I have been getting a clunk in my front end on braking for a stop! I crawled under the other day to do a grease job and one of the posts here mentioned possible bad swaybar links as the problem! Checked them out and the links look pretty sad!! I am looking at a complete kit and my question is how hard is it to replace the center bushings? Are replacements split or do you have to slide them down the bar? and is a PIA ? And the best way to do it! Thanks

Smokie

 

The clunking is probably from your end links, I had the same... I went with energy bushings from Clay! Very easy install, had a local shop press the end link bushings out, then the new ones are two piece and go in pretty easy (I used a bench vise to "press" them in. The sway bar bushings are split, they just open up and wrap around the bar. If you get into track bar bushings, be prepared. We tried pressing them on, boiling them and then pressing them in and they just kept shooting out and bouncing around the shop like flubber

Flubber Movie Trailer - YouTube

After about 2 hours and a 100 choice words, a buddy of mine finally got them in!

I bought the whole kit and still need to drop the leafs and get those done.

 

Not hard, but as Vegas said , you will need a press.( they come out with a bang) It does help if you put them in boiling water to soften them up before install.

 

Years back when I worked in the service station business my brother and I would use our big bench vice and hefty sockets to press out ujoints and such. Would that work?
Luved the flubber trailer!!!


Smokie

 

They are split. Easiest install you will do.

 

How would a heat gun do to soften them up?? Baby will warm them up good!!!

Smokie

 

You may also want to measure your stabilizer bar diameter- where the sway bar to axle bushings are- to make sure you know what diameter the axle bushings need to be when you order them. Most likely, you'll have 32mm or whatever the 'standard' seems to be, but my factory stabilizer bar is 27mm, which really threw me off when I did mine. The Energy Suspensions kit I got had the 'normal' size bushings- I had to order new 27mm bushings from the local Ford fleet truck parts place here locally, and I used the rest of the Energy kit for the end links.

And yes, if you press out the old end link bushings yourself, be prepared for the loud BANG! when they come out.

Just FYI.

 

OK !! gotta order me some PARTS!!!!


Smokie

 

when I did my end links, I beat on them, drilled out the rubber, heated them with a torch, tried the vise, grabbed the BFH, tried again... finally, took them down and had the guy press them out for me. It cost me buying the dude lunch, only because I new the service writer at the shop.

Some say they have had luck with heating them and using stuff at home, just m experience was that $5 in gas and a $10 lunch was well worth it. Now when it comes to the track bar, I don't see any way of getting those out without a press. I ended up using a friends 25 ton press and well lets just say I would strongly consider wearing eye and ear protection, and maybe a football helmet

 

Dang ! Good thing I read the last post about the dia dif !! Doe the dually have a bigger dia bar? Think I have a dial caliper somewhere in my stuff!!

Smokie

 

OK ! I just crawled under BigRed and my caliper says 1 1/8 bar ! Not sure what that is in MM ? Any math genises here ?

Smokie

 

My dually actually appears to have a smaller diameter bar than most all other trucks for some reason, at least thats what Clay told me when I was trying to figure out what was going on with those bushings.

The fleet parts place I got my 27mm bushings from was able to look up my truck based on the VIN, and they told me that was the stock bar and stock size mine was manufactured with.

I don't know why I have to be so different.

Just brought it up so you can save yourself some time on the install end of things.

 

looks like you have the smaller bar as well... 1 1/8 works out to 28.565 mm

 

Just got off Clays site and it looks to me the bar size is the same ! Looks like the links are dif dia!

Early 99 - 32mm - 1 Inch Endlink Eyes
Late 99-03 - 32mm - 1.5 Inch Endlink Eyes


Smokie

 

The end link eyes are not what was different about my truck- it was the diameter of the stabilizer bar itself.
Note that the text you copied state that the stabilizer bar is thought to be 32mm in diameter.......

Smokie- see the thread below. This will clarify what I was talking about-

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-knocking.html