Cracking Radius Arm Brackets

[mudgepondexpress]

All winter I heard my radius arms slapping around and thought...dang, I just replaced those 2 years ago when I lowered it! Well when I got under the pickup to make sure I was correct I now see that there are 2 huge cracks on 1 side and 3 on the other! These cracks are long enough to disappear under the bushings thus they could be all the way to the hole. On the other side there is the same cracks plus one that is about 2 inches long that is running up the bend. Anyone else have this issue? It is not a rust bucket but has 210,000 miles on it. I see Ford still sells the parts for $57 per side plus freight...what are my other options?

Kenny

[uncle.stosh]

You have no other option but to replace them.

It's common for them to rust/crack.

[mudgepondexpress]

I guess I mistated the question...

Is Ford the only and best supplier of the bracket? Is there aftermarket ones that are built better, improve the geometry of the front end?

I also have a brake pull problem but only upon first touch, then it levels out side to side. I will venture to guess that the brackets are flexing badly and causing the pull. I won't touch the brakes until I fix the brackets.

Kenny

[81-F-150-Explorer]

Originally Posted by mudgepondexpress

I guess I mistated the question... Is Ford the only and best supplier of the bracket? Is there aftermarket ones that are built better, improve the geometry of the front end?

No aftermarket support for them that I am aware of.

[bigblueovalman]

Just curious, are you using the hard nylon bushings or are you using the rubber ones. When I rebuilt my front end on my '86 F-150 I used the hard bushings. It made the beast ride like a tank when you hit a sharp bump. I finally changed to the rubber ones and have a much better ride. The guys at the Ford dealership say that using the hard bushings WILL crack the radius arm mounts AND the frame because of no flex or give. Glad I went back to rubber bushings! Bud

[brthevio]

I may have the parts you need. I am parting out an 86 F150. The truck has never been in snow or salt. Check my ad in the classified section. May have some other stuff you could use also.

[Pkupman82]

Try LMC Truck and Bronco Graveyard, both of them carry the replacement brackets. I just grabbed my LMC and JBG catalogs, they want $49 bucks a piece for em. LMC wants $49.95 each for em, it's a little cheaper than Ford... but I know for a fact that both companies sell a lot of OEM replacement parts directly from Ford. That happened to the radius arm brackets on a buddy of mine 93 Ranger 4wd. I took them off ,did a little grinding and welded the cracks in; then welded some 1/8" steel plate to the back side to reinforce it a little better. He hasn't had a problem since, unless you can repair them like I did, it won't be a cheap fix.

[mudgepondexpress]

Thanks for the replys on the topic! Yes it is running the hard nylon bushings and I attributed the cracking to them. No cracks before the change (190,000 miles), 20,000 later, major cracking. I also agree with the ride issue as well as they added noise to the suspension I don't remember it having.

I'll check out your ad, brthevio...thanks.

Kenny

[Franklin2]

I always though the radius arm setup was a cheap crappy design. The cars used a similar setup too, with a very narrow lower a-arm and a rod running to the front with a big fat rubber bushing. If you ask me, something like a tie rod end on the end of the arm would be a lot better, but I guess it would make the ride rougher. But it would not crack the bracket. And it would be greasable.

[Sycostang67]

I had to run the poly bushings on my 95 F-150. They were so close to the cat on the passenger side that the rubber bushings melted. It even had a heat shield on the cat and on the bushing.

[mhg]

AAP has them also