First weber rehab project 2005 Genesis Gold


 

Mike Ma

New member
Long time reader of this site. Finally decided to give things a go when a neighbor was giving away his 2005 NG genesis gold grill.

HaZA2wy.jpg

MUb2gfV.jpg

xykRYxs.jpg


I've started disassembling it and have a few questions.
  1. What size are the nuts that connect the sides of the lid to the stainless steel part? They were pretty destroyed when I unscrewed them
  2. Barkeepers friend with 0000 steel wool worked great on the stainless lid, but I didn't apparently read about going the same direction, and now have visible scratches (very small) going every which way. I'm assuming if I redo BKF and steel wool but go the same direction I can smooth them out?
  3. Looking at the burners, are they at a point where I should replace?
  4. I was going to pull the firebox off and degrease and paint, but the nut is so rusted out that I can't do anything with it. I'm not the most mechanically inclined, or have access to anything more than basic tools - so is it OK to just leave that alone? Will that eventually rot out and cause a major issue? I did read a post once about something you can put on the rust and it will "harden it" but I can't seem to find that post anymore.


Here is a picture of that:

yA20uto.jpg

Hfd8gqP.jpg


This has been a great resource - thanks to everyone for all the info!
 
Mike, that's a great grill and worth fixing.

I would definitely repair that as it would eventually rot out. I know you said you don't have a lot of tools at your disposal, so cutting that section out and replacing it with a section of >>square tubing<< yourself may not be an option.

Do you have any welding shops nearby? If you take the frame with you to a shop, they should be able to cut out that section and weld in a new piece.
 
What is the best way to get the bolt out - just drilling straight through it? I'm not opposed to just purchasing a new top frame from Weber (they said it was about $90).
 
Mike, Welcome to the forum.

That nut is the most miserable thing to deal with. I've rehabed about 8 of the earlier Genesis grills and every one that nut was a battle. Some I used a steel chisel and just cut it off,others I was able to get a vice grip on it and twisted it off. I can assure you it won't unscrew.

From what I can see the burners look pretty good. Remove them and brush them with a wire brush and make sure all the holes are clear. A word of CAUTION the bolts at the end of the burners by the crossover tube on the front and back burners do not come out. The burners will slide out from under them so don't attempt to remove them they will break off and you will be in deep Bandini .

On the frame I assume it's pretty damp where you live so I would get it down to the bare frame and see if there are any other rust spots that you can't see with it assembled.

Really can't help you with the SS I avoid it at all costs.

When in doubt, ask, someone will have an answer for any question you can ask.
 
Last edited:
Re the stainless scratches. I am not sure, but I think you are pretty much stuck with them now. There may be a way to work them out, but I don't have a lot of experience with that.
RE: the burner tubes. To me, it looks like you might be OK there. It is hard to tell for sure until you pull them out and start cleaning them up. I use a small wire wheel on a cordless drill to clean them up. You may find cracks and holes after you start cleaning them up that you can't see before, but they look pretty good in the picture.
RE: Fire box mounting bolt. Yah, any grill over 10 years old usually means that bolt is completely rusted and seized or basically burned off. It looks like the nut and bolt on the outside of the grill has rusted off completely on yours. I would think you can punch it out with a punch or other tool and hammer. Put some penatrating oil on it before you try to remove it. If it doesn't come out, you can cut it off flush and then drill it out.
But, in the photos, it looks like the frame where that bolt connects to on the outside is basically rusted away. You are definitely going to need some work done there.

But that is definitely a grill worthy of rehabbing. Good luck, keep us posted.
 
I would not try to punch that bolt out. That aluminum fire box after all the years of heating up and cooling down will be VERY brittle and you risk shattering it like a piece of glass. Go ahead........................ask me how I know LOL
 
Larry, now, how would you know that?

Probably cutting it off and drilling it out would work best. I have done that on a couple of them. I have had to do it on the manifold mounting bolts on the other side as well.
 
I'll give you 3 guesses how I know it LOL. Yes drilling it out is best. Always use stainless steel BTW
 
Your mom told you?
You saw it on Youtube?
It came to you in a dream?

I always replace those bolts with new stainless when I rehab a grill. I even use never seize on them even though I won't be the one trying to get the nut off in another ten years.
 
I was able to chip off the rusted part to expose the bolt and then use pliers to turn it. A couple turns and it basically disintegrated and slid right out.

A couple follow on questions:
What size of bolt is needed to replace the one that I just ripped out?
How do I disconnect the ignitor so that I can remove the manifold?
What are the size of the nuts that connect side panels of the lid, to the lid? Half of the nuts were gone and the others fell apart as I was taking the side panels off
 
> What size of bolt is needed to replace the one that I just ripped out?

1/4-20 thread, 2" in length. It should have a 7/16" bolt head. Buy a stainless one

> How do I disconnect the igniter so that I can remove the manifold?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zaY7knVGC8

> What are the size of the nuts that connect side panels of the lid

It will also likely be 1/4-20 speed nuts. I'd take one of the lid endcaps to the hardware store to match them up. I've seen 2 different sizes on endcap posts.
 
I'd recommend drilling the frame and fire box out a little and going with a 3/8" stainless bolt and nut (washer etc). Frankly I like carriage bolts for this application. It just looks cleaner on the outside (no bolt head). Be sure to use never seize on it also. And you're golden.
As for the lid panels just cut everything off with a grinder. There is no effective way to save the darn things and go with stainless hardware here too
 
The problem with a carriage bolt is that it is hard to get off down the road. Even with Never Sieze, there will still be some corrosion. But, if drilling out the old bolts, going a little bigger might be a good idea. For sure use stainless. Any steel part you are replacing on these grills should be stainless if at all possible.
 
Carriage bolt looks better and in my experience even quite a few years later as long as you've used Never Seize and all stainless hardware (the bolt, washer(s) and the nut) there is no issue getting it out.
 

 

Back
Top