Radius arm bushings

[4Wheelin]

My radius arm bushing are definitly shot. Does anyone know about how much it's gonna cost to have them replaced on both sides? Thanks in advance.

 

[ChuckyD]

not 100% sure but it will prob cost from 200-300 bucks... they have to do an alignment afterwards

 

[Gumbus]

You can do it yourself for ~$30. Autozone sells aftermarket polyurethane bushings for each side for $10-$15 per side. Its a fair amount of work, but not too hard. The FORD bushings are crap and wear out.

 

[4Wheelin]

That's a lot more than I thought it was gonna be. How bad would it be if I left them squeaky and worn for a little while?

 

[88vert]

They charge 70 a side at the local muffler shop down here,but I bet it is a bit more where you live

 

[MrShorty]

If the bushing isn't there to take the wear, then the radius arm itself is getting slowly chewed up. I don't know at what point that becomes a problem, but, if you don't replace the bushings, then you may eventually be replacing the radius arm as well.

 

[Maniak]

The arms dont' notmally go first.. The RA bracket loses the battle if the arm hits the bracket (e.g. when you have worn bushigns).

It is a cheap part ($25) but at that point you must have the rivots taken out and replace them with bolts..

~Mark

 

[rpenner54]

Or just pull the axle forward and replace. It would probably take a few hours to do each side with another person there to pull on the axle while you slip the new bushings in.

If you do it yourself it will save you money.

 

[Gumbus]

My passenger side went out first since its right above the cat converter. I replaced it and then waited awhile on the driver side. One day it just totally fell out and I had metal on metal contact. It would scare people in parking lots when you hit a speed bump.

The change is not complicated it just takes some time. There is a lot of torque on the radius arm nut. You have to disconnect the shocks, tie rod ends, and sway bar. You have to be careful not to let the brake line get too much tension on it when you are moving the axle forward.