New bits to put on!

[BIGHVM]

My bits and pieces arrived today thanks to Howard

I recieved full set of front sway bar bushings, inc drop links, rear sway bar bushings made by energy suspension (www.energysuspension.com). I have to say that the quality of this gear is first rate, all the polyurethane bushes are very well formed and steel inserts are finished well also, so they should go on easy and last a while also!

I also got my oom12 kit and will do it all the first chance I get that its NOT raining.


Once again big thanks to Howard for extending his arm into the US of A for me and my Ex-Cheers mate!

 

[blueka]

Good Stuff Mate!

Si

 

[BIGHVM]

Damn this weather, 2 hours onto oom12 kit, I have taken the upper manifold off and the lower...........then it started HISSING down and got so windy too- had to go indoors and cleaned the lower manifold with carb cleaner and replaced the seals(wife not happy with the smell of carb cleaner)! (who cares right!)

Just the pencil and the tensioner to get in now and then put it all back- done did that between rain showers- will have to continue when dry now, maybe in the morning.

 

[Explorerman2]

keep me posted with how it went

To give me courage to tackle mine (thanks for the advice) let me know you completed it successfully despite the weather. How long did it take end to end. Was it preventative or to stop rattle? What mileage?

Thanks

 

[BIGHVM]

Ok its all done, no drama at all cept for the rain stopping play!
I have a few points to note for anyone doing this- firstly the washer you get with the replacement tensioner, is crap, wafer thin and prone to bending- mine bent out off shape at the edges so I used the old washer after making sure it was flat and the surfaces were good, it is a proper copper washer and not the mild steel paper thin thing supplied.
Because of the extra height at the rear of the tensioner, you cannot get a socket on it, I used an adjustable spanner for this part.
The long bolts for the manifold lower part are hard to work on only for reach problems, I climbed up and was kneeling on the front cross member to loosen and tighten, I had to make sure they went in straight. (tighten in a swirl pattern to spread the tension evenly for both manifolds).
I also noticed that this lower part has three amall alignment fingers on the top surface, so be sure you check with the upper manifold and make sure you have it the correct way round, as apart from these fingers, it is the same front and back to look at.
The engine sounds great now and is silent!

I urge you to get this done, take your time and you will get it right, the hardest part for me was keeping pressure on the new tensioner as I screwed it in, I found it easier to hold a big heavy ratchet on the back and push as I tightened it, thats it.......................................Go for it and get this done, save the money and do it your self- it is a good feeling to have fixed this fault!

Mondays job weather permiting is the sway bar bushes front and rear!

 

[Howard]

Well done, though I have to say never had any trouble with the washer. But hey you got round it and that is the main thing. I bet the lower 'o' rings were as hard as nails and leaking. Good luck with the bushes. You may have to cut the long bolts off. I did on mine with 9 years of rust and corrosion.

 

[BIGHVM]

Thanks Howard,
The bottom rings were solid, simply dead, cant have worked right for some time!
I think the crappy washer is too thin, thats why so many people have had leaks, it gets damaged and thats it- the copper washer from the old tensioner on the other hand just sat on the hole as i screwed the new tensioner in no trouble.


I have given all the bolts for the sway bars loads of wd in preperation for two days now-maybe I could be lucky.................or else I get to use my cutting disk----OH YEAH!

 

[Explorerman2]

Great advice

That is really useful advice-many thanks, it will help greatly in avoiding the pitfalls

 

[blueka]

I had to cut the droplinks off mine when I replaced them.. just an excuse to play with power tools!

Si

 

[BIGHVM]

Yeah, I thought it may be tough, planned to do the fronts today, but I will have a day off today, feel tired............you know the older I get the less sleep I get and in turn the worse I feel the following day!
So for another day waits the bushes!

 

[BIGHVM]

Ok, today I decided I would have a go at the rear sway bar.........dropped the spare and lay down, you need two sizes of socket 19mm and 13 mm, my bolts came off fairly easy, cept I had to use a 13m spanner for the bolt behind the rear shocks at the bottom.
Talk bout rust, my bar was covered in the stuff, so once I took it off I gave it a really good go with aluminuim oxide paper (tought on rust and you use it dry).
I then had to get the old bushes out...................thought about burning them out-changed my mind and drilled them out! Made six or so holes in each of the old bushes tight against the insert and they just fell out- Fantastic!!!!!!!

Then painted with good old Hammerite smooth and its drying at the moment. I cant imagine any problems getting all back on so next report will be the front ones.

 

[BIGHVM]

Late answer- Sorry!!!!

To give me courage to tackle mine (thanks for the advice) let me know you completed it successfully despite the weather. How long did it take end to end. Was it preventative or to stop rattle? What mileage?

Thanks

All in all around 5 hours mate, I did have a rattle, several in fact- the one that really worried me was the engine.........silent now and I can drive it with confidence at last, I have a slight rattle in the exhaust but I know thats a rusted through bolt after one of the cats, so I will get to that when I get to it. Oh mileage 70k

 

[BIGHVM]

Rear is complete, Energy suspension bushes fitted really well, one more thing to add, I have read here that the rear middle bushings do not come pre cut.....................they do, they are cut from the middle hole outwards on the rear side, from the surface it looks like they are not pre cut, no visible lines..........bang them about a little with a hammer! and the cuts will reveal themselves!
I fitted them and test drove the car- silent from the rear, I had a slight clonking noise from the rear driving on rough roads and its all gone now!!

Cant wait do do the front ones now should be on the case in the morning!!!
Then I will have an Explorer with no knocking noises!!!!!

 

[rich uk]

nice work H glad things are on the up

 

[BIGHVM]

Yeah cheers mate, off work at the moment, rotten sciatica thing I have had for 4 odd years has got worse, most days I cant feel my thighs and have killer pain from my back down my right leg to my ankle. So I have a lot off free time, just using that to get her in shape.................one of us has to be!

 

[Blee1099]

Your reaction to the before & after of installing the bushings will be priceless.. They definately make a difference, you'll be quite suprised.

 

[BIGHVM]

Oh please, I cannot tell you the hell I am having, today, I started the front bushes job today, as I had dosed the bolts with wd for days, they all but fell off when threatened with a socket set!
Then the nightmare began..........the drop links are as solid as satans testicles! Man I could not get them off for love or money, I have cut down the stock rubber sleeve as much as I can and soaked with wd- thats why I am writing this now with a cig hanging out my gob and a drained look in my eyes!
I will get them out and have decided to use a little anti sieze on the new ones in the sleeve to prevent this happening again.
The problem seems to be that the old long bolt has rusted so much it has gone bumpy and lumpy ( I knew a girl like that once)!
So its locked itself in the outer sleeve and is being stubborn- only one thing left to do to make it let go and run for the hills..................................show it a pic of my mother inlaw!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Howard]

That happened to me too. In the end I just cut the head off the bolts and just kept slicing till they fell off.

 

[BIGHVM]

Oh what a nasty job! Just got one side off, with a hacksaw- took ages, sure my teeth are blunt!

 

[UK Explorer]

sure my teeth are blunt!

Careful - you will be visiting the dentist chair if you don't watch out