Body mount bushings help needed

[Brian Atteridge]

All,

Anyone have any good ways to remove a body mount bushing that wants to rotate in place. The problem i have on my '05 Sport Trac is the front right bushing will not come off. The top nut was easily removed and i got the body lifted up to high enough that i could take it out if i could get the stupid bolt to come out. The issue is the bolt turned just enough so that the entire bushing assembly is loose enough that it now rotates in place and i have been unable to find a way to secure it enough to remove the bolt. I have already replaced all the other bushings, including the left front. The whole bushing assembly rotates and the clearance around it is such that my vice grip pliers get yanked off when the assembly rotates far enough. Is there any way you all know to secure it or get a good grip on it so it can be removed. FYI i do not know how to weld so attaching a nut to the top is not going to work. Also since i am doing this on my own with no help lifting the entire body off wont work either. I am doing this in my garage at home. I have all the necessary tools to do this but for some reason i cant find a way to secure the assembly enough to remove the bolt. Any ideas would be appreciated. I am tired and would like my truck back this weekend if possible, I'm also tired of being stuck at home with no ride...

 

[Brian Atteridge]

Actually one of the other posts on this forum helped me solve though removing it was a gold plated b..... well you know what i mean. Had to use a pipe wrench to keep it from rotating and it wasnt easy. Also, Since i didnt have a large enough compressor my air ratchet wouldnt work to remove it so i had to do it by hand. Add to that the fact the pipe wrench kept coming loose and you can get an idea how fun it was. At any rate its off and now i need to get a replacement as the threads were heavily damaged due to rust and wear. That was probably the reason is was so tough to remove in the first place. Frankly that was the hardest one of the lot to remove but at least the end to this project is in sight. Even with the struggle it is worth it as for less than $130.00 (part and tools) i same a bunch. The dealership wanted to charge $4000.00 just for the bushings! Yikes!

 

[sr139fox]

Could you have used a saw zaw? Cut the bolt in half?

 

[Brian Atteridge]

No, for two reasons:

1. the bolt was covered by the bushing and the entire assembly was freely spinning. i could easily turn it by hand. The Sawz-all would have still needed mt to secure it to prevent it from rotating. that was already an issue with it.
2. although i tried no where could i find a place that carried the 15mm bolt in stock. every hardware store i tried said it was a special order part. only the dealership could get it to me quickly but it still was not available the same day like i needed it.

In the end securing the assembly with a large pipe wrench was the fix but because it really works best when some holds it and i was alone doing this, lets just say it took a while longer than i would have liked. At least it is replaced now and the rest of the bushings too. FYI, Ford factory stock bushings on my 05 Sport Trac are really lousy. they looked like soft crumbly putty when i took a few of them off. the uppers were more like foam and were practically glued to the shafts due to age and degradation. If you own a Sport Trac and have never had them replaced or looked at, get them inspected! Several of the middle ones had fallen apart and were gone. This made for a very bumpy ride and a lot of scary noises...

 

[shucker1]

No room for an Air Hammer and needle point to drive it out?

A good soaking with PB Blaster or Kroil may have helped.

 

[boominXplorer]

Heat it with a map or propane torch from the bottom. It just has to get hot enough to melt the loctite. Be careful of fuel lines though. Makes it way easier and well worth using the heat.

 

[KajunBndit]

I have used a impact gun when I replaced all of my bushing on my Sport Trac, I didn't need to heat the bolts up, I used a very large vise grip on the underside as back up with no problems. I am disabled and done the job myself which probably had taken me 9 times longer than if I would have help.