Rusted Parts Repair for a BBQ Grillware GGPL-2100

I got my grill for free from my dad, he was getting rid of it and I needed one. I've had it for several years and it works well - at least it did, until recently when the burners started rusting out. I ordered some replacement burners from Amazon along with some heat plates and new enamel coated grill grates. By the time I was done I expected it to be as good as new.

But, when I started removing the burners I discovered that the metal ledges that the burners normally sit on were rusted so badly that they crumbled like an ancient scroll when I removed the old burners. The main grill body is not sold as a replacement part, thus my only path became clear - I was off to the hardware store.

Note: All the hardware below is in 304 stainless steel because I don't trust galvanized to last very long under the high heat outdoor conditions.

To create a "shelf" for each of the three burners I used the following items,

1. Anti corrosion Spray paint
2. 3x 1/4" U-bolts (My local Lowe's store sold some that with a plate-type washer and two nuts)
3. 6x additional 1/4" stainless nuts (including those that came with the U-bolts that makes 12x total)
4. 18x split-lock washers
5. 12x 1/4" flat washers
6. 3x 1/4" wing nuts
7. 6x 2" fender washers
8. 3x 1/4" by 1" bolts

Tools:

1. Electric Drill
2. 5/8" sheet metal drill bit
3. pencil
4. a wrench that fit the nuts

Two of the three burner ledges on my grill fell off when I tried to remove the burners, the remaining ledge gave me an idea of how high to place my replacement ledge. I used a pencil to mark the locations for the holes.

Next I drilled two holes for each new shelf/bracket.

After drilling the holes, I applied some high temperature anti-rust spray-paint to avoid future corrosion to each area where I had removed paint during the drilling process.

This was the easiest part, especially since the holes were a bit bigger than the bolts, which gave me a little room for error.

For each the U-bolts:

1. Place a nut on each side of the U-bolt and spin it till it reaches the top of the threads
2. slide a split-lock washer up to the nut on each side
3. slide a flat washer on each side until it touches the split-lock washer
4. insert each assembly through the holes you've drilled in the back of the grill
5. place the plate washer over both sides of the bolt
6. slide another split-lock washer up to the plate washer on both sides of the bolt
7. place another nut on each side of the U-bolt
8. Tighten the inside nuts with a wrench

After installing the brackets I used a 1" bolt, several different types of washers and a wing nut to attach each of the burners to the bracket assembly.

For each bolt:

1. Slide on a split-lock washer
2. Slide on a flat washer
3. Slide on two fender washers
4. slide on the burner
5. loosely attach a wing nut

After assembling each set of burner hardware I placed the large fender washers on the top and bottom of the previously installed bracket and tightened the wing nut by hand while holding the bolt still with a wrench. The fender washers should sandwiched around the u-bolt assembly and hold the burner in place.

I repeated the procedure for each of the remaining burners and everything came out very clean, and the stainless hardware will probably outlast the rest of the grill.