Body Mount Removal

[97Sandbox]

I searched around but didn't see any answer besides trying a bigger hammer, so I'm asking if I'm missing something before I go and ruin something else.

I'm replacing my tired rubber body mounts with the Daystar polyurethane ones. I removed all the bolts without much trouble, just had to hold the front cup washer with a pipe wrench. My instructions said lower mounts should pull off once the bolts are out, but mine won't budge.

I tried the hammer/punch method and still nothing moved.

Nothing seems badly rusted, so I'm confused what the trouble is. Any tips?

 

[Fix4Dirt]

is that the front one? when i put my front metal on, i plan to just cut it what i have tried thus far does not work

 

[97Sandbox]

No, I actually got the front one apart without too much trouble. It's the other four positions that just won't come apart

 

[CDW6212R]

The frame holes are not perfect circles, they are oblong shaped that the upper mounts fit into. So you have to pull the mounts up or down away from the frame, not sideways or rotate. The upper mount part fits into the frame, and the lower part mates with the upper half, so the lower half may just fall straight down if it's not corroded/stuck.

 

[BKennedy]

I threaded the bolt back in 3 or 4 turns, then smacked it with a hand sledge to knock the lower bushing loose.

 

[97Sandbox]

I threaded the bolt back in 3 or 4 turns, then smacked it with a hand sledge to knock the lower bushing loose.

You mean hit the head of the bolt from the top (inside the cab)?

The metal sleeves in my bushings must just be really corroded together. I nailed mine with a 4 lb hammer until I had hit it so many time the bolt rattled itself out.

I also tried putting a sleeve and spacer from my ball joint press around the lower bushing and tightening the bolt from underneath to try to pull the lower sleeve out of the upper...even with a jack handle cheater on the breaker bar, I still hit a point that I couldn't move any further.

Time for the torch I guess.

 

[410Fortune]

I have had to sawzall those suckers more then once to get them apart................... not easy

 

[97Sandbox]

If you sawzall the sleeves, how do you install the new bushings? I thought the old sleeves had to go through the poly bushings too.

Or do you just mean cut away the rubber to get at the sleeves?

 

[410Fortune]

I mean I have had to cut through the sleeves before because they get corroded and locked together
I piece bits and parts back together to Re create the body mount, sometimes Re using the stuff that was cut up sometimes I dip into my parts bin ( I have a whole box of body mount parts)
Sometimes you have no choice when they simply will not come apart

 

[swshawaii]

@97Sandbox
Stupid question because I know you're more than capable.

Your pic shows a dry body mount bolt. Did you use spray penetrant such as PB Blaster, WD-40, etc?
Also helps to put a socket on the bolt head for a more direct hit and to prevent damage from a slip.

 

[97Sandbox]

Your pic shows a dry body mount bolt. Did you use spray penetrant such as PB Blaster, WD-40, etc?
Also helps to put a socket on the bolt head for a more direct hit and to prevent damage from a slip.

Haha, no worries! Yes, the bottom half of the bolt (facing up in the picture, threaded into the bushing from underneath) is soaked in PB Blaster. I hit the bolts before I loosened them, and they came right out. I also sprayed more penetrant down into the holes once the bolts were out -- I thought this might help the sleeves come apart, but I think the way they're assembled the penetrant just drips through and doesn't actually get between the sleeves.

I'll try threading the bolt back in from the top and hitting the head through a socket -- that sounds like way easier target to hit than a 1/2" punch I've been using.

One other thing occurred to me; if I understand the bushing assemblies right, a lot of the hammer impact gets absorbed by the upper bushing. If I cut off the upper bushings so the top sleeve can drop and rest on the frame mount, I'd expect more of the impact to go into the lower sleeve. Maybe that'll do the job? If not, I'll at least have easier access for the torch/Sawzall.

 

[BKennedy]

You can also make a press with a piece of tubing, but I think you already tried that. If you did try a press, maybe hit it with a impact. They seem to really help break loose rusted together bolts. Mine were not rusted at all though, just decades old thread locker. One of the few remaining benefits of living in California is no rusty cars.

 

[97Sandbox]

You can also make a press with a piece of tubing, but I think you already tried that. If you did try a press, maybe hit it with a impact. They seem to really help break loose rusted together bolts. Mine were not rusted at all though, just decades old thread locker. One of the few remaining benefits of living in California is no rusty cars.

Yeah, that's what I tried last night, but I didn't use my impact, just a breaker bar. I'll give that a try tonight.

Funny to me that this truck isn't rusty (resided in Texas until I got it last summer) and my bolts came right out but the body mount sleeves are fused together. All the horror stories I read seem to relate to stuck bolts and challenges with the front mounts, but those were non-issues in my case.

 

[410Fortune]

When I did my bronco ii years ago it was a huge pita I had to cut like 4 of them all the main cab mounts I did one side at a time and it took me a week lots of sawzall blades
That was early in my career lol
My bronco sits 3/8” too far to pass side drives me nuts, a result of the job I did.
It will get fixed soon enough.

Removing the factory rubber mounts
and going to urethane mounts was one of the best upgrades ever, solid mounts in the body and drivetrain force the suspension to work and really puts you in touch with the “road”

 

[97Sandbox]

My bronco sits 3/8” too far to pass side drives me nuts, a result of the job I did.
It will get fixed soon enough.

I've only started the driver's side so far and already noticed the cab has shifted to the passenger side relative to the frame. What's your plan to fix that on your BII? I'll probably have to do something too.

 

[BKennedy]

When I had all the new mounts installed but still loose, I shook the body around, then used a pry bar to get it lined up straight. It ended up straighter than when it was new.

Once those sleeves start to rust they fuse themselves to the rubber bushings. The real fun is going to start when you try to get those bushings out that are above the gas tank.

 

[CDW6212R]

When I did my bronco ii years ago it was a huge pita I had to cut like 4 of them all the main cab mounts I did one side at a time and it took me a week lots of sawzall blades
That was early in my career lol
My bronco sits 3/8” too far to pass side drives me nuts, a result of the job I did.
It will get fixed soon enough.

Removing the factory rubber mounts
and going to urethane mounts was one of the best upgrades ever, solid mounts in the body and drivetrain force the suspension to work and really puts you in touch with the “road”

Funny about the mounts shifted too far left or right: when I rebuilt my 93 the first time, I pulled the body as far to the right as possible, for my work. I wanted the tires to get me(the right front door) as close to the mailboxes as possible. I also nudged the front bumper leftward some too, I was thinking ahead.

If I was at it longer, I'd buy an old Explorer FFV(USPS mail truck, RHD, white box body, big black bumpers), and cut about half of the bumpers off. They stick out too far, which makes you hit things more and/or more easily. The PO vehicles are not made with the driver or job inn mind, they are spartan bare bones vehicles with a relatively large cabin for storage. I'd make one better to drive, function better and easier etc.

 

[97Sandbox]

Took another crack at things tonight.

I hacked out the bushings in position 3 then dropped the upper sleeve against the frame mount. Without the bushing there to absorb the impact, I drove the lower sleeve right out.

I was able to get position 2 and 4 out just by hitting them harder. Only thing to note is the need to get the parking brake cable out of the way in position 2.

Position 5 still won't give. I tried hammering harder like I did at 2 and 4 and noticed the punch was just bouncing like crazy. Suspecting the upper bushing was absorbing the impact, I tried the press technique from underneath and bottomed out the bolt, crushing the upper bushing in the process. Then I went back to hammering. Way less bounce then, but the issue is the bolt stuck out too far and my punch slipped past the bolt. I didn't want to bend the bolt, so I backed it out.

I'd like to cut out the upper bushing and try the technique I used in position 3, but there's not really any access. With a taller sleeve, the press technique may work, but I can't find anything quite big enough to go around the bushing.

As a last ditch effort, I hit the lower sleeve with a torch till the rubber started bubbling, then whacked the bolt again...no dice. Any other ideas? I'm really scratching my head on this one.

 

[410Fortune]

only other idea I have aside from torch and sawzall is possibly making a simple press from all thread and exhaust pipe like we do for the full size truck body mounts. I have no idea if it will work with a Gen I or II mount, but it is an idea

DIY Body Mount Bushing Puller

Did my body mount bushings over the weekend, ended up making a puller for the bushing/sleeve out of some basic hardware store sourced parts What you need: 7/16 Coarse All-Thread 7/16 Nut 7/16 Flat Washer 3" diameter pipe 8" in length some sort of plate with a hole in it To use it: install...

www.fullsizebronco.com

 

[97Sandbox]

only other idea I have aside from torch and sawzall is possibly making a simple press from all thread and exhaust pipe like we do for the full size truck body mounts.

Exhaust pipe

I do think the press technique should work with a longer pipe. I went to bed last night trying to think of what type of pipe I could get at the hardware store that would have a big enough ID and still hold up to the compression of the "press." For some reason the thought of going to the auto parts store hadn't occurred to me...too tired I guess. I'll see if I can swing by AutoZone and Home Depot at lunch and improve my "press" tonight!

Side note, it looks like it'd be really tough to work a Sawzall up into the crossmember where the position 5 body mounts reside. Not to mention there doesn't appear to be anything good to hold the blade rest against while you let it reciprocate. I know nothing is impossible with enough smashed knuckles and swear words, but I'm going to save this strategy for an absolute last ditch effort.