installed new front shocks, but now.... | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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installed new front shocks, but now....

Grifter

Member
Joined
November 7, 2005
Messages
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City, State
Minneapolis, MN Area
Year, Model & Trim Level
93 EB 4dr 4x4
the front end clunks when i go over small jolting bumps. the shocks feel much better up front, (Rancho 5000's BTW) but now i feel a clunk under my feet when i hit some bumps or potholes. Radius Arm Bushings maybe? i am pretty sure that my passenger side one needs replacing, and now the drivers side too, if in fact what i am hearing is symptomatic of bad radius arm bushings..

can anyone shed some light on this?
 



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Yeah, it sounds like the bushings all right. I had the exact same problem when I replaced my shocks.
 






cool. i was thinking they were on the way out, but that new clunking had me worried a bit.. i'm getting used to the "fix one thing, you find another to fix" way of life
 






Check to make sure the shocks are bolted in good and are tourqued to spec. and that the washer things at the top mount are on correctly. I had the same sound/feeling when I changed my front shocks on my 94. Thought it was a radius arm bushing, turned out my shocks were clunking around whenever I went over bumps.
 






whats spec on them? i dont think i am going to get a torque wrensh in on those top ones.

i tightened the tops enough to crush the rubber bushing maybe 1/2 way, and the same on the bottom.. went by crushed size comparison to the old shocks. but who knows if they were right..
 






if the noise was not there forore the new shocks and is there just after, check your shock install.

Make sure nothing is hitting the shock body.

new noise = start where you were last working.

Sounds like you got the shocks torqued down enough to me though if the bushing is smashed...
 






Grifter said:
the front end clunks when i go over small jolting bumps. the shocks feel much better up front, (Rancho 5000's BTW) but now i feel a clunk under my feet when i hit some bumps or potholes. Radius Arm Bushings maybe? i am pretty sure that my passenger side one needs replacing, and now the drivers side too, if in fact what i am hearing is symptomatic of bad radius arm bushings..

can anyone shed some light on this?

I've got this same issue, I had replaced the sway bar bushings, and finally got the guy at the shop to replace the wheel bearings. I know my Ujoints need to be replaced soon as well. But my question for you is this.. do you feel any clunks or shifting (not tranny, like some bushing or something sliding a bit) while using the brakes hard? I've got the same issue you describe with possibly the addition of that problem as well.
 






nothing under shifts, just under bumps. it pulls a bit under braking to the right (which makes me think radius bushings..) but it did that before the new shocks. the sound i hear and feel is much more pronounced now, but it was there before.
 






The radius are bushings are directly under the driver and pass front feet, so any clucking is easily felt.. As such the clunking you described would lead me to suspect then... Because you changed out the shocks you probably mad the ride much more quiet and therefore the RA clunking will be more pronounced.
 






i'm thinking that the radius bushings are taking more of a beating now since the shocks are actually doing their jobs, therefore transferring more of the shock from the bumps to those bushings..
 






very likely, a quick visual inspection of them can tell you.
The nylon donuts like to snap into pieces.
The rubber bushings then wallow out, rot and also fall into pieces.
Then once its metal on metal the crossmember starts to take a beating.

new bushings and donuts will make it feel like a different truck if you have been driving on beat up bushings for some time.

Look in front of and behind the X member where the arms go through. use a flashlight on the pass side to see underneath the metal heat guard.
 






I'm in kind of the same spot where I'm tracing some noise of the same nature. Can the radius arm bushings be changed without taking the arm itself out of the truck? Sorry if it seems like I'm highjacking this thread...
 






I've been having those that problem for over 5 months and thought that it was just cheap shocks, can't quite afford Ranco's yet, will this be a threat to any other parts in the front end if I can't get it done until the spring?(right now I have to drive 40-60 miles a day to not quite pay my bills)
 






yyc_tbird_sc said:
I'm in kind of the same spot where I'm tracing some noise of the same nature. Can the radius arm bushings be changed without taking the arm itself out of the truck? Sorry if it seems like I'm highjacking this thread...
Search on Radius Arm Bushing and you'll get lots of hits. Also check out the suspension section in the "Explorer Maint" link in my sig... It has lots of usefull info such as Replacing RA Bushings
 






Radius arm bushing have it. They are not too bad but time comsuming and be carefull
You will need a torch and a big breaker bar or impact.
 






torch?
isnt there room to get a grinder in there to grind the heads off the rivets? i have the impact part taken care of.
 






Grifter said:
torch?
isnt there room to get a grinder in there to grind the heads off the rivets? i have the impact part taken care of.
Yes there is room to use a grinder and that is what lots of people do.. A torch is obviously quicker and more convient but not required.
 












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