Rear leaf mount broken - advice on repair

[borjawil]

The suspension section doesn't seem to have a "stock" suspension help forum so I'm posting here.

94 4.0L ext cab

Driver side, front leaf mount rusted/broke from frame. Im a fabricator and welder and have my portable unit with me but I'm not at my shop/home. Never had to do this repair so looking for advice and tips on fixing this.

My thoughts are to jack up the rear from the frame to make the leaf mount fall into stock position. Clean up the area and attempt to weld it back in place. I luckily have a few scrap pieces of flat stock that will help reinforce the area.

I guess I'm looking for help more int he how to get the mount back to where I want it, anything to look out for when welding it back on, etc. The upper half of the mount is still connected to the frame, the lower portion where the leaf eye mounts is separated.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Replacement brackets are pretty readily available. Autozone and some other auto parts stores even stock the replacements. Lot easier than trying to weld the rotted metal back together. Knock out the rivets in the frame and bolt the replacement on. Hardest part is usually trying to get the bolt out of the bushing, sometimes it’s easiest to burn out the bushing and put a new one in. If it’s just the shackle that went, then you just need to deal with two bushings. Replacement shackles often come with new bolts and bushings


Sent from my kite using a trebuchet

 

[adsm08]

Yeah, Dorman makes replacements.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

If this is a get you home fix;

The bushing will have taken a set and probably won't want to line up easily. All I can suggest is to try to use whatever you have on hand to turn the piece into position. Pipe wrench. Even weld a loop on to the piece and run a bar thru. That and a jack to force it up. You'll have to play around with two jacks, one on the frame and one on the spring eye. Maybe a ratchet strap or two could come in handy.

Good luck.

 

[borjawil]

Yep planned on repairing the frame, drop shackles in rear for a mild pre runner setup, and new mounts in the front. Just a get me home fix right now. Luckily had some steel on my to make a new support.

 

[RonD]

Have water running in the bed above where you will be applying any heat, it WILL blister the paint if you don't keep it cool.

Long term you should pull the bed off and replace all 4 hangers, much easier to do with bed off, rear hangers are usually the first to go
Only 6 bolts hold bed on
3 screws for filler tube and a wiring connector for tail lights

Awkward for one person to move but not heavy, two people make it easy

 

[borjawil]

Yep definitely removing the bed so I can sand blast the frame, repair sections, weld in gussets, put in my kartek drop hangers, replace the front hangers, etc.