Hi all,

Welp, My truck failed inspection for a Left Front Radiator Support Bushing! (the inspector was a ***** ly pear!)

[RANT]
BTW Also charged me $35.00 OVER the state mandated fee of $12.50! oooPs!
And made me mount a Fire Ex and Triangle Reflectors in the truck.
Unfortunately for them that is NOT FACT! Only if the truck is used in Commerce are these items required.

And yes, I am a jerk and just turned them in versus arguing with them. I am to meet the state troopers there 10am Monday!

I did know prior to that it would fail for reasons he did not catch, one of which is a VERY SERIOUS Safety issue!

After his 1hr 15min inspection 20 min paperwork session he NEVER checked steering slack ... I have a Steering Column Coupler COMPLETELY severed! (thanks to a long time PS leak) If it were not for the safety catches it would not steer! There is about 4 inches of steering slack. (And no I don't drive this truck much or very far, and yes I have a new one setting here)
[/RANT]

I already have a full urethane kit setting here in the pile, I really don't want to replace them until I pull the whole truck apart for it's restoration, but I have to.

Question:
What all do I have to loosen to be able to lift the support to get bushings in.

Thanks all and sorry for the rant!

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

You are driving around on public roads with a completely busted rag joint? And you took it in for a safety inspection knowing that it was broken?

I think that should be your first priority not the radiator support bushings.

 

I agree with stosh here. Rag joint isn't all that difficult, less difficult than the radiator support bushings may be.

In a perfect world, to remove the bushings you will only need to loosen up the fender hardware slightly that attaches to the radiator support. After that remove the two nuts on the support bolts that hold the support in place. Now here is the trick, in a perfect world the bushings are fitted into and locked into the support bracket on the frame with a hex like bolt pattern. All you need to do is turn the bolt out of the bushing, (it's threaded in the bushing itself) lift the support slightly for clearence, then remove the bushing. But that's with good bushings and parts. If the bushing starts turning, (which is very likely due to condition) then you will have to cut the bushing and bolt off. PITA. May require removing the radiator support.

Here is a diagram of the front fender. Use your browser's zoom setting if too small (if applicable. It should help.

 

Yup, I have driven it on public roads, it was driven well over 1k miles when I drove it home from purchase with a trailer loaded with the car I drove to pick it up! (Who knows how long it's been that way, way before I got it thats for sure!)

A few hundred miles around town since getting it home.

Then I found the rag joint severed when replacing the PS hoses.

Since then, I have driven it only to the inspection station which is about a half mile away! (If that far) I already had the appointment!

Like stated before, I have a new joint, I just have not put it in yet, I will be doing it the same time I do the support mounts. (And that is when the weather allows) I did not ask about the joint because I know what it takes to replace it, that does NOT mean it's less priority to me!

I will be driving it at least one more time AS IS, for I am to have the truck at the inspection station AS IS for the meeting with the state police Monday 10AM. They are aware of the issues!

It is not my only vehicle. (we have 9 cars & trucks)

[edit]
Sorry, Forgot to say thanks for the Exploded view and explanation!
[/edit]

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Does anyone have good core support mounting hardware assembly that you could snap a picture of?
Or an exploded view that shows the hardware in detail.

I am looking in LMC catalog and it does not appear to use the same parts that appear to be currently in my core support hardware (Or whats left of it).

It appears in mine there are some retainers (washer's with collars) of two different types, The upper one has a hex collar that keys down into the cushion, the lower is to rusted to tell but looks like it was round that keys up into the cushion.

In the catalog, it shows lower "retainers" for the cab mounts, that appear to be like the lowers in my core support, but it doesn't show them for the core support. And it doesn't show anything for the uppers.

Are these "retainers" part of the factory cushion?
They are NOT included in the urethane kit, yet the kit is fit to them. ie: the upper cushion has a hex center hole.

I would really like to know the correct hardware and know how it was from the factory!

Thanks

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Mine has these same retainers of which you speak. It also had body shims for alignment adjustments. Wish I took pictures when I changed my core support for the super cooling radiator upgrade. I'll check my service manuals and see if there is a better exploded view.

 

Thank you, I would really appreciate that.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

I couldn't find a diagram with a clear view of the support bushings.

It referes to the diagram above and the grille diagram.

 

Bummer, Sure would like to see the factory assembly.

Thanks for looking.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Ok, I met with the State Troopers at the inspection station this AM, I don't know what they are going to do to them, They did charge above the legal fee as well as an incomplete/improper inspection, I did get my money back, The officer did an inspection on my truck and found several more things that they missed, Including the steering slack and the reason for, The officer did say that the rag joint (Steering Column Coupler) it is NOT completely severed, But is in bad shape and needs to be replaced, I showed him the new one and all the rest of the parts I have for the truck... A whole bed full!

The officer did ask me why I had it inspected If I knew it would fail, I told him I wanted the inspector to tell me what I needed to fix! He did not like the fact that I already knew all the failures and did not fix them first. (he knew I was trying to get away without fixing some things)

The inspector quietly told me not to ever come back ... I'll fail you for the littlest things I can find, Go someplace else! He didn't say it quite enough, the officer heard it and was not happy.

I left, went home dropped the truck off, jumped into the doggie wagon (Saturn Wagon) and drove back by there, It was about 40 to 45 minutes later and the officer was still there!

I'm not normally a tattle tell, Unfortunately the inspector tried to lie and cheat me, refused to refund the difference of the overcharge when I presented a copy of the State Mandated Fees, I cannot set by and allow that. My biggest concern is how many others has he done this to.

Personally, I hope they pull his inspection license.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

good for you.it's those bad apples that make people think all mechanics are crooks.the older i get ,the less my B.S. tolerance gets ,les and less.i would have done the same thing.here in canada they would have lost their inspection license.

 

Ok, All you that parked because of my Rag Joint (Steering Column Coupler) may start driving again ...

I replaced it today and what a major PITA!

There was no panic needed either, The rag is perfect other than a bit (Ok, a lot) loose around the holes, It is NOT torn at all or rotten! But it sure was loose. The 3/8" holes are ~1/2"x3/8"!

It took all of 10 minutes (if that) to get the short shaft out, and 10 minutes (if that) to get it back in!

The PITA came in the actual replacement, It's a 2.625" joint, The kit was a 2.625" kit.

Problem #1:
A 2.625" kit that was 2.75"!
Gawd I hate cheesy MFg's that produce poor products.

The rivets were tough to get out because you can't get a grinder on them, I wound up milling the heads off.

Problem #2:
The replacement joint uses 4 special shoulder bolts, the kit came with 2 POS that didn't fit, So off to KL Jacks (A fastener supply) to find some 3/8" sholder bolts, NOT! Standard sholder bolts do not have enough thread length to work, BAH Humbug! Fortunately I have a Lathe (and mill) so I grabbed four long 3/8" GR8 bolts out of the bolt bin, cut them to length, chucked em up, turned down the ends and threaded them 5/16-24 making my own shoulder bolts. Also had to thin the heads up by about .040".

But it's done and it went from ~5" of slack to ~1", Whats left is in the gearbox.

The unfortunate side for me is now I'm back on the drugs and flat on my back!
The ol'lady is really peeved cause I'm supposed to spray the second coat on the kitchen cabinets tomorrow and I won't be able to.
Damn back!

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

I personally and firmly believe you did the wrong thing by taking a vehicle in for inspection KNOWING that it would not pass and then you contact the state police and try to have their license pulled because they didn't tell you everything that was wrong with your truck?

Dude, grow up. You have a set of *****.

I have worked all of my life in and around cars and trucks and have done many inspections. It is not their job to go over your truck with a magnifying glass and point out what you need to fix. Granted, I would have found a loose rag joint and would have failed you immediately. I would not have wasted any more of my time pointing out other possible issues either.

It is YOUR responsibility to ensure everything is safe on the vehicle PRIOR to taking it in for an inspection. I'm not standing up for that particular station, but it were me I would have told you to beat it as well.

Too many times people come to garages and waste your time having you diagnose their vehicle for free and then take it somewhere else or end up fixing it themselves. Garages are not in business to fix or help you for free.

When you said that you were driving your truck around with 3" of slop in the steering wheel and thought nothing of it told me what kind of person you are. Any normal person would have taken the truck off the road immediately until a critical safety issue like that was fixed.

 

Stosh,

I think you need to re-read my posts!

The only reason I turned him in was for the overcharge ...
Had he not refused to refund the overcharge when I provided the STATE MANDATED FEE SCHEDULE, I would not have turned him in.

Had he refunded me the overcharge, I would of left and never turned back!
I wanted the 35.00 dollar overcharge back, And It took the State Inspection Trooper to get it back.

I don't know you Stosh, But I do know enough about you that you would not of stood by and allowed someone to overcharge you either!

How many people has he gotten away with charging more than the state allows????

[edit]
Lot's of stuff deleted from original post for I do not need to justify my actions!
[/edit]

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Over charging is one thing, and you are correct. I would not have stood by either. But then again I would have made sure what the price was going to be BEFORE anyone looked at it.

My main concern once again is that fact that you KNEW things were wrong with your truck, yet you STILL took it in for an inspection.

That was simply the wrong thing to do.

Tell me that you would have been happy if they would have passed it knowing that there were things that were unsafe on your vehicle? There are certain things that really irritate me and having bad steering or bad brakes on ANY street driven vehicle is right on the top of my list.

If you don't care about your own safety that's one thing. But when you take someone else's life into your hands because of your stupidity then that's another story.

I don't know you either, but once again your actions and comments tell a lot about your character.