Radius Bushings

[Lt.Jim]

Jack stands and a jack not ramps.

 

[SBJ420]

I am going to take it to Midas down the street and they will get those rivets and put new bolts in for me $40 I will take it from there, and got the bushings from Canadian Tire for $29 Lord Co was $66

 

[DeRocha]

I am going to take it to Midas down the street and they will get those rivets and put new bolts in for me $40 I will take it from there, and got the bushings from Canadian Tire for $29 Lord Co was $66

$40 is a great price; removing them yourself would take a long time and effort (and cost more if you need to buy any tools).

 

[Maniak]

Good Poly bushing would work (cheap ones don't seem to last and make the ride harsh) and I found the Moog "Problem solver" rubber bushings work really well too (they have a metal insert in it).. I only found the Moog ones at parts stores that cater to shops (not at a autozone or checker/kragens)



~Mark

 

[SBJ420]

any one have a picture of new Bushings? I got mine yesterday but seems like its just for one side. It has one large polly bushing and a smaller one. the heat gard one large washer and a black plastic collar type thing. Shouldent I have two bushings that are the same size?

 

[Tony H]

Yup, you bought 1. you needed to buy a Set

 

[unpredictable1]

I installed a set of Energy Suspension poly radius bushings... the difference in ride was

 

[Rhett]

I installed a set of Energy Suspension poly radius bushings... the difference in ride was

Those are great bushings...I really like my Energy Susp.'s too.

There's a world of difference between an el cheapo poly and a quality poly, for some reason...

 

[94ExLtd]

Forgive my not searching...

If this has been said please overlook my newness but should you realign following this bushing replacement?

Rick

 

[Rhett]

In short, if you have to say 'yes' or 'no', I say no; in my experience. But I feel like alignments are cheap insurance ($40-$70) against premature tire wear and I'd be more inclined to have it done just for peace of mind.

Book procedure says you are supposed to get an alignment done...for example if you took it to a dealer they would get it aligned. But I have gotten away with not doing it, using the rivet method. Assuming all of the parts are in good shape, removing the rivets and brackets should not radically alter the suspension geometry. Perhaps if your RAB's were badly worn, or the bracket holes themselves were wallowed out, an alignment would be a good thing to have done no matter what.

I think if you use the method where you move the whole beam, that moves more things (the front springs, and axle pivot, for example) and in that case an alignment might be more necessary.

At any rate you should be able to tell pretty quickly if you need an alignment or not, once you start driving it. If you can't tell, your tires will tell you with uneven wear after a few thousand miles.

 

[StillKicken]

Those are great bushings...I really like my Energy Susp.'s too.

There's a world of difference between an el cheapo poly and a quality poly, for some reason...

Where did you get the bushings? Part #? I looked on the Advance Auto website and couldn't find any bushings, but found a few on Summit's website.

 

[DeRocha]

Where did you get the bushings? Part #? I looked on the Advance Auto website and couldn't find any bushings, but found a few on Summit's website.

Even though they didn't stock them I went to AutoZone and they special ordered them for me.. Whenever you need info on something you can go back to the source Energy Suspension and you'll find good stuff like
(4WD) Explorer Bushings (Part # 4.7110 {Depending on where you go the part # maybe followed by a letter indicating bushing color})

 

[StillKicken]

Thanks DeRocha. Ordered mine on-line...Hopefully they'll be here before this weekend!

 

[Thetalkingshoe]

I had my passangers side done first and was around 300. My drivers side I did myself and took about 4 hours. I did the drivers side "by the book" way and if I had to do it again then I would drill the rivets and drop the bracet. The "by the book" way was yoo much of a pain in the ass/

 

[msmith65]

My Ex came with poly bushings someone had put on there. They had worn and were loose, plus the ride was harsh.

I put the Moog bushings in there, and it's smooth as ... well, as smooth as twin I-beams can get.

 

[Rhett]

I've heard alignment guys swear by the Moog rab's. I have never tried them though...

 

[Maniak]

I use the Moog Black rubber RA bushings from their Problem Solver Series.

Great ride and that last long enough for me. I let the last pair stay in there about 60k miles.

I love the ride and they last longer than the cheap polys I had in there before and they allow the truck to flex, which I like.

Keep in mind, I drive 4 miles a day at 40mph or so on washborad road every day (in addition to the other 65 miles of blacktop) , so I'm a little hard on the bushings.

~Mark

 

[StillKicken]

I replaced my bushings today using the prefered method of removing rivets. Great choice! Excellent advice from the people here!!! Took the guess work out of making sure I had the right tools to remove the bushing's nut, and making sure I had the right size grade 8 bolts to replace them, taking out an unneeded run to Lowe's halfway through.

I used a grinder to remove most of the rivet, and then an air chisel to pop it the rest of the way off. Took about 2 minutes a rivet.
Got to a stand still when got out rivets trying to figure out how to get the bracket seperated from frame so I could slide it off. Read this whole forum about 10-11 times the week before I attempted this. Might have read this but forgot it. I used a jack to raise the front axle and the bracket cam right down so I could slide it off.

Thanks to everyone who posted on this forum! I will be paying the $20 to support this site! You saved me A LOT more than that!

 

[ma96782]

I just finished the job................2 days (about 10 hours total w/ clean-up):

2 sets of bushings (Auto Zone).....................................$16
Nuts, bolts and washers...............................................$4
Showing your spouse that you're capable........................priceless

BTW get: 3 bolts 7/16 inch, 1/4 inch thread- 1 1/4 inch long
1 bolt 7/16 inch, 1/4 inch thread- 1 inch long (not 3/4")
4 washers
4 lock washers
4 nuts 1/4 inch thread

Notes: If you can get someone to cut off the four rivits and replace w/ bolts...............for a reasonable price (say less than $50)..............IMHO, take advantage of it.............it'll save 1 day (about 6-7 hours).

I used a drill, grinder and air hammer/chisel to cut off those rivits...............what a PIA. IF you do, grind..........grind, them till they are, FLUSH (all the way). Then punch w/ air hammer or 2 1/2 lb. hammer and punch.

Aloha, Mark

PS.........About those double washers.........expanding on Brad Martin's (tips)............this post was from, Conyl Horn:

I tried the above mentioned method and have been very pleased with the results. I would simply like to offer the following additional information.

In Brad Martin's post he suggests buying large washers (approx. 1" ID) and placing them inside the Ford cupped washers located at the stop shoulders. While this surely works fine, I simply used the old cupped washers and doubled them up with the new ones that come with the new bushing kit. For some reason I could find no local auto parts store that had loose washers of this size. They all wanted to sell me some kit containing these washers (between 7-12 dollars!). This saved me the aggravation and adds no additional cost.

Even the guys at my local alignment shop were impressed and thought this was a great idea.

........I had trouble figuring out which washers, by just reading the post?

It's the cup shaped ones that are closest to the front of the vehicle........just stack um up old and new (one on the other, cup inside cup) and install.

 

[mizzotch]

Lots of great info here guys. I picked up a set of Energy Poly bushings and I'm confident that I can do the job. However, the instructions in the Energy box make reference to a nylon spacer. Some applications have the nylon spacer, some do not. They do not specifically list the explorer.

So, will a 92 4x4 have this nylon spacer? I couldn't really tell if mine has them and if so, whether they are damaged. Does anyone have a picture of this nylon piece if it does exist? Can I get away without using it? Does the nylon spacer go between the crossmember and rear bushing or is it inside the crossmember hole?


Right now, the driver's side front bushing is completely gone so it's metal on metal.