radius arm bushings

[cherylj]

Does anybody know anything about a Ford recall on radius arm bushings? Mine are shot and we're looking to replace them. We have to replace the right radius arm due to broken shock bolt. When we ordered the radius arm and the bushings we were told of a possible recall. Checked the Ford website but couldn't find anything...

 

[Gigantor]

I am not sure about your question but welcome to this great site. Try to do a search on radius arm bushings I am sure you will find some great info. Rick the administratior of this site has it well organized. By the way what year is your truck?
Have a great night and welcome to a great site, full of information.

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Nick
'93 XLT 4 Door 4x4
Bosch Plat+4's with SplitFire Dual Core wires and a
K&N Air Filter with a Modified Air Box

 

[Ray Lobato]

Hi cherylj,
I would be willing to bet that any recall on radius arm bushings would not be honored any more. All models that used radius arms and bushings were 91-94, well past the warrenty period of these trucks. They do go bad and do need to be replaced (the bushings that is)especialy the one on the passengers side that is close to the Catalitic converter. It dried it out pretty fast. I don't have first hand knowledge on this, because I have a 97, but I hear replacing the bushings can be a real pain. Like Nick said do a search on "radius arm bushings" and somewhere on this site tells you how to go about replacing them. Hope this helps, and Welcome to the site. Dead Link Removed

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Happy Wheelin'
Ray L.
97 XLT 4X4 4.0L SOHC

 

[cherylj]

Thanks for the info. Love this sight, just wish we'd had access to it a couple of years ago! Would have made some things a little easier!! My profile should be updated now so you can see the details on our truck.
So what's the consensus on the bushings? Is it best to go with polyurethane or plain old rubber? Does one seem to be lasting longer than the other? I don't do a lot of off-roading (not many places here in MN), mostly highway.


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Rick & Cheryl J.
'94 XLT 4x4
Custom 2" lift, Rancho 5000s
Borla exhaust More to come!

 

[stcroix949]

You don't have to replace the entire radius arm because of a twisted off shock bolt.
Just cut it off flush with an angle grinder the drill out what remains.
You can get replacement studs at the car parts store that goes thru the hole you drilled and is held on by a nut on the back side.
I wonder what the engineers at Ford were thinking when they decided to weld that stud to the radius arm.
I had to do both sides on my 94 Sport last year. About $5 and an 30 minutes a side.
Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Syder-1]

Hey cherylj welcome. I recently had to replace my radius arm bushings for the second time. This time I went with the polyurethane because from what I'm told they are somewhat better that the rubber ones. They didn't cost too much more either. Replacing them can be a pain in the butt, but if you have the time/patience, then go for it. Me..I had them replaced for $170.00 CDN and it only took 2 hrs. To me it's money well worth spent. Saved a lot of aggravation.

Hope this helps.


Syder-1

 

[cherylj]

Yeah, we've done some more looking around on the site and it sounds like poly is the way to go. Should be an interesting day tomorrow!!

 

[cherylj]

Well the definitely sounds better than replacing the radius arm! We'll give it a try and let you know how it goes.

 

[Bob Saf]

I replaced the radius arm bushing in the summer with poly bushing. I did mine using the port a power method and did not cut the rivits off. I was not to bad of a job. Check out this site for some tips on replacement of r.a. bushings. Dead Link Removed

Bob S.
1994 xlt

 

[cherylj]

Well, the job is done! New right radius arm (since we already had it - Rick's going to fix the shock mount on the old one and keep it for a spare), new poly bushings on both sides, and new Rancho shocks. Total time was about 5 hours, in a heated shop. Not bad for the first attempt. Rick didn't mess with the rivets - referenced the Haynes manual for the replacement of the arm and the driver's side didn't seem too hard. The ride and handling are much improved. Definitely worth the time and effort! Thanks for the input!

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Rick & Cheryl J.
'94 XLT 4x4
Custom 2" lift, Rancho 5000s
Borla exhaust, over-size sway bars
More to come!