Radius Arms Repair

[Robert Morton II]

Hi Techs. I need to replace the bushings on the rear of the Passenger side Radious arm. There is a little looseness in it and it clunks occasionally. I had a repair shop check it and said they need to be replaced. Is there any tricsks to an easy replacement or is there alot of steps to get them out? I am on disability with limited Income so any tips would be thelpful.
Thanx
FYI the driver side is OK.

 

[mikeinri]

Welcome to the forum!

Do a search of this site (using tools at the top). There's TONS of info here on this job.

Your message says you're disabled, but not to what extent, so it's hard for me to say if you could do this yourself. The job can be quite physically demanding, and requires lots of time and patience (unless you have a cutting torch to remove the rivets).

If your truck has already had this job done once, you will have bolts instead of rivets which would make it somewhat easier.

Do a search, you'll see what I mean. Good luck!

Mike

 

[Robert Morton II]

Thanks for the info. I have a little arthritis in my fingers that slows down my ability to do mechanical work. I was on this forum a few years back and just re registered. Thanks for the info. After looking at the situation I had realized that it would be no easy job. I see what you mean about cutting out the rivets and putting in bolts.
Thank you much for the information.

 

[gsmaclean]

Hi Techs. I need to replace the bushings on the rear of the Passenger side Radious arm. There is a little looseness in it and it clunks occasionally. I had a repair shop check it and said they need to be replaced. Is there any tricsks to an easy replacement or is there alot of steps to get them out? I am on disability with limited Income so any tips would be thelpful.
Thanx
FYI the driver side is OK.

Don't do just one side - you might as well do both while you're under there. Most replacement bushing kits come with both sides anyway.

 

[Robert Morton II]

Check the first message response he gave a place that has lots of advice on how to do it.

 

[Minivek]

Don't do just one side - you might as well do both while you're under there. Most replacement bushing kits come with both sides anyway.

That "use the search button" things cracks me up everytime

It's not that difficult, but you'll have to invest time in doing it correctly, carefull not to grind other parts, only the rivets... put some PB blaster on the radius arm bolts a while beforehand...

 

[pugsy]

From what I understand, the Radius Arm bolts have permanent lock-tite put on them from the factory so you may need to heat them to get it un bolted. PB Blaster won't cut it!

 

[Mud Bug 94]

a second pair of hands would probly help too...and incase any one wonders why the passenger side R/A bushings, TRE's, balljoints, ect...tend to wear faster its because on 99% of all roads the curbside (shoulder) of the road is rougher because of debris...

 

[gsmaclean]

From what I understand, the Radius Arm bolts have permanent lock-tite put on them from the factory so you may need to heat them to get it un bolted. PB Blaster won't cut it!

Yeah. I have a 450 foot-pound impact wrench that wouldn't budge mine. I had soaked them with PB Blaster twice a day for two days before I did them, it made no difference. I ended up heating them up with a propane torch, then using a 36 inch breaker bar to break them free. Once I got them broken free, the impact wrench did the rest of the work, but it was a hell of a job getting them broken free.

 

[Minivek]

I didn't have heat so I just used the biggest crescent wrench I had, the kind that has a non slip rubber sleeve on the handle. I set in tightly in place, angled towards the ground and a bit towards the side of the vehicle, layed on my side under the truck, grabbed the frame with both hands, and pushed with my foot until it came loose. It worked great, but you have to be careful not to slip off the wrench or off the nut. Wear steel toed boots and good thick jeans...

 

[Mud Bug 94]

mine were a little past hand tight.....uh-oh...

 

[gsmaclean]

I didn't have heat so I just used the biggest crescent wrench I had, the kind that has a non slip rubber sleeve on the handle. I set in tightly in place, angled towards the ground and a bit towards the side of the vehicle, layed on my side under the truck, grabbed the frame with both hands, and pushed with my foot until it came loose. It worked great, but you have to be careful not to slip off the wrench or off the nut. Wear steel toed boots and good thick jeans...

There's no way mine would have ever come off with just a crescent wrench.

Go to AutoZone, buy a 28mm 6 point 1/2" drive socket, go to Harbor Freight and buy a big long breaker bar, you shouldn't be out more than $30 total for both. If need be, go buy a $10 butane torch from Radio Shack. It will make your life much easier.

 

[gsmaclean]

a second pair of hands would probly help too...and incase any one wonders why the passenger side R/A bushings, TRE's, balljoints, ect...tend to wear faster its because on 99% of all roads the curbside (shoulder) of the road is rougher because of debris...

The passenger side radius arm bushing goes first because it sits right next to the catalytic converter, and the heat from it breaks down the bushing.

 

[DeRocha]

The passenger side radius arm bushing goes first because it sits right next to the catalytic converter, and the heat from it breaks down the bushing.

Exactly

BTW my 1000ft/lb gun had trouble removing the radius arm bracket nuts. As mentioned these nuts are installed at the factory with permanent loctite. Heating the nut to 500F (2min per nut w/propane torch) breaks the bond and allows it to be easily removed.

 

[Maniak]

You can always put a big wrench on it (closed end would be prefered) and then use your floor jack (not stock jack or trolley jack) to push up on the wrench.

~Mark

 

[Minivek]

There's no way mine would have ever come off with just a crescent wrench.


Trust me they weren't on finger tight, I did try with a 550 ft/lb impact but to no avail. But using your leg like correctly on a 2' wrench will give you upwards of 800 ft/lb of continuos torque on that bolt, whereas the impact might not be capable of doing so in the same fashion, it's just like doing a leg press, only with the wrench...

If I had to do it again on another explorer, using a jack with a big wrench sounds like a really good option.