+1 on that. Also, that area of the speed nut in the top of the pic could use a little prep & paint.

 

The frame is still there, I painted it yesterday! We just plasma cut the head off the bolt and pulled the core support and everything at once We were even able to leave the radiator in place. I'll update my build thread in a few days, so we can stay on topic with this thread

 

What frame is that (92)? I have not seen any frames with crumple zones in the 80-86 trucks.

 

It's a 1995 4 door bronco, doing a bullnose conversion

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

 

I looked at the other thread you linked to. Wow! That's a lot of work.
I don;t know if I would have put the much effort into a 70 Hemi Cuda restore! I would have gave up on that one. Where are you from NY?

 

Wow! That is a huge job! But it does look good.

 

Thanks guys! Mike, I'm from MN. Just updated my build thread, front clip swap is done! Also made a HOW TO: post in that section

 

I hope it is okay to post on this thread rather than start a new thread. It just seemed to me it is more useful to others to keep all the "body bushing" posts together.

____________________________________
So i'm in the middle of replacing the bushings. I also needed to replace the rear Cab mount Crossmember as it is rusted where the mount sits (see photo). I'm working on getting it out now.


I got a replacement crossmember from another forum member (thanks Alan), and I'm wondering why the there is such a difference in height - between the old bushing and the new one.
* I understand that some of the length (maybe all of it) is taken up be the compression of the bushing and some due to wear.


But there looks to be a big height difference. Is this normal? Do I have the correct rear cab mount bushings? PS. I bought the "rubber" OEM type bushings, not the poly ones.

 

I removed the old bushings from the replacement crossmember. No way could it have been done with the crossmember still installed. And forget about the 3" sleeve and threaded rod trick used on the front cab mounts. I had to cut a pie shaped notch through the rubber with my sawzall to reach the inner metal sleeve, then cut the metal insert in half.

Now that it is out, I'm wondering should I "pre-set the bushing height to match the height of the old bushing? If it is not the same height as the old bushing the bed body lines won't match the cab lines.


If the bottom nut/insert thingy stays tight inside the upper cushion, I could just tighten the upper and lower together until the Upper Cushion is squished to the same height as the old cushion. Then remove the bolt and install.


Is there a spec for the Upper Bushing compressed height?
Is there a torque specified for the front and rear cab mounting bolts?


I don't have anything in my Ford Service Manual covering anything on these bushings (my service manual ends at section 47)

 

Mike - my manuals end at Section 47 as well, but Page 47-30-11 has the only info I can find that might help. Here are some shots from the 1985 manual. But the 1981 manual says tighten the front cab bolt to 40-50 ft-lbs, instead of 50-70 in '85. But the 1981 manual doesn't give any torque for the rear bolts.

 

That is helpful. Thanks.

 

Wish I could help more, but that's the only info I can find.

 

These OEM style rubber bushing will squish down some when tightening. Torquing to 50 to 70 Ft-lbs then "should" squish it to the correct height. I expect you just tighten as much as needed (within that range) to have the cab-bed lines match.

I don't think the Poly bushings squish down. So it would make sense for the Poly bushing to be at the desired height prior to installation (so the cab and bed body lines lineup).

You can see in the photos I posted that then new rubber bushing is about 1-1/2" taller than the old bushing. When I tighten the new bushing it needs to compress that much.

If you have the Poly Cab bushings, can you measure the height of the cab bushings. Assuming the truck is on your lift and its not to hard to get to. Otherwise don't bother. Either way I have to work with what I have.

 

I think you are right - you adjust the cab to align with the bed, which is solidly bolted to the frame, by tightening the cab mount bolts. And, I would agree that poly bushings won't squish as much as rubber, so it makes sense that they have to start shorter.

I don't have Dad's truck on the lift, but I can slide under and measure things anyway. However, the alignment hasn't yet been done so that may not tell us much. But I can also measure Big Blue's bushings, as he is on the lift.

I'll do that after the next cup of Joe.

 

Mike - Here are the measurements:

• Dad's truck, which is sitting on poly bushings: Front = 1 1/4" and rear = 2 3/8"
• Big Blue, which is sitting on new Ford bushings: Front = 1 1/16" and rear = 2 1/8"

And here are pics of the body alignment. Looks to me like my body man will adjust Dad's truck slightly, with the rear of the cab coming down maybe 1/16", but Big Blue is pretty close.