I am looking at a 70 F-250 2wd Camper Special. The body is very solid and it runs very well. I did look at the front cab mounts and they are definitely whipped. What is involved in repairing the front mounts? Can they be accessed easily by removing the fenders, or do the fenders have to stay on for alignment? I know that prices differ depending on the area, but how much have some of you fine folks paid to have this fixed?

Thanks for the help, Dan

 

I'm not exactly sure which mounts you are talking about. There are a total of six mounting points between the cab/radiator support and the frame on these trucks. I replaced the two between the radiator support and the front two under the cab recently and didn't have to remove the fenders. I did have a little rust around the right radiator support, but not enough to really hinder my replacement. I just improvised with some large washers and small galvanized pipe. Back to your concerns, I guess it really depends on how badly the components are rusted and if they have caused any structural weakening.

 

They are the mounts directly under the firewall on either side of the truck. I didn't look terrible close at the sheet metal they are attached to, but it certainly didn't catch my attention. Buzzard, from your post I am assuming the radiator support and cab are a single piece. Is this correct?

Thanks, Dan

 

The mounts you are referring to are pretty easy to change out. Just remove the bolt and then pry the bottom sleeved washer apart from the top portion. Then jack up the cab a bit, remove the old bushings and install the new ones...shouldn't take more than an hour or so. The toughest part is separating the washers if they've rusted together.

The radiator support is attachable to and detachable from the remainder of the front end, however, it seems like there are around 10,000 bolts up there holding all of the components together.

 

If the metal part of the mount is rusted and beyond repair then they should be replaced. The fenders can stay on. Remove the bolts (there is an access hole in the front) and lift the body enough to remove the bolts and rubber mounts. I removed the rest of the mounts with a cut-out wheel. There are alot of spot welds so this may take a while. Get everything grinded smooth. Get your new mounts from Dennis Carpenter. I tried to save a little money and bought the cheaper ones from LMC. Those parts are junk. Then I welded in the new mounts with a mig welder. I used all new rubber mounts and bolts. The job came out really well and it is hard to tell that they are replacements. Also the truck now sits very straight. I should mention that this was done on a '72 4x4 but should be similar on a two wheel drive.

 

I just had this job done by a local body shop. They replaced portions of both floor pans, both front cab mounts and did some patch work to the inner fender under the battery tray. I provided them with sheet metal that I got from Carolina Classics. The labor was $640.00. The guy at the body shop said that the cab mounts I bought were a bear to make fit, but the job turned out great, I was very pleased with the results. Dennis carpenter may have a better fitting replacement??? Good luck!!


71 Ranger XLT
65 Mustang Fastback
01 Mustang V6
92 Taurus

 

If the cab mounts are that bad you might want to have a closer look at the floor, the cab cross sill, cab corners, and bottom of the rad support before you take her home.
Eric

 

Thanks guys. I’m definitely going to take another look. I was very surprised to see the cab mounts rusted as badly as they are considering the shape the rest of the body is in.

Eric: You said to check the cab cross sill, what is that?

Dav1972: When you lined up the new metal, what did you use as a reference?

Thanks again, Dan

 

The cross sill (if it is so called) is the roughly square member welded to the floor across the cab from side to side about halfway back.
A rust free cab from thousands of miles away can be cheaper in the long run.
Eric

 

The top part of the new mount will fit flush with the top lip on the firewall. I only had to adjust left/right a little to line up perfectly. The new part looked exactly like the old one so lining it up was no problem.