Total Bushing Replacement

[robmedina]

Well spring break is over so I went to try and put my truck back together since I failed at replacing the body mounts and i decided to give it one last try at the front two mounts. I was actually able to replace them today. Got the old trashed ones out and slid in the new prothane ones. It was a lot easier than the ones under the cab since they dont have that stupid sleeve thing. I was happy I got them replaced because they were the worst ones by far. This is the very front driver side before I started.

do you have pics with the new bushings in? Is this the very front ones..near the bumper?

 

[daniel3507]

Yeah its the ones right by the front bumper. I will upload a pic when I get back to a computer.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk

 

[upnsmoke]

That is pretty ugly. It's definitely a good move replacing them. Were you able to get the sleeves apart or did you end up cutting them?

 

[daniel3507]

The front ones didn't actually have a sleeve like the others. The top mount has a hexagonal shape cut out the middle and The washer that sits on top of the mount fits inside of it with a sleeve type thing welded on. Its actually threaded so you fit it in the mount and the "sleeve" part that is threaded goes through the mount. That sounds confusing I know haha. Its basically a threaded funnel that goes inside the top mount and also acts as a washer.

I'm having some major computer issues so I haven't been able to get new pics uploaded but they are coming. I'm going to try again this weekend to do the rest.

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[AgPete139]

I know this post is coming in 5 days later, but I actually just did this bushing replacement yesterday.

There are a total of 6 cab bolts (2 rear, 2 middle, and 2 front).

PREPARATION:
I threaded the removed bolts from underneath, and filled the bushings with PB penetrating oil before hand. I don't think it changed a whole lot, for the sleeves.) The sleeves become mushroomed out over time and wear, and unintended stress from the cab when weight gets transferred to the sleeve. They are also rusted together, making this a PITA.

BACK 2 BUSHINGS:
The back 2 are sleeved, but usually carry less weight, and were easily punched out for me. (Remove the cab bolt from inside the cab, thread it those 8 or so threads to fill up the nut from the bottom, and get a long extension and hammer away from the inside of the cab. I got it out with about a dozen solid hits with a 3 lb sledge hammer.)

MIDDLE 2 BUSHINGS:
For the middle, due to the dash and other constraints, I couldn't hammer them out. These are fvck!ng impossible. You have to heat up the bottom sleeve enough to expand then hammer from the top again, or cut them out. NOTE: I would NOT suggest burning out the bushings. I've removed suspension bushings like this before, and it's a great method! However, these bushings have metal sleeves in them, and this method won't do anything for you. Besides, you risk catching your truckcab on fire since it's in such close proximity.

Using a metal cutoff wheel, use the frame as a "guide" to cut horizontally. Make the cut below the top bushing. This way, there is minimal rubber burning, less mess, less smell, less rubber buildup on your grinder shield and on your frame. I actually got burned with some melted rubber on the first side I did. This took me only a mere 3-4 minutes to cut off. It got straight to the sleeve.

FRONT 2 BUSHINGS:
These are simply plug & play, drop-in bushings. Just make sure you lift the cab high enough to remove them.


OLD Ford Rubber (LEFT TO RIGHT):

Back cab sleeved bushing, Middle cab sleeved bushing, & Front engine "open" bushing:

NEW James Duff Urethane (LEFT TO RIGHT):

Back cab sleeved bushing (notice how it is "mushroomed"), Middle cab sleeved bushing (notice the sleeves where I cut the bushing in half), & Front engine "open" bushing:

I hope this helps, for anyone that wants to do this again. Make sure you have plenty of punch combinations to see what works for you, a grinder with a cutoff wheel, penetrating oil, sledge hammer, and multiple washers.

BOLT & NUT SIZE: (Metric) M12 - 1.75
WASHERS: Whatever works! I used a combination of Home Depot 3/4" washers, 1/2 washers, and a couple old stock washers.

Pete

 

[daniel3507]

Im glad to see yours went well. Next time Im using a bigger hammer and cutting them off. Any pics of the new mounts installed?

 

[upnsmoke]

Good post Pete. I'm sure that will help anyone who searches it up in the future. I myself will need to tackle this at some point. It appears a previous owner replaced my mounts at some point, but they are in less than great shape now, and seeing what you and Daniel have done I think I know how I will proceed with it. Daniel, have you gotten into any suspension or steering stuff yet?

 

[daniel3507]

Good post Pete. I'm sure that will help anyone who searches it up in the future. I myself will need to tackle this at some point. It appears a previous owner replaced my mounts at some point, but they are in less than great shape now, and seeing what you and Daniel have done I think I know how I will proceed with it. Daniel, have you gotten into any suspension or steering stuff yet?

Not yet. I've been swamped with school work since its near the end of semester so I haven't made any progress yet. I am thinking about sway bar bushings or new coils next.

Sent from my LS670 using Tapatalk 2

 

[AgPete139]

Im glad to see yours went well. Next time Im using a bigger hammer and cutting them off. Any pics of the new mounts installed?

OLD MOUNTS:

Rear cab (cracks show how many millions of cycles it has been through, still holds its shape, that's it.)

Front engine (totally abused & gone, causes rocking and lots of sway in the cab while cornering, can't even hold its shape)

LIFTING METHODS:

Passenger Side:

lol = I couldn't find any long 2"x4" pieces, so I looked around and improvised.


Driver Side:

I thought of another solution once I got to the other side and didn't have enough space with a bush in the way.

"MODS":

I didn't feel like hassling with unlatching my e-brake @ the rear leaves/hanger, so I pulled and strung it out of the way to use my 7" angle grinder.

Also, the James Duff pieces were a tight fit, and I couldn't get them to fit in the front holes of my front frame. So with a little bit of mild grinding, I got them to fit. If you have a rasp or a file, this would be sufficient.

NEW, INSTALLED JAMES DUFF BUSHINGS:

$70 shipped from their website

Back cab mount // Middle cab mount // Front engine mount

Hope this helps, guys! Thanks for prompting me to upload the rest of the pics.

Perhaps I should bother Jim & submit it to the Tech Library. lol



Pete

 

[An Audio Guru]

Glad this was here to read. I'm about to tackle every Bushings on mine sometime in the near future.

 

[An Audio Guru]

Need to do body, links, knuckles, sway, leaf Bushings and probably more. Anyone wanna post the buy links for the best stuff for the price to be used on a daily highway driven truck. May haul a boat but never any serious off roading. A dirt driveway at the most. So saying that does use make differnce for what parts i should use as far as Bushings?

 

[AgPete139]

Glad this was here to read. I'm about to tackle every Bushings on mine sometime in the near future.

Need to do body, links, knuckles, sway, leaf Bushings and probably more. Anyone wanna post the buy links for the best stuff for the price to be used on a daily highway driven truck. May haul a boat but never any serious off roading. A dirt driveway at the most. So saying that does use make differnce for what parts i should use as far as Bushings?

Many of us on here buy the "James Duff" brand bushings. Their bread & butter initially revolves around Broncos, Bronco II's, Explorers, and Rangers, so it's nice to support their excellent products. Of course, there is always a Chinese equivalent, but these USA products are superior in quality for urethane pieces.

http://www.jamesduff.com/broncoII/broncoII.html

You can get everything there. I'm sure you can do eBay, too, but these guys have good service.

I've also installed their radius arm bushings, and it fixed the bad caster & shimmy in my truck, too.

Pete