Link to my video detailing the process at the bottom of my thread

Hi guys I recently replaced my axle pivot bushings, which to most may seem like a daunting task. Never fear, I have all the secrets to making these bushing swaps easy!

First step is to actually look to see if your bushings need replacing. If you have a truck that fits in this forum section, then you probably need to replace them. Besides new bushings always feel good on these trucks! If you don't know what these bushings are, they are the bushings at the very end of the i-beam suspension where it bolts to the frame.



This is a new bushing from Energy Suspension next to the OE one. Huge difference!

This is also a good time to check out the frame for any damage. Of course my frame had to be cracked and I had to remove the drop bracket to weld it back. Here is what it looked after I prepped it for welding.



I know thank God for welders!

Anyway, to kick off this repair you have jack up your truck so that the suspension can drop completely. This means no jack stands under the radius arms or i-beams. Remove the wheels from both sides. Next you unbolt the top of you shock and the top retaining bracket from your coil spring.

Next, remove the bolts at the axle pivot points. Due to space issues, I used a breaker bar for one side and a impact gun for the other. So this is definitely a project for the poorly equipt mechanic. At this point, you should be able to pry the i-beam down from the axle pivot on the drop bracket. It shouls look like the picture above of the bushings.

Now you must remove the old bushing. Here is where things can be different. If you choose to use an OE bushing (I don't recommend), you must remove the entire bushing plus the sleeve around it. I'm told you use a ball joint press to do this. If you choose to use an aftermarket polyurethane bushing (I recommend), all you need to do is remove the rubber from the inside of the old OE bushing sleeve. I used a MAP gas tank used for plumbing soldering to heat up the old rubber bushing. This makes it soft enough to remove the inner metal sleeve. Then you can pry out the rest of the rubber with a short screw driver. I used a razor blade and wire brush to get the inside of the sleeve nice and clean.

At this point you can press in the new polyurethane bushing using a ball joint press or a large C-clamp with a few modifications. Be sure to grease the hell out of the new bushing before pressing it in. The polyurethane bushings come with grease.

Once this is done, you can bolt up the i-beam to the axle pivot bracket and you are finished. Replace or bolt up all the other suspension parts I mentioned earlier and you are ready to hit the road.

Here is a link to video detailing my entire process.


I kept the video under 10 minutes, so you actually have time to do the replace after watching it ;D. My channel is called The Minute Masters. If you want to watch more repair videos for 90-96 F150s, I have quite a few. Enjoy!