All,
I have my truck disassembled enough that I want to make sure the cab mounts are good. The cab seems to be sitting pretty good and level, but I think it is pretty clear that I at least need to refresh some of the rubber components. I've included 3 pics below. I'm hoping to buy all of the parts I will need so that I can disassemble/reassemble without waiting for shipment. So.....

FRONT
Do I (most likely) just need the large upper and small lower pad?

REAR
Should I get one of the "repair" kits for my original rear mount arms, get a set of the "original" cast arms, or get a set of the Adjustable arms that mid-fifty sells? ... leaning toward new original cast arms.

driver front (yes I do have some rust (hopefully mostly surface) to take care of too


driver rear at frame


driver rear at cab

 

Your rear arms appear to be pretty shot. I'd buy the cast arms, they are more robust than stock.

 

Thanks, Ross. Purely out of curiosity, what do you see in the pics that indicates the arms themselves are shot... I've no hesitation in replacing them. Just looking to learn to see a little more of what you see.

 

the front mount on that first picture is obviously dry-rotted, hardened, and broken down. As far as the rear arm mount in the second picture, you can see a big hunk of rubber on the left side (between the arm and the half circle mount) that has "oozed" out of the mount over the years. Pretty much, by definition, we have never seen one of those original stock cab mounts that hasn't broken down in that area.

 

In addition to what Doc said, I can see the center of the tube the rubber (was) in is offset from the bolt. Looks like metal to metal contact, or close to it. Doc's right, very unusual to see one that isn't shot.

 

The bushings in the arms were never designed to be serviced. Once they go bad, the recommended service procedure was to replace them as an assembly. While the hobbyist (that's us) can futz with them, source bushing pieces from scratch and make them work again (with the proper tools, equipment and know-how), your desire to have a quick, in-and-out bolt together project with minimal down time says you're better off just buying a complete cab mount and bolt kit, and swap the whole mess out in about an hour.

 

Thanks, Wayne. that is my goal. Are you suggesting new arms and arm bolts (as Ross suggested), or that I need to replace those AND brackets, base plates, etc too.

I certainly saw all the bad rubber... even I could tell that was long past worthless. I appreciate all the help (from everyone) in identifying more to take care of while I'm in there.

 

Without exception, every cab that I do any major rework on gets new front cab mounts. I have seen them that look crappy and collapsed and I have seen them that look to be in relatively good shape. They all are usually in need of replacement and all have rust hidden under them. It is not a big job and well worth the peace of mind down the road. Here is a pic of what it looks like when replaced...

 

I'm not the 53-56 expert here. I'm more familiar with the earlier trucks. But if your brackets are fine, I'd just replace the dog bones and insulators. If you're lucky, you won't find a bunch of rust-out in the mount area, turning your 1 hour job into a 2 week long career of rust repair. Either way, you'll want to make sure your new mounts have a solid foundation to support. It's critical for proper fit and function later on during assembly.

 

"Cab supports" are on my to do list also, I've had the arms and pads for a few years now, and just received the bolt kit the other day after reading about them on another thread. My old supports don't look bad but I hit them with some PB Blaster, so I guess Im kinda committed now.

 

Ok.... been working through several other issues. Time to get these cab mounts replaced.... Doing all 4 corners. Question about the front mount. Specifically, the parts that go UNDER the frame wing. Midfifty sells, and I purchased a rubber bit, called "FRONT CAB MOUNT LOWER SMALL PAD
Search Results - Mid Fifty F-100 Parts

So that is NOT what was on my truck. It was just a a square metal plate, roughly 1"X1"
There may have been a very thin layer of rubber between the plate and wing... Sorry, I seem to have misplaced the picture I know I took.

So the midfifty catalog has a nice picture showing the anatomy of the front cab mount. Under the wing looks like simply the pad, a washer, and the nut.. So my question is how tightly do I torque the cab mount bolt/nut, to avoid over compressing the rubber?

Thanks!