Radius Bushings

[Glacier991]

If'n ya can wait til after Thanksgiving, we live about 8 miles apart, you can come do it in my heated garage and I'll try and help ya thru the process. I might shorten your learning curve and can offer some tools. I have a side to do on My explorer too.

 

[jlxplorer]

If'n ya can wait til after Thanksgiving, we live about 8 miles apart, you can come do it in my heated garage and I'll try and help ya thru the process. I might shorten your learning curve and can offer some tools. I have a side to do on My explorer too.

alright maybe we could Because i wouldnt have the slightest, idea on how to do it.

 

[Grifter]

anyone have a brand/part number for the bushings? my 93 is going to need them soon. i dont want to leave it to the parts counter monkeys to guess at the right part..
What size bolt did you replace the rivets with? probably grade 8 too?

 

[bmxking5]

I just looked up the part number on the Energy Suspension site and went up to Pep Boys to get mine. It ended up being a few dollars cheaper than Summit, so I bought it from them instead. I believe I used Grade 8 1/2 inch bolts.

 

[Rhett]

alright maybe we could Because i wouldnt have the slightest, idea on how to do it.

Once you have someone show you how, you'll be able to do it yourself pretty easily.

 

[Noved87]

i got the come along way to with. i was a b*tch to do though only did one side and it took a day with 2 people

i didnt know that you could drill out the rivits and still have it hold together on the road.
will this hold together better or the same as factory with grade 8 bolts and locktite of course? im just scared that it will fall off going down the road!!!

 

[Rhett]

i didnt know that you could drill out the rivits and still have it hold together on the road.
will this hold together better or the same as factory with grade 8 bolts and locktite of course? im just scared that it will fall off going down the road!!!

Lots of people have had the bolts hold together off-road as well as on-road, so I don't think it's a problem as long as you use locknuts, and loctite, and torque them sufficiently.

If you don't do the above, the whole bracket can shift out-of-place, and wallow-out the holes in the frame over time. Done right, it's very durable.

 

[Darrman]

I cant stand the clunking anymore, the cold weather has made it twice as bad, so I am going ahead and replacing now, instead of next month. I picked up a set of moog factorys (rubber) for now. I looked around underneath yesterday and the crossmember on mine is bolted down, not riveted. This is a relief, but I also noticed that the little heat shield cup on the passenger side is completly busted in half, the only thing holding it together is the nut pressing against it. Where can I get a new one of these, and how critical is it? Thx.

 

[Maniak]

If you don't have a lift, it is very critical.. With a lift you "might" be able to get away without it since it will be farther away.

When I got my replacement shield I got it from an auto parts store in town that sells to shops.. Turns out, he got it from the dealer..

~Mark

 

[Rhett]

This is a relief, but I also noticed that the little heat shield cup on the passenger side is completly busted in half, the only thing holding it together is the nut pressing against it. Where can I get a new one of these, and how critical is it? Thx.

Someone here once used a tin can cut in half as a heat shield. They SAID it worked, but I can only go by what they said....

I think the heat shield is important, especially if you use rubber bushings. The rubber wears out fast enough even with a heat shield on it.

 

[Darrman]

Thanks guys, I went ahead and got em changed out yesterday, what a difference. As for the heat shield, when I got it off, it wasnt busted all the way across, just in two places on either side, looks like someone caught the edge on something. Anyways, I did my best to reshape it without breaking it more and put it back on for now, I just rotated the busted side away from the cat. I will keep my eye open for one at the junkyard next time.

 

[Rhett]

That would be a lot of hard work at a junkyard, pulling a whole radius arm just to get one little ol heat shield. But if you couldn't find one anywhere else....

 

[Darrman]

It shouldnt be, all that holds it on is the main nut, socket and a wrench, little bit of muscle, your good to go. Unless you know something that I dont, like there is a heat shield on the other side of the crossmember, which I dont have, please tell me thats not it, lol.

 

[Maniak]

The heat shield is only on the back side of the R/A bushing.. To take one off a yard vehicle just use a 28mm socket and a breaker bar.. take off the nut and viola.. you have a heat shield.

~Mark

 

[unpredictable1]

I used Grade 8 bolts, never pulled the wheels, didn't take me long other than the drilling out of the old rivets (crappy bits I had). Then it was steady sailing.

The passenger side crumbled when I took it out, all that heat from being so close to the exhaust I guess. This was on my previous 93 X with 160k kilometers.

My 93 Eddie B with 50k miles on it already had the radius bushings replaced...so the bolts and everything are alerady there done by a ford dealership

 

[Rhett]

My 93 Eddie B with 50k miles on it already had the radius bushings replaced...so the bolts and everything are alerady there done by a ford dealership

Oooh. Surprise, surprise. A Ford dealership using the bolts method! Usually, they do the "by-the-book method" factory service manual to change the RAB's!

 

[jlxplorer]

This might be dumb but what size bolts do you use to replace the factory rivets?? and thats it once the rivet is drilled out the bushing just slides out and the new one just pops in??

 

[bmxking5]

I used 1/2" Grade 8 bolts. We weren't able to just use a punch on the rivets (we didn't have a torch or anything) so we had to drill them out after grinding off the heads of the rivets.

 

[unpredictable1]

Grade bolts all the way, grinded the tops off the rivets and popped them through with some persuasion

You let go the large bolt on the end of the radius arm facing the back of the truck and out it comes. The bushing just comes right off, put your new one back on the same way. I think the passenger side has a lil heat shield for the bushing if I remember correctly, just slips over it - nothing fancy at all.

I believe I had the front tires off the ground when I did this - its self explanatory once you get moving on it.....you'll see

 

[unpredictable1]

argh double post here but, the rivets hold the mouting bracket or k frame or whatever its called to the bottom of the truck. you have to pop the rivets out so it can come free from the chassis of the truck. then you can take the bolt off the back of the arm to let the bushing off.

If you didn't go that route you'd have to take off the front tires disconnect blah blah blah...just a much harder and longer way to go about IMO. The once you have this done the first time, whenever you have to replace the bushings again - the bolts are there for quick install