Hey, guys.
Got a further question that’s been bugging me for the duration of this project and it’s getting to crunch time. As mentioned, both the tops of body mounts and the sheet metal where the retaining bolts for the bushings pass through the body were rounded out because the PO kept driving the truck with shot bushings and hardware. So when I fabricated plates to weld to the tops of the mounts (which are otherwise in good shape), I cut holes in them for the bushing sleeves to pass through that were ever-so-slightly larger, thus ensuring a snug fit.
I’m assuming that the fit where the bushing bolts pass through the body should also be snug, right? I’m planning to weld some #8 washers to the body where each bolt passes through, so that they’re passing through a hole that’s just barely larger than themselves. My thought here is that while the bushings should allow slight up-and-down movement of the body, the hardware should allow no side-to-side or front-to-back movement. The only reason that I’ve started to question myself on this idea is the fact that all of the bolts use large, thick slotted “washers” in addition to the sleeves, nuts, shims, etc. This would seem to imply that some movement is expected. On the other hand, if the bolts were allowed to slide around, I would think that this would throw the cab out of alignment, right?
Can anyone help with some insights into this? Sorry, but as old as I am, I’ve honestly never replaced bushings before, so I don’t know how things would look if all the damage hadn’t been done.
Thanks, guys.