What's the best way to replace the radius arm bushings on my 1970 F250 camper special?

 

Yo Yo Frodo.......'Didn't know there are other ways to do it! 'Not sure what you mean by "best".

More information is needed. What is your concern about their replacement?

If anything, opt for polyurethane bushings. I prefer black because red bushings simply shout "Look! I'm a high performance red poly bushing". I'd rather be attracted by good workmanship and attention to detail than some googaw part shouting for attention. Pardon the rant.

 

some people cut the brackets off and then rebolt them using grade 8 hardware
and you can take a comalong and tie it too something solid and ratchet the arm ahead then put new bushings on and put back together !

 

Ah... I see what you mean by removing the rivets...Thanks for enlightening me..... but that sounds like a pain in the azz and more trouble than it is worth - IMO.

 

The bushings fell out due to old age. So they need to be replaced. Thanks for the help.

 

Do you have to remove anything when you ratchet the arm?

 

I used an air hammer and rattled the rivets off on mine. Put some grade 8 (i think... might have been grade 5) locking flange bolts and nuts back on - way stronger than the original rivets. It was pretty easy and kinda fun (because of the air hammer). I'd almost recommend that as the bushing will eventually wear out again and when they do having the brackets bolted on will make it a lot easier.

I've heard people say both ways are better so its a toss up as to which method is "best" I've even heard of people using a come-a-long and a tree...

I used blue poly bushings (didn't know they had black poly...) and they shout "look what i replaced on this old truck!"

my $0.02

Charlie

 

Thanks Charlie! I got a good laugh out of that!

 

no you dont , but some times if you jack up the front end a little bit the beam will drop some and make it a little easier to pull forward ! like all things , some times things go good and other times they dont !

 

A large bold goes up through the radius arm and spindle with the nut on top. You can't see this nut as it is covered. The nut you see holds the spring in place. So you have to remove two bolts. I did it by putting a wrench on the top nut and putting a air socket on the bolthead. That spun off the first nut. I repeated that for the 2nd nut. It's not hard, just takes time.

 

The come along worked great. Replaced both sides in about an hour and a half. Thanks for the help.

 

Come along is the best way if not disassembling the front suspension. Cutting out the rivets does two things. One makes me not buy your truck when I see the bolts & two possible misaligns the front suspension when reassembled.

 

With the bolts i used (don't remember the size) there was very little play, i doubt it would cause any mis-alignment issues, but i could be wrong.... I know the frodomonster doesn't have 4wd, but i do believe that if you have 4wd you also have to pull the trackbar and drop the front driveline in order to pull the axle forward, but i'm not sure as i didn't utilize that method.

Nice work frodomonster bet the truck sure drives a lot better now!

Charlie

 

Just saying if I were looking at a truck to buy I would pass on one that had bolts holding the pieces on. I would pass on buying my own truck if I had not done the work. I get real touchy when it comes to frame work.

 

Replacing the rivets with grade 8 fasteners would be fine. Just make sure you don't oversize the hole. Regardless, a clearance fit between the bolt and the fastener would be best. A tolerance fit would be the next best option. Just make sure there is no movement between the fastener and the hole. In addition I would ensure the fastener has a shank on it, don't just put a fully threaded fastener in there. Finally, one might considering adding a few fasteners since there is plenty of unused surface area and also one might want to step up the fastener size from the nominal hole. I am going to do mine and I will take these steps to ensure the brackets don't move and are secured correctly.

1. Drill two or more NEW fastener locations. Location and amount is at owners discretion.
2. Install fasteners at the new locations and tighten / torque
3. Remove old fasteners (rivets)
4. Drill old fastener locations to the correct / new size (if necessary)
5. Install new fasteners and tighten / torque

Done correctly, it will be just as strong if not stronger than the original. Now, is all that effort worth it? I don't know; I just like doing stuff like that for fun! My background is in large aircraft structural repair so applying it to my truck is fun
Heck, I have a bunch of titanium Hi-Locs I might utilize on this!