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I am doing a compete front end rebuild on my 94 4.9 2WD. Ball joints, radius arm bushing, tie rod ends everything. So I figured while I had it all apart I would sand blast the radius arms , spindles, coils springs, etc. And coat them with some POR 15. I have everything disassembled except the radius arms where they meet the axel. I know I need to remove the coils spring stud from the axel as well as the bolt on the bottom of the radius arm. My issue is that these are tight as a heck. I have been soaking the bolts with PB blaster and heating them with some MAPP gas but no luck yet. Has anybody else done this and if so where there any tricks to make it easier, thanks.
I am doing a compete front end rebuild on my 94 4.9 2WD. Ball joints, radius arm bushing, tie rod ends everything. So I figured while I had it all apart I would sand blast the radius arms , spindles, coils springs, etc. And coat them with some POR 15. I have everything disassembled except the radius arms where they meet the axel. I know I need to remove the coils spring stud from the axel as well as the bolt on the bottom of the radius arm. My issue is that these are tight as a heck. I have been soaking the bolts with PB blaster and heating them with some MAPP gas but no luck yet. Has anybody else done this and if so where there any tricks to make it easier, thanks.
I took mine apart many years ago and found in the ford shop manual (HELMS) that they were torqued to 300Lbs so a breaker bar with a pipe about six feet long was called upon to do the job in the driveway ..It sure as hell did not go back together with 300Lbs though!!
I believe that bolt/nut is torqued to something like 300 ft lbs. Its easier to drop the I beam at the axle pivot. This also allows you to slide the assembly forward to replace the radius arm bushing. Thats what I did. I went ahead and replaced those bushing too. I used black Energy Suspension bushings. I did this by myself with 2 floor jacks. I did one side at a time so that at least only one side had to be on a jack stand and the other side still had the wheel on.
I believe that bolt/nut is torqued to something like 300 ft lbs. Its easier to drop the I beam at the axle pivot. This also allows you to slide the assembly forward to replace the radius arm bushing. Thats what I did. I went ahead and replaced those bushing too. I used black Energy Suspension bushings. I did this by myself with 2 floor jacks. I did one side at a time so that at least only one side had to be on a jack stand and the other side still had the wheel on.
Yeah I understand that part of replacing the radius arm bushing. I think I will just have to leave the radius arm attached to the I beam until I get my own air compressor and impact. I already broke my 1/2 drive ratchet trying to loosen that 300 ft lb bolt. and I just wanted to take it off to clean it up.
Yeah I understand that part of replacing the radius arm bushing. I think I will just have to leave the radius arm attached to the I beam until I get my own air compressor and impact. I already broke my 1/2 drive ratchet trying to loosen that 300 ft lb bolt. and I just wanted to take it off to clean it up.
That's what I did. I couldn't even get that bolt loose with air tools. I did not separate the radius arm from the I beam.
Just curious as to why you picked that brand. When it comes to choosing quality replacement parts, you're one of the people on this forum I respect most. I'm about to buy a set for my truck was was going to get the Moog K80007 bushing kit before coming across this thread.
Just curious as to your choice in brand. When it comes to choosing quality replacement parts, your one of the people on this forum I respect most. I'm about to buy a set for my truck was was going to get the Moog K80007 bushing kit before coming across this thread.
I am running the energy suspension radius arm bushings in my truck. They are great. They stiffened the front end up a pinch and went right in place of the old ones.
On another note, with this job, I am glad I have extended radius arms. My brackets were bolted to the frame. All I had to do was unbolt the bracket, slide the bracket out, put the new bushings in and bolt the bracket back to the frame.
I bet having the bracket bolted in makes changing the bushings way easier. I would love to get some custom radius arms that worked with stock ride height to about +2" that would clear larger tires, but I've never seen any of them.
Why did you choose the energy suspension bushings? Are they designed to be stiffer or longer lasting?
I bet having the bracket bolted in makes changing the bushings way easier. I would love to get some custom radius arms that worked with stock ride height to about +2" that would clear larger tires, but I've never seen any of them.
Why did you choose the energy suspension bushings? Are they designed to be stiffer or longer lasting?
The job was really easy with the brackets being bolted in. Took me 35 minutes start to finish to do the job. If you wanted to you could replace the rivets in the factory bracket with grade 8 hardware.
As for the bushings, I was told that polyurethane was recommended for a lifted truck. When I started looking for some and doing some reading I found that most recommended Energy Suspension. Figured I would give them a shot. As for why polyurethane, they are stiffer and should last longer than rubber.
Here they are right after I installed them:
Here are the Energy bushings compared to the old ones I took out:
Here's the assembly diagram, courtesy of Dalton Rains, CSR for MOOG, 1800 325 8886 Monday – Thursday: 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (CST)
Control "+" to enlarge, Control "0" to return to normal sizing.
And my buddy the truck mechanic says pulling the I-beam forward with a come-a-long is easier than removing the bracket
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