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Transmission Crossmember Bushings


Aaron 13

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1989
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Ford Ranger
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I’ve got a ‘89 4x4 Ranger in need of crossmember bushings.
I’ve been to the end of the internet and eBay no bushing no assemblies available all discontinued and out of stock. I found one old (2016) thread that someone found one they are also out of stock.
Does anyone have any? Or a number for a bushing that will fit? I did order one from a guy on eBay (called the parts department) and I got the tracking number but FedEx never got the box when questioned them they just issued a refund and blamed FedEx, showed they had no more then all of the sudden they sold one I bet they are scamming someone.
Any help would be appreciated.
 

SenorNoob

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1.5" Front + 4" Rear
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AFAIK, there are 3 ways to handle this. 1-A solid mounted crossmember from a junkyard. 2-Cut and weld the current parts to make whatever you want/can get work. 3-And last but not least, a polyurethane casting kit.

I tried 1 and got the wrong part... Probably gonna try 2 at some point. 3 just seems like too much work. Especially considering later trucks came from the factory with a solid mount.
 

Aaron 13

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AFAIK, there are 3 ways to handle this. 1-A solid mounted crossmember from a junkyard. 2-Cut and weld the current parts to make whatever you want/can get work. 3-And last but not least, a polyurethane casting kit.

I tried 1 and got the wrong part... Probably gonna try 2 at some point. 3 just seems like too much work. Especially considering later trucks came from the factory with a solid mount.
Define “solid mount”? Mine has 2 rubber bushings where it attaches to the frame rail. Is there a newer version that is solid but has the same bolt pattern/spacing?
 

SenorNoob

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1988
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4.0 V6
Engine Size
4.0
Transmission
Manual
2WD / 4WD
4WD
Total Lift
1.5" Front + 4" Rear
Tire Size
245-70-R16

CaptJankey

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Old thread new information
You can replace those bushings with a gm product RB172 right from ebay. It's a rear leaf spring bushing out of a 01 blazer. 15 bucks apiece fits perfectly. A sec gen crossmember costs upwards of $250 now adays you can get a raised member raw for about $70 or powder coated for $110. But youll wait weeks if not months to receive it. Good luck with all your first gen shenanigans.
 

CaptJankey

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I’ve got a ‘89 4x4 Ranger in need of crossmember bushings.
I’ve been to the end of the internet and eBay no bushing no assemblies available all discontinued and out of stock. I found one old (2016) thread that someone found one they are also out of stock.
Does anyone have any? Or a number for a bushing that will fit? I did order one from a guy on eBay (called the parts department) and I got the tracking number but FedEx never got the box when questioned them they just issued a refund and blamed FedEx, showed they had no more then all of the sudden they sold one I bet they are scamming someone.
Any help would be appreciated.
Hey bud rb172 check it out
 

Shran

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Old thread new information
You can replace those bushings with a gm product RB172 right from ebay. It's a rear leaf spring bushing out of a 01 blazer. 15 bucks apiece fits perfectly. A sec gen crossmember costs upwards of $250 now adays you can get a raised member raw for about $70 or powder coated for $110. But youll wait weeks if not months to receive it. Good luck with all your first gen shenanigans.
Good to know. Really common problem on these trucks.

I have just been going with 2nd/3rd gen solid crossmembers because the earlier crossmembers rust really bad once the rubber starts deteriorating. They not only rust through the outer metal sleeve on the bushing, but the metal sleeve that it slides into on the crossmember itself too. The whole crossmember is pretty much junk at that point unless you weld new sleeves onto it... a lot of work.

$250 is a ripoff for a junkyard crossmember, if one of my local yards gave me that price I would be laughing, never going back and leaving them a 1 star Google review. I would expect to pay no more than $10-20 for that part.
 

Brain75

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wow, maybe I should go into business selling junkyard parts on ebay... my little local yard wants $1/ft for electrical and $2/ft for miscellaneous metal (not a "fender" or "hood", etc - something not in the computer)... I could get a 4' crossmember for $8 and sell it for $250....

FWIW, when I repaired the collision damage on the front end, I paid $40 for the bumper (it's in their computer), and they just waved their hand at the stone guard and said don't worry about it.
 

lil_Blue_Ford

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Yeah, that’s a rip off for a want that much for a crossmember. Most junkyards are cool about things if you’re not a dick. I always try to be nice to the guys working in the yards for the yards and often stop and talk with them now and again. Makes life 1,000x easier when you need help sometime. I was working on trying to get torsion bar keys off a Ranger one day and fighting stuck, rusty bolts and as it happened a couple of the yard guys were hanging for a minute nearby having a cig, they saw me struggling, came over, lifted the truck, torched it off, and said there ya go, no charge. Office even pretty much let me name my price since they don’t usually sell the keys. Don’t be a dick folks, lol.

My 88 was the only thing in my fleet with one of those crossmembers. I long-armed the front axle and that put the mount at the trans crossmember since I planned it that way so my frame mount used the stock trans crossmember holes for that bushing mount in the frame and I trimmed the stock crossmember to fit inside the mounts so I can build something on the ends to attach to my front axle frame mounts. Should be pretty legit when I’m done but you do need a little bit of fabricating ability to do it all. Supposed to be a vast improvement over stock front control arms to do this so we shall see when I get to put that thing back together. I know I like how they work on the much more lifted Choptop of mine and I’m pretty happy with them. Heck with that bushing, I’m improving things, lol.
 

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