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DayStar Body mount replacement & Custom 3/4" lift (1st Gen)

Body mount replacement and custom Heavy duty 3/4" body lift.

Several of my body mounts had deteriorated such that the lower flanged washer and rubber mount were falling off. In the picture below I have loosened the bolt but not removed it completely.
18205Body_mount_3R-med.jpg

I had ordered the DayStar Body mount (KF04009) replacement kit to replace all mounts. Unfortunately the kit only includes the Poly Bushings and no hardware. As such I had purchased the following additional hardware.

Qty - Grade 8 Bolts
2 @ 1/2" x 4.5" (Mount #1)
6 @ 1/2" x 5â€￾ (Mounts #2 and #4)
2 @ 1/2" x 7â€￾ (Mount #5)

10 @ 1/2" Grade 8 washers and nuts.
30 @ 1/2" ID x 3" OD x 1/4" thick (dock washers)

The process is similar to that of a body lift but requires more work. A body lift and mount replacement both require you to remove all 10 body mount bolts, but a replacement requires the complete removal/disassembly of the old mounts. Normally a body lift includes a spacer block, but I used 2 dock washers together. The washers and new Poly bushings lifted the body 3/4"+. Obviously this is a small lift, but the purpose was to help any clearance issue when I install my skyjacker 4" suspension lift.

18205Body_lift_with_dock_washers_WEB-med.jpg

The washers are 1/4" thick each. The new bushings add 1/4"+ for a 3/4"+ total body lift increase.
18205Body_mounts_009_WEB-med.jpg


The front mounts (#1)
These mounts are different from the other mounts in that their bolts mount from the bottom instead of the top and more importantly the upper flanged washer is also threaded. I soaked the threads with PB Blaster and used an impact gun to work the bolt loose (1st pic). The bolt would only come out a few threads before getting stuck. I would soak all exposed threads tighten the bolt and then loosen it. After a few minutes This back and forth motion eventually exposed the lower threads. I soaked them and repeated the process until the bolt was extracted (total time 10 min). In the 2nd pic the lower bushing is removed. I then used a 1/2" Cobalt drill bit to drill through the center of the mount (using WD-40 as a lubricant) to clear the way for the replacement 1/2" bolt.
18205Front_body_mount_removal_WEB-med.jpg


18205Body_Mount_1L_WEB-med.jpg


Mounts #2 & #4
These gave me the most trouble. I removed the bolts but the upper and lower flanged parts were fused together. I was unable to separate them with heavy duty impact hammer. I used a cut off wheel in my grinder to remove the center square nut (see pic). Once you have removed the nut you can pry the rubber bushing off and cut off the remains of the flanged washer.

18205Body_mount_removal_WEB-med.jpg


18205Body_mount_removal_2_WEB-med.jpg


The upper part of mounts #2 & #4 contains a large bushing sandwiched between the upper flange and lower shell. This lower shell contains a small 1" diameter rubber bushing (see pics below) which is bonded to the shell. I used a torch to heat the inner part of the metal flange to help break it's bond with this small bushing. I then used several large screwdrivers and pried the lower shell off. Once Off I used a new razor (box cutter type) to cut out this bushing. Note: If you directly heat the bushing it will become messy to work with.

18205Body_mount_2_WEB-med.jpg


18205Body_mount_2_2_WEB-med.jpg


In the final picture you can see part of the lower flange still fused into the upper flange. I ran the 1/2" cobalt drill bit through the center to ensure the new hardware would fit. You can also see in this picture the new 1" Red poly bushings pressed into the shell.

18205Body_mount_with_lower_stem_intact_WEB-med.jpg


In these last pictures you can see the completed lift install from the rear. Also note the hole in the body for the spare tire winch no longer aligns with the winch.

18205Body_mounts_007_WEB-med.jpg


18205Body_mounts_008_WEB-med.jpg
 
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Thanks Aaron...

As a standard course of action I sandblasted all the old parts and applied 2 coats of Por-15 to help prevent further rust problems.

18205Por-15_old_hardware_WEB-med.jpg


Mount #4 R (above muffler)
18205Body_mount_4R_WEB-med.jpg


Mount #4 L (above gas tank) The tank was dropped for this installation.
18205Body_mount_4L_WEB-med.jpg
 
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well, DeRocha i respect you and i ordered a PA 3" BL, from 4 wheelparts.com.

but how did you get to the top of the other 8 bolts? did you take out the carpet, seats???

thanks charlie
 
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I removed the plastic trim pieces along the door sills and the pieces next to the E-Brake & Glove box. I then removed 90% of the seats. For the front seats I just removed the 4 bolts securing each seat to the floor (leaving the large torx seat belt bolt alone). I then removed the nuts securing the rear seat brackets to the floor. I used a adjustable tie down strap to keep the rear seats folded upwards and out of the way. I was then able to rotate the front seats forward and access the #3 bolts, or backwards to access the #2 bolts. For the rear you just pull up the plastic trip piece along the hatch to release the carpet. Some of my trim screws were rusted and a few heads were mangled, so I picked up some new stainless steel ones at the Hardware store for a couple of $$. - John
 






cool i can not wait till i get everything!!!
 






Where did you buy those big washers ?
 






jfman said:
Where did you buy those big washers ?
I picked up the dock washers from The Bolt Depot. They carry a variety of stuff not found in your local hardwared stores. See my other thread on Body mount info for some more info and pics.
 






i still can not get the front bold out even with air and PB. Do you think if i took a sawzall and cut just about the FRAME mount and jack up the body to take top rubber and bolt out. Them torch the bolt out and reuse the rubber, or does it need the metal sleeve???
 






Charlie's_93EB said:
i still can not get the front bold out even with air and PB. Do you think if i took a sawzall and cut just about the FRAME mount and jack up the body to take top rubber and bolt out. Them torch the bolt out and reuse the rubber, or does it need the metal sleeve???
When using an impact gun are you alternating between loosen & tighten? My gun would only loosen the bolt a small amount before getting stuck.. As such I would switch between tighten and loosen which gave the bolt a running start so to speak and gradually worked its way off... I kept spraying the bolt threads with PB to keep it lubricated and it eventually came out. It that doesn't work can you but a 3-4' breaker bar on it and muscle it off? the flange is used to help align the bushing so cutting it would be my last choice.. I'm not saying not to cut it, but I would only do so if all else failed.
 






well i did not trighten and loosen, b/c mine bolt does not move at all!!!! I did the top nut off very easy, should i leave it on?

But no matter what i do is spins the rubber, i went out and bought a 13" channel lock to hold it but it just spins and yes i tried the breaker bar too.

I just do not get it yours is Sooooooo rusty mine looks not bad at all only surface rust that i could clean with a wire brush and i can not get mine out. i took out and put back all the other 8 mounts. i have not tried the front mount under the battery yet.
 






Sorry to hear you having so much trouble. I feel your pain as I was in the same boat. Perseverance is the key, you just need to keep working it until you get it off. If you haven't tried to get off both body mounts then leave the one giving you trouble alone and work on the other.. It may surprise you and be very easy to get out.. Once out you will see how it all fits together which will enable you to visualize a way of getting the other one out.

To keep the flange from rotating I would use a pipe wrench instead of channel locks. A pipe wrench grips tighter as more force is applied whereas the channel locks will slip. You can also use a pry bar to leverage against the flange to try and keep it from moving. Keep spraying pb blaster on the upper bolt threads as it will need to leak down into the flange where the problem is.
 






ya i was thinking about a pipe wrench, atleast i get a tipe to the home depot. I will try it tonight. and post results
 






DeRocha, do you know the dimensions of the mounts in the Daystar kit? Also, how many total mounts were in the kit? I need to do a 3/4"-1" lift on my 1999 Ranger 4x4 for installation issues on my 351W (long story). Anyhow, I see this kit is for explorer and figure I could adapt to my needs probably fairly easily. Please let me know number of mounts in the kit and if you know, the height of them. Do they have a fairly small center hole as well? From the one picture it looks like the center hole is huge!

Nicely done BTW, and thanks for the boltdepot link!

Todd
 






tmsoko said:
DeRocha, do you know the dimensions of the mounts in the Daystar kit? Also, how many total mounts were in the kit? I need to do a 3/4"-1" lift on my 1999 Ranger 4x4 for installation issues on my 351W (long story). Anyhow, I see this kit is for explorer and figure I could adapt to my needs probably fairly easily. Please let me know number of mounts in the kit and if you know, the height of them. Do they have a fairly small center hole as well? From the one picture it looks like the center hole is huge!

Nicely done BTW, and thanks for the boltdepot link!

Todd

The kit only includes the Red bushings and they are the same diameter as the OEM bushings (just 1/4" taller). There are 10 mounts in the kit broken up into 5 driver/pass side pairs. If all you need is some clearance then you can just get a bunch of dock washers and install them like a body lift. That is what I did when I placed the 2 dock washers (1/4" thick each) on top of mount as pictured below. The black part of the mount faces downward so the 3" diameter dock washers fit perfectly..
18205Body_mounts_009_WEB-med.jpg
 






Hi

I am working on a 92 explorer xlt that has gone from a rocker panel replacement to a restoration. I am in the process of replacing the body mounts and am currently working on the rear ones. The rubber and hardware are totaly destroyed(look like the first picture in this post) and i was wonderind if the sleaves insine the rubber are needed or if I can just replace the hardware and be ok.
 
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The sleeves are not necessary. They do add some extra stiffness, but when you consider you're old bushings are completely shot, installing some without their sleeves is no big deal..

I am working on a 92 explorer xlt that has gone from a rocker panel replacement to a restoration. I am in the process of replacing the body mounts and am currently working on the rear ones. The rubber and hardware are totaly destroyed(look like the first picture in this post) and i was wonderind if the sleaves insine the rubber are needed or if I can just replace the hardware and be ok.
 






Thank you. I appreciate the reply and the article. Both will be very helpfull
 






Updating your link on where to buy the body mounts. There's several places to buy them searching under google, and they are all around the same price. I have only found black, red doesn't appear to be in stock anywhere.

black
 
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This thread was super helpful. Thank you. After installing these bushings, using the dock washers...rides like a real going to town rig! Just one tip...I found the poly bushings to be a tad noisy after a month or so, mainly position #2. Having used the dock washers, once the bolt is out, remove the washers...
there is plenty of room to maneuver around all the pieces and apply some lithium grease (only use lithium grease) on everything. Now, no more noises. Thanks again!
 






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