Nobody local other than the dealer has 'em, at $25 per side.
Does anybody know where I can order radius arm bushings for a 1990 Aerostar?
tia

 

Aerostar don't have radius arms? Are you looking for control arm bushings?? Any auto parts store will have them.

 

Now I'm *real* confused! The "mechanic" the wife took it to said "radius arm bushings", there are several threads in this forum about changing radius arm bushings on an Aerostar, and the Ford dealer quoted $25 a piece for "radius arm bushings"
Do radius arm=control arms?
Help! Clunk, clunk when you turn the wheel (especially in reverse)
Already changed the tie rods and inner and outer ends..Help!

 

i also experience a creaky clunking noise when turning, driving, and hitting bumps, but the ends of my front sway bars are broken

front-front=right end broken
front-rear=left end broken

 

Oh these are bushings. They go on the end of the do-hickeys that go from the frame to the balljoint and are located over by the shocks and springs.
They're not listed by Discount, PepBoys, or Napa but the guy at the Ford Dealer's parts counter said they cost $25 per side.
If you do a search you'll find several articles about changing them on an Aerostar in this very forum. But where to buy the bushings, whatever the arms are called?
Come on guys, quit laughing. It's my wife's van...Help!

 

Those are lower control arm bushings and you can find them at Checker/Kragen/Shucks/Advance, et. al. Use their online inventory system at www.partsamerica.com. Some models use two different sized bushings on the same control arm, so you may see the terms 'front' and 'rear' being used. This refers to the front and rear ends on the control arm, not the front and rear portions of the vehicle.

 

I suspected they were lower control arms...aren't they basically the same as radius arms? Would the same thingies be called radius arm bushings on my F-150?

Thanks for the info. I'm not a mechanic, just an old working class hero with tools, a wife and a baby. Doing what I can and learning.
Going to check it out now.

 

Some second thoughts.

Despite what the mechanic told your wife those lower bushings are large are really durable. It would take a lot of wear for them to be the source of your noise. Before ordering new bushings, you may want to check other more common sources of clunking noises. A worn out upper ball joint is the most commonly encountered problem, followed by worn sway bar link bushings and finally bearing hubs and/or CV joints if your's is an E4WD version.

 

Does this clunk sound like metal to metal? If so, then this is probably the upper control arm bushings. Aerocolorado is right that the lower control arm bushings are very durable and should last in excess of 200,000 miles. Potholes, bumpy roads, and poor shocks cause the upper control arm bushings to fail prematurely. Also if either of the valve covers leaks oil, the oil vapor can soften the bushings causing them to become very soft. The oil gets on the exhaust manifold and vaporizes. The happens more frequently on the passenger side. One way to test this is the following: Jack up passenger front of van. With lug wrench on a lug on right side of wheel applying clockwise pressure, pull out on left side of tire. If the upper control arm bushings are weak, then you should feel some play and hear the clunk when you let loose of tire. If you don't repeat process on the driver side. This assumes that tie rod ends and ball joints are ok. A veteran mechanic who works on Aerostars showed me this diagnostic procedure.

About the designation of radius arm bushing; the mechanic may be refering to little bushings attached to end of metal arm that is attached near the tie rods. Just looking under the van you can see those if they are bad.



1991 AWD 4.0 standard length, 156,000 miles

 

When the clunking started she took it to Pep Boys for an estimate.
They said tie rod ends and wanted like $300 to fix.
So I got down there and saw that the tie rods were kind of loose and replaced the tie rod and ends (inner and outer). Still clunking.
So she took it to some gas station where they said radius arm bushings and wanted $280 to fix..Considering bushings can't be more than $10 a piece and I'm not rich..I'll fix those too, if I ever find out what they really are.

OK, if you sit down next to the tire and look over the top of the tire, behind the shock and spring, an arm about a foot(?) long with a squished up bushing where it connects to the frame in rthe front and another in the back. They're pretty big bushings and squished.

The ones on the bottom front (A frame?) are shot too (smaller bushings on the ends of a chiken bone bolt?) Those are torn up. I need a diagram... : |
You fellows know where I can look at an online diagram of the Aerostar's suspension? Oh it's an XL 3.0. I'll change all the darn bushings if I have to, but I gotta know what they're called.

thanks

 

What you are describing at the top are the upper control arm bushings. The ones on the ends of "chicken bone bolt" are the radius arm bushings.

 

Here's an illustration so we can all speak the same language. By 'chicken bone' I first thought of the sway bar link since it looks like a chicken leg bone. Then I thought maybe you mean 'wishbone' which would more resemble the upper control arm.



This was the best I could quickly rustle up. I believe you are referring to the upper control arm which is located amid the parts labeled #7. Is this correct?

 

Aerocolorado gets a six pack of Pepsi...Thanks man, where did you get the nifty diagram? I'm going to have to get the manual.
Ok, if you sit next to the tire and look over the top you'd see the parts over by "7". By chicken bone I mean the parts over by "13"
The bushings (front and back) of "7" are squished. The ones on "13" are torn up.
xrayjock,
I though Aerostars didn't have radius arms..

 

I think "8" are messed up too, the van isn't here right now or I'd be out in the rain checking them out.
Thanks again

 

'dem bones, dem bones,...... now we're talkin' about bushings on the sway bar link. (#13)

Go buy a replacement set at any parts stores. They are inexpensive (~$8.00 for a set of 2) and easy to install. If the ones currently in place are the OEM Ford ones with the thin, flat headed nuts, you wll need Vice-grips to hold the center and a large Crescent (adjustable) wrench to remove the nuts. Spraying first with WD-40 or similar agent helps. The new ones are just bushings, long bolts and spacers but they work just fine.

#8 are the large lower control arm bushings. I really doubt if these are your problem. They are just too large and durable to be worn out at your mileage.

#7 the upper control arm bushings should appear "squished" and this is OK as long as the bushings are not worn down to the point where the washers on either side of the rubber bushings are not touching the control arm itself. If you have at least 1/4 inch of rubber bushing showing between the control arm and the washer, you are in good shape.

If you are keeping the van or anticipating additonal work a manual is very handy for future reference. Most libraries carry them for loan or you can purchase them for around $12-15 at most part stores, on Ebay or Amazon.com. I'm not sure if the MotorHaven store on this site carries them or not but it may be worth checking first - things change quickly at MotorHaven and we should try to support the people who provide this great website.

Hope this cures the clunk!

(on edit: MotorHaven does not carry manuals earlier than 1979 at this time.)