I'm assuming this front shock mounting bolt is worn. Any idea what a replacement part number would be? Would they be the same on all four wheels?

 

At least I accomplished something today...

I also managed to knock a rotted out bump stop off while trying to do the shocks this evening. This may be a never ending project.

 

Yes, they all are !

 

Would what be the same on all four wheels? Picture didn't convey your thought well...

 

Yes, all four shock bolts were necked, or worn in the middle. That picture was the worst of them. I was wondering if all four shock bolts were the same part number. They are not.

 

Driver's side barn door with panel off in preparation of fixing the door latch.



The jury rigged setup a previous owner tried to do to make the door work. I wonder if it ever did?



It looks like the factory melted on the plastic end fittings in the beginning. After all that plastic broke off, there were some serious ridges left over that kept the sheath from fitting into the replacement aluminum fittings. Some sandpaper fixed that problem right up.



After sanding, the cable sheath fit perfectly into the aluminum fittings found in the tech folder for fixing this latch issue. The inner wire cable just barely fit into the slot. My measurement put the wire at about .062" diameter. The slot was not much bigger, if at all. I ended up drilling the end of the fitting slightly bigger (.070") so the cable wouldn't bind. Squirted some silicon lube in there and put everything back together. Works like a champ now.

Only issue with this fix is I broke about three of the plastic clips that hold the door panel on. Went to my Ford dealer today to try and get some replacements. That was my 2nd trip today to get something that they didn't have in stock. Will pick them up on Monday. Funny thing is, there was a cable assembly on the counter for another customer. Slightly longer than this one. They still have the plastic end fittings on them.

This fix was too easy to not do it right. Hardest part was getting one of the T27 torx screws out. Had to find my impact drill that I probably hadn't used since before my Ex was built.

 

Excursion had a soft, wallowy ride (technical term). Like riding in a boat in some waves. Seemed like it would be a good reason to replace the shocks. Notice the lovely bump-stop! Knocked it off by accident yesterday trying to get this shock off. New ones ordered...



Got the new KYB shocks installed today. Had to get bolts from Fastenall, since both Ford and NAPA didn't have them in stock. I ended up using 12mm x 90mm long SHCS's, since they were the only bolts in metric class 12.9 (fairly equivalent to grade 8 SAE) that Fastenall had. I didn't really want the bolts that long, but went with it because I wanted the unthreaded length long enough to span the shock mounting brackets. The original bolts were 80mm long in the front and 70mm long in the rear. I should probably cut off the excess, but just didn't get around to it today.

Ride is definitely improved. The wandering steering feels slightly better with the new shocks and steering damper. Not fixed but headed in the right direction (most of the time). The new tires showed up today. I'll get them installed on Monday with 5* caster added during the alignment!

 

Needed to fix the drivers side door lock switch. Switch panel was easy to pop off. Plug easily removed from lock switch. The switch itself (red) was a pain to remove.
Once out the new switch was simple to install.
Now I can lock/unlock all the doors from the drivers door.

 

Swapped out the rear wiper with a Bosch version.

 

It's the little things that make it that much better.

If you do front wipers soon, try at least a 22" newer trucks use them and the windshields are the same. Some members go with a 24" and 23", I like the 22" RainX Latitude.

 

Existing window visor was broken on the driver door. Without a sunroof to vent the vehicle in our hot Georgia summers, I decided to replace the existing ones, and add them to the rear windows.
The existing ones were stick-on visors. Took me quite a while to get the decade old double sided tape off.
New EGR in-channel visors installed.

 

Baby's got new shoes...


Ok, what should have been a simple mount, balance, and alignment turned into much more. The tie-rod end at the Pitman arm was shot, so it needed to be fixed before they could do the alignment. Waited half a day for parts. That was fixed so then on to the balance. They do on-the-vehicle spin balancing. Problem is the rear tires wouldn't spin. The rear calipers were shot. So, a whole rear brake job later and it is now "complete". They said I also needed sway bar bushings and links. I can do those and have them on order.

I used Fowler's here in Phenix City, AL after they were recommended by a FTE member and one of my non-Ford buddies here in town. They seemed pretty squared away and didn't push anything on me. Just gave me the facts and options.

 

All parts (I thought) to do Gooch's radiator flush and fill...
Snapped off two of the three thermostat housing bolts. Guess I'm in for a water pump replacement now too, unless someone out there has any ideas? I did spray the bolts with PB Blaster but they were rusted solid.

 

Nice thread looking forward to more progress.

Let me know how you like the KYB shocks.

 

Looks like this Ex is in good hands now

Did they do the caster when you had it aligned ?

New shoes, new dampers, tight steering, and plenty of caster !! Old girl should be handling like a brick on rails now !