My body mounts are shot, but the $200 price tag for a new rubber set is hard to swallow. I don't really need all the hardware, either. I see the poly ones are available for under $50, but I am concerned about them making everything too stiff. I'll probably never know the difference, but I wanted to get some other opinions.

 

I'm curious about this. I haven't checked mine in my rebuild, but it wouldn't surprise me if they need to be replaced. So, I'm in for the opinions, also.

 

Following as well.. ill be mounting my crew cab on a new frame soon and getting new mounts. I had poly mounts on a jeep and the difference was immediately noticeable. Anyone who has experience with both?

 

I believe bronco graveyard also offers to sell the rubber body mounts individually at link below
73-79 Bronco and F-Series Truck Body Mounts & Hardware

 

Shocked at the 200 buck tag also. Where was that from?

That said, I've used poly insulators on my F350 and two Early Broncos. And on none of them could I feel a difference.
Now, I would bet there is a quantifiable difference in insulating properties keeping more noise and vibration out of the cab between rubber and poly, but on our trucks you'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference.
I'm pretty sensitive to that kind of thing too, and prefer rubber just on principle, but used poly for it's availability and durability in harsh environs.

My '68 does ride a bit harsh, but it's too early to tell if the body mounts are a contributing factor. Too many other things still to iron out.
But the '71 and '79 have been daily drivers in their time, and like I said, I could not tell the difference.

Paul

 

LMC has the set for $200. You can get the rubber parts separate, but it actually costs more than the kit.

Bronco Graveyard has them separately for cheaper, I assume. I can't figure out which ones apply to trucks.

I just found a complete set from Steele for $125. Part # 20-0802-4

 

The poly are just fine under the body and better than worn rubber ones, that's for sure!

 

I guess they aren't really intended to improve the ride quality, but to absorb chassis flex.

 

Okay, so what's the secret to getting the originals off without damaging the steel parts? I've got all the bolts out, and the body is loose, but the rubber is fused to the frame...or the steel part of the mounts. Seems like the bottom part of the mount would come off pretty easily, but its stubborn.

 

No, they interlock top to bottom piece once they're torqued.
So really, if they're rusted like many are, there is literally no way to take them apart without damage.

However, the good news is that even after all these years, there are still some that are not fused enough to consider them a lost cause. Yet...
You can use the existing bolts, or get a longer one of the same thread count, insert it just part way (a few turns) and wail on them with the biggest hammer you have in your inventory. For obvious reasons, the new longer bolt is more desirable so you don't ruin your originals if a mount decides to fight.
This sucks on some mounts, because on the pickups the ones in front of the driver's compartment are inside pockets in the engine compartment.
The ones by the radiator are doable because at least they're a straight shot. But you'll need about a two foot extension of something that you don't mind damaging to get any hammer blows worthwhile on them.

If they're feeling cooperative, you can pop the lower mount out with one or two hammer blows. If they fight you, you might need to wail on them to the tune of 10 or 12 hits. If they don't come off at that point, unless you feel like just hammering away, it's time to implement Plan-B.

The ones you can get to from underneath directly can be drilled out (the easiest of the Plan-B's from what we've seen with Early Broncos) where you use a bit that's just larger than the diameter of the threaded hole. Drill this out and the two halves separate.

You'll see how they're put together after you get the first one apart. I always wondered how they put these things together without the need for nuts to hole the bolts. Turns out the lower washer is the nut. It's center bore extension is threaded and when you torque them down the first time, they literally mushroom into the upper half to make a very stout interlocking mechanism.

Not sure if it was completely necessary, but it's a pretty slick design.
Rust aside that is...

Good luck.

Paul

 

I did mine this way, I cut through the top all the way through the rubber bushing , then removed the rubber bushing , then I cut the top off the sleeve which then top is in two pieces and sleeve is separated now , but let me remove the the hardware from the bottom, then I put in vice and heated with torch and was able to separate the pieces as shown in pictures , I can weld the top back together and make it look fine, sand blasting next an paint and then I can put it back like factory , I was lucky enough that all the bolts came out but the two pieces were froze together , it didn't really take that long an I don't mind the work,,you could buy washers and sleeves an make your own but I decided this route

 

I finally got them all out, but it was a real pain. That was one of those jobs I thought would be easy, but turned out to be 10x harder, especially after I had all the bolts out in 15 minutes.

I just had to cut the front ones. It's like they were just fused together. One weird thing was that some had spacers and others didn't. Was that a predetermined thing from Ford due to variations in the frame, or did they custom level every truck at the factory?

 

Mine had spacers on some, I assume it was to help align the body lines , with bed an cab , an fenders , but its just a guess , why else add spacers

 

Yeah, I was just wondering if all dents had to the same number of spacers in the same positions or if each truck was adjusted individually at the factory.

 

I've always assumed it was an individual truck thing. I suppose it's possible that they'd determine a certain run of frames or bodies needed a certain spacer height at a certain point and just threw them in automatically until told otherwise, but it seems more reasonable to think they were checking individual door and fender gaps.
Well, not reasonable for the assembly line maybe!

Mine had 3 spacers in the right front corner. A couple in another mount as well, but I don't remember which one that was.
Did you have some in the front corner under the radiator/battery?

Paul