'94 ranger Radius Arm Bushing | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

  • Register Today It's free!

'94 ranger Radius Arm Bushing

petey48

New Member
Joined
March 25, 2008
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
City, State
WNC
Year, Model & Trim Level
'94 Ranger XLT
Hello guys, first time poster here so first off I'll say "Howdy" to everyone. Now for my problem, I need to replace the radius arm bushings on my 94 Ranger 4x4 and I need a few pointers. I checked it out this afternoon and it don't look to bad. Is the back of the Radius arm all that has bushings? Are they bushings at the front where it splits to go over the axle? I noticed the brace where the arm goes through is bolted together in the center, is that brace all that has to be taken out? or do the shocks and the coil springs have to be removed? I had read a post earlier about someone grinding some rivet heads off and using 7/16 bolts for replacement. That was on an explorer, will I have to do that? I also got some other projects coming but I'll start with this one. Thanks
 






you can use the same method of grinding off the rivets on your ranger. this is by far the easiest way to replace the radius arm bushings in my opinion. after removing the nut on the back of each radius arm and removing the back bushings and plate, grind off the rivets for the bracket, remove the bracket.. this leaves you with the front bushings and plate.. everything is right there in front of you. i used 7/16" bolts approx. 1 1/2" long, grade 8 hardened to reattach the bracket. when replacing your bushings look into getting polyurethane ones. the TRW part number is hb1495khd available at advance aut parts for roughly $15 per side. hope this helps.

also.. i learned really quick that it is best to tighten the radius arm nuts with the vehicle on the ground with all its weight. the first time i did this i had the front end up off the ground and when i lowered the jack and it settled the weight split one of the bushings.
 






you can use the same method of grinding off the rivets on your ranger. this is by far the easiest way to replace the radius arm bushings in my opinion. after removing the nut on the back of each radius arm and removing the back bushings and plate, grind off the rivets for the bracket, remove the bracket.. this leaves you with the front bushings and plate.. everything is right there in front of you. i used 7/16" bolts approx. 1 1/2" long, grade 8 hardened to reattach the bracket. when replacing your bushings look into getting polyurethane ones. the TRW part number is hb1495khd available at advance aut parts for roughly $15 per side. hope this helps.

also.. i learned really quick that it is best to tighten the radius arm nuts with the vehicle on the ground with all its weight. the first time i did this i had the front end up off the ground and when i lowered the jack and it settled the weight split one of the bushings.

someone correct me if im wrong... and this may be personal preference but...

shouldnt you use grade 5 bolts on suspension? i was under the impression that although grade 8 is harder, due to the brittleness, its shear strength is less than a grade 5. this would make grade 5 a better choice because it will bend before it breaks, where as grade 8 will just break.
 






Welcome to the forum! You don't have to remove the radius arm brackets...the "brace" you refer to... (that's what the grinding rivets is about) in order to replace the radius arm bushings. There are bushings on the front and back of the bracket, sandwiching a hardened polymer bushing that supports the radius arm.

The radius arms can be pulled forward through the brackets, and yes the springs and shocks must be removed. If you are going to do this, it's also an excellent time to replace ball joints and tie rod ends. If you do all of this, you'll know everything that's happening in your front end whenever you turn the wheel!

There are lots of threads on this, look for one posted by DeRocha...has great pics.:usa:
 






Back
Top