New Toy

[swshawaii]

koda, the expanding "clips" on the OEM lower "D" mounts is what makes them a PITA to remove. Jerry "Midnight Rebel" may be able to help you with the "A" upper since he helped Valas replace his recently. I only replaced the eight foam mounts because the rubber ones were all perfect. BTW, I also had a difficult time with the parking brake cable interference, even after "pinning" the mechanism at the pedal.

See sixth and seventh pics.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3424766&postcount=81

 

[koda2000]

I don't think your supposed to or should leave the drivers side loose when you do the passenger side, from what I read. I think it's because shifting?

I think it was valas and midnight that posted how to do the d mounts the best and he had to deal with rust but the process should be the same for you, just easier with no rust. It's something to do with an integral spring/clip? Taking a pipe to release it was the fix- sorry I can't remember specifics. I seen these huge claw type vise grips to hold the lower d mount from spinning. I don't recall reading difficulty on the a mount

Edit: it was in the body mount sticky

Thanks, I'll read it when I get a chance. As far as leaving the driver's side mounts "loose" the bolts are finger tight, so don't think anything will shift. It's just that with the stiff neoprene I'm afraid I wont be able get enough height on the passenger side to get the top halves of the nut/washers out.

Actually, I'm thinking I don't need to bother with the "D" bushings, as they're already neoprene and look good. I may still try to get the "A" top bushing half replaced though, if I can figure it out.

 

[koda2000]

koda, the expanding "clips" on the OEM lower "D" mounts is what makes them a PITA to remove. Jerry "Midnight Rebel" may be able to help you with the "A" upper since he helped Valas replace his recently. I only replaced the eight foam mounts because the rubber ones were all perfect. BTW, I also had a difficult time with the parking brake cable interference, even after "pinning" the mechanism at the pedal.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=3424766&postcount=81

to get the parking brake cable out of the way, I pushed in the little locking fingers and then I used the handle if a hammer to lever the cable toward the front to pull it out of its bracket. It took 2 seconds once I figured it out, but figuring it out took 30 mins.

I think I've talked myself out of changing the "D" bushings, but I'd like to replace the top part of the "A" bushings. They're still pretty good, but if I figure a way to do it easily I'll do it. I have to look at it more closely tomorrow.

 

[01STrunner]

If I remember right the A ones were the easiest on mine. I had the front bumper cover off since I was doing the body lift.

 

[koda2000]

If I remember right the A ones were the easiest on mine. I had the front bumper cover off since I was doing the body lift.

Well sure, if you were doing a body lift it would be easy. I just looked with a flashlight and it's what I thought. The top half of the "A" bushing is pretty tight between the body and the frame. Maybe if I'd changed it before I let the body back down I would have had enough room for it to come out. It looks like I just needed another 1/8 inch or so to get it free of the frame. As I haven't tightened the "B" & "C" bolts yet, I'll try loosening them up again and put the jack by the "B" mount and lifting the body a little. I think that will work to get the top half of "A" bushing out. After all, I want to get my $73 out of the new mount bushing kit... LOL.

I just Super Glued my cracked radio face. I think it will look fine, but it still pisses me off that I dropped it. Oh well, it was something less than perfect looking anyway. If that was the Mach Audiophile radio (with repaired working display) out of my '01 EB, I'd be sick about it.

 

[01STrunner]

Ah now I understand what you mean. Trying to get at it with the other bolts still in but loose. I'm at a loss on that one.

Sad to hear about the radio but hey at least a simple fix was all that was needed.

 

[koda2000]

Ah now I understand what you mean. Trying to get at it with the other bolts still in but loose. I'm at a loss on that one.

Sad to hear about the radio but hey at least a simple fix was all that was needed.

Yeah, I'm usually very careful, but sometimes s**t happens. I pulled the tape off this morning, and you'd have to look really closely to see the repair. The radio bezel should also help to hide it.

It's another beautiful, cool, dry day today, so maybe I'll get the other side done. I have to also clean the disgusting floor while the seats are out. Time to break out the rubber gloves.

 

[koda2000]

Question - I saw the old body mount bolts had lots of blue-looking thread locker on them. I had sprayed them down with WD/40 to get them out and make it easier to reinstall. Although the thread locker was blue in color, it behaved more like red Loctite, in that it required heat to get them out. I don't think thread locker is really necessary with the neoprene bushings because they provide constant pressure through there resilience which should keep the bolts tight. What say you?

 

[01STrunner]

Question - I saw the old body mount bolts had lots of blue-looking thread locker on them. I had sprayed them down with WD/40 to get them out and make it easier to reinstall. Although the thread locker was blue in color, it behaved more like red Loctite, in that it required heat to get them out. I don't think thread locker is really necessary with the neoprene bushings because they provide constant pressure through there resilience which should keep the bolts tight. What say you?

I never used loctite on my body bolts when I did the BL. I checked them a while after I installed it and they were still real tight. I say no need

 

[swshawaii]

Both Prothane and Daystar DO specify applying blue thread lock compound in their instructions when installing. What makes it more difficult is they recommend retorquing after 500-1000 miles meaning accessing the bolts again. Polyurethane compresses under load, and will retain memory. There have been reports of squeaks and movement caused by loosened bolts after the truck has been driven a while. Ford tends to over use Loctite on the certain bolts such as body mounts, bed, torsion, and TPS sensor. If you look at the body mount internal threads, only about 1/2" of the lower sleeves are threaded, and Loctite used to the entire bolt threads is overkill. I would initially install the bolts clean and torqued, then and re-check them after some driving. Without Loctite and corrosion, bolts are easy to remove, it's the interior removal that makes it a PITA.

NOTE- RECOMMEND applying blue to threads factory bolts when reinstalling mounts.

RETORQUE all nuts and bolts after initial settling of mounts (approximately 1000miles of driving) to insure that fasteners have not come loose.

http://www.prothanesuspensionparts.com/installation_instructions/prothane/6-116.pdf

On a side note, Daystar recently changed to a Kevlar version. :scratch: Bullet proof body mounts? LOL
http://www.daystarsuspensionparts.com/KF04015KV

 

[koda2000]

Well, I spend several hours cleaning the floor, console side and driver's seat. It was a disgusting job, now it looks pretty good. I'm sure the rubber floor covering would look really nice after and application of protectant, but I'm not going to bother with that at this time.

I also managed to get the upper 1/2 of the "A" bushing out and replaced the rubber bushing (which was in really good condition) with the neoprene bushing. Then I tightened down the mounts on the driver's side. I didn't have a torque spec, so I just tightened them down until the neoprene started to bulge slightly. I didn't put any Loctite on any of the bolts. I don't think they're going anywhere, but I'll keep an eye on them. I'll be removing the driver's seat again soon to replace the leather seat bottom, so It wont be much more work to retighten the bolts if necessary. The passenger side seat isn't power, so it's somewhat easier to remove and for now I'm not reinstalling the really annoying parts (covers) on the seat belt track and rear seat bolts.

BTW, EBSCOhost site says 59 ft pounds to body bolts. I'm probably close to that and I reason neoprene may stay tighter than the OE foam bushings.

I had to turn the truck around in the garage to get at the passenger side, so I took it around the block. Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems to ride much better (even with only half the mount bushings replaced). Keep in mine the driver's side "B" and "C" bushing were nonexistent. I'm curious to see how it feels after doing the passenger side.

Maybe after dinner I'll start taking the passenger side interior parts off.

 

[Kjhadfield]

i got this brah

Radiator mount is 41 ft
The rest are 59ft lbs

Added: Damn and I still missed it (your edit). That's how long it takes me to post anything, 15-20 mins with a 3 & 2 yr old running around. Sometimes I get timed out and have to start over so I just say forget it

 

[koda2000]

Radiator mount is 41 ft
The rest are 59ft lbs

Added: Damn and I still missed it (your edit). That's how long it takes me to post anything, 15-20 mins with a 3 & 2 yr old running around. Sometimes I get timed out and have to start over so I just say forget it

COPY is your friend.

Yes, I saw that the rad mounts are 41ft lbs.

The passenger seat, door sill trim and kick panel trim are off and I did a cursory vacuuming, but the passenger side floor is even more disgusting than the driver's side. I think there must be a whole dead dog under the console and before he died he puked all under the seat. Another rubber glove day. With any luck I should have the right side body bushings in by tomorrow.

BTW, I have to work around my 3yr old grandson in the mornings. He's a handful.

 

[koda2000]

Yuk! Not looking forward to this job.

 

[skpyle]

Yikes!

Pressure washer time...

Seth K. Pyle

 

[koda2000]

Update:
Okay, got the passenger side "A", "B", and "C" body mount bushing installed this morning. It didn't take as long to do as the driver's side, partially due to the learning curve and partially because there wasn't a parking brake cable in the way.

I decided to torque the mounting bolts to the recommended OE spec of 59 FP's on the "B "& "C" mounting bolts and I tried to use the spec of 41 FP's on the "A" mount. I don't know, but I think these torques are too much. The "B" & "C" bushings are bulged out quite a bit, I guess they're okay, but I wouldn't tighten a suspension related bushing to that extent. I tried to torque the "A" bolt to the recommended 41 FP's and washer under the bottom mount starts to deform and the bushing was really bulged out, so I backed it off until it was only starting to bulge a little. Then there's the nut on top of the "A" mount, which can easily be torqued to 41 FP's.

I tried calling Prothane to ask their advice, but they're not open on Fridays... WTF? So I'll have to wait until Monday. I guess they're not a "customer service centric" company.

Now I need to start cleaning the passenger side floor, console side and seat... maybe later, maybe tomorrow.

Below are some pics of the way the bushings look so you can see what I'm talking about. What do you think? (Pic order is "C", "B", "A").

 

[swshawaii]

Looks good koda. Must say I was very surprised hearing this from Todd Z. 20 ft/lbs. tighter than spec?

I torqued mine 20 Foot lbs tighter then spec.

http://www.mysporttrac.com/shared/msgboard9e.asp?BOARDNAME=MSG&VIEW=1339514&SUB=1339635

 

[koda2000]

Looks good koda. Must say I was very surprised hearing this from Todd Z. 20 ft/lbs. tighter than spec?

IDK, I took it for a 30 mile test drive. It feels much more supple with the new mounts. I can even tell that the body is slightly higher than it was. I hear a little clunking while driving over my bumpy 1/4 mile driveway. Sounded like it was coming from the front, so maybe I should tighten the "A" bolts more. Once I was out on the roads, I heard nothing and it felt really good. No more jarring over pot holes.

I read the link you provided. I guess the bushings need to be really tight. I just don't see how I can get the "A" mounts to 41 FP's w/out bending up the rather thin bottom washer, but at least that ones the easiest to get at. I'll see what Prothane says next week. IDK if the specified torque is to pull the 2 halves of the mount together until they stop, or to just squish the bushings. I'll try tightening the "A" bolt some more and see if the noise goes away.

 

[Kjhadfield]

On their instruction sheet (pdf I have saved), it does mention to properly torque to factory spec and it lists the correct ft lbs mentioned earlier. So I would go with that and try to get them all torqued without looking at how much "crush". Then as mentioned earlier- t re torque after 1000 miles.

 

[koda2000]

Clean floor, console, seat and back together.