How to: Ford Explorer - Ranger Radius Arm Bushing Repair

[Dano!]

I very recently did this, I was lucky enough that a previous owner had ground the rivets off, on my particular project I replaced the RA brackets on both sides and the bushings.

the only things I would like to add is..

1. The Moog replacement RA brackets come with bolts that fit into the holes left by the factory anchor nuts which is very convenient.

2. The 4 bolts connecting the two RA brackets together all have anchor nuts designed to catch on a flap of metal which means you dont have to hold the nut with a second wrench. Those 4 anchors fit the replacement bolts Moog included in their RA Brackets. So after you drill/cut the rivets off you can save alot of time using those anchor nuts to bolt the new brackets on.

3. Energy suspension poly bushing kits do not come with the metal plates that go along with the RA bushings. But the Moog RA bushing kit does come with new metal plates. I was able to use both kits to replace everything.

4.the Moog RA bushing kit does not come with a heat shield. Purchase it separately.

5. Place jack stands on the frame in front of the transmission cross member.

6. To help align the passenger RA, you can jack it up with a floor jack. Once its lined up just screw the nut on.

those are all the lessons I learned. I hope it helps.

 

[OneofMany]

Back in my younger years, I worked as a Ford tech. MFG did not recommend drilling the rivets. Thus, we were not permitted to do the grind and drill method. It is actually quite easy to do the pull method. Disconnect the shock, disconnect sway bar, and loosen the coils spring retaining bolt. You do not have remove all of the way. Simply loosen enough until you can spin the spring and remove from the coil bucket leaving the lower end attached. Loosen the radius arm nut, use a big pry bar to move the arm forward and using down pressure to 'drop' the arm out of the bracket. Replace the bushings and use pry bar to lift up, back, and then in and reassemble. If you are not experienced or are uncomfortable with the pry bar, use a come along to pull the axle forward. Hope this helps. Once you get the hang of it, 15-20 minutes a side.

I did this on My f150 like this years ago. Granted a '79 has no sway bars to loosen, so there was more play but i just took the RA nut off with the truck on the rack and pryed it forward till it popped out. I did this all by myself to prove a point. The other guys in the shop had done them before me, but the idiots did not realize the bushing was wrong and it broke in 2 on assembly. I cursed them out and did it my own dang self
Felt good to do it by myself faster then they did it with 3 people. They stood there watching, hoping i would fail
I think this job can be done on the ground. surely remove the sway bar to axle mount, have jacks and stands to raise and lower the chassis as needed and a come alone, maybe the bumper chained to a tree to keep from pulling the chassis off the stands...I wouldnt even remove the wheels, this way you can increase the load on the spring by lowering the chassis and guide the RA. Just a thought- dunno if it would work like that.

 

[Lord Shell]

Having trouble with the bolts above the bushing. We've broken them but they don't seem to be coming out. They have plates or washers above the frame (although we can't get eyes on them..) Did you have a similar problem? Any advice would help.

 

[The Snowman]

I just got done doing the radius arm bushings in my driveway by myself, the 'take the front end apart and pull it forward' method. I successfully finished it after reading this thread, but man, that method kicked my ass. It's only a few bolts per side, which sounded easier to me then grinding off the rivets, I was very wrong.

The whole time I was wresting with pulling the radius arm forward enough then trying to reposition it back in place correctly I was eyeing those dang rivets. Once I had a better look at things, that would be the easier route by far. And I do have a grinder that would have worked for this job, so I have no excuse. I bet on the wrong horse with this job. I thought the rivet method would be a bigger pain in the ass.

What I'm trying to say, if there's a person out there reading this thread, just like I was the last week or so, trying to decide how to tackle this job, listen to the majority of the people and remove the rivets. If you don't have a grinder, go get one, they're pretty cheap considering the soar back you'll save yourself.

 

[OneofMany]

Why would one even want to do it like that? Once the rivets are out and bolts are put in, radius arms bushings become a very, very easy job.

Once that is done what has to be done the next time to replace the bushings?

 

[malohnes]

I just got done doing the radius arm bushings in my driveway by myself, the 'take the front end apart and pull it forward' method. I successfully finished it after reading this thread, but man, that method kicked my ass. It's only a few bolts per side, which sounded easier to me then grinding off the rivets, I was very wrong.

The whole time I was wresting with pulling the radius arm forward enough then trying to reposition it back in place correctly I was eyeing those dang rivets. Once I had a better look at things, that would be the easier route by far. And I do have a grinder that would have worked for this job, so I have no excuse. I bet on the wrong horse with this job. I thought the rivet method would be a bigger pain in the ass.

What I'm trying to say, if there's a person out there reading this thread, just like I was the last week or so, trying to decide how to tackle this job, listen to the majority of the people and remove the rivets. If you don't have a grinder, go get one, they're pretty cheap considering the soar back you'll save yourself.

Yes, please just grind the rivets down, it's so much easier that way and you don't risk ally he other things that can happen by forcing things to shift that really shouldn't shift around. Then, int he future it is a simple bolt off and on affair.

 

[OneofMany]

Once that is done what has to be done the next time to replace the bushings?

What is the easiest way to do it once the rivets have been replaced with bolts? Somehow knowing what can happen I would rather take any weight off the bracket before i unbolt it..

EDIT: I got it torn down. Will post a picture tomorrow. I supported the frame just high enough to get the wheels off the ground for a comfortable work height, removed the driver side RA nut, moved RA forward to get to some bracket bolts while supporting the RA with a jack, then dropped the bracket. Then went to the other side since it is easier to start on the driver side due to the overlapping of the brackets. To solve my issue of not getting a socket on the RA nut due to the CAT being in the way, i dropped the bracket like on the driver side with the RA nut on, then removed the nut and bracket.

 

[OneofMany]

In retrospect I could have loosened the RA nut with the vehicle on the ground to get the right angle to get the socket on the right side...
Here is the reason I had to do the bushings:

The bushings themselves would have lasted if it wasn't for the PO or PO's mechanic having neglected to replace the damaged bracket causing excessive play.

 

[Snort]

My experience:
I replaced the right side only so far, using a Motorcraft bushing. My bracket had two rivets. I pulled the inner fender forward and tied it up to keep it out of the way. I ground and drilled the rivet heads. That part wasn't so bad but driving them out was near nightmare because there is little to no room to get a swing on a hammer. More drilling to get it down to the height of the frame before they came out. The forward one was better because i just happened to have a steel rod just the right size that came well outside the fender so I could get a few nice clean hammer whacks on it.

On installing, the biggest problem I had was forcing the radius arm downward to get the bushing and bracket into place as the axle wanted to force it up. I tried jacking the body up and down but it didn't seem to change the tension on the arm. The solution was a 2x4 as a lever between the frame and the arm, a couple of wood blocks jammed in to hold it in place while the parts were installed.