liked they should, they would retract and open with the doors. It still did not seem right, so I watched the motors go through a cycle while I held onto the Hinge(to give it a little resistance and I noticed that the Shaft of the motor was moving slightly before it would move the Hinge. I then removed the Aluminum Block that locks the Hinge to the Motor and turned the Block around(it has a 90deg angle and about a 120deg angle on it) and after tightening it in I knew I was on the right track. I tried holding the Hinge and it would retract every time.
I then reinstalled everything, I coated all of the joints with the Fluid Film(great product) and they now work better then New. I am very happy that this is over and thanks for all of the suggestions.