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This may not come as a shock to some based on what I've read but I was surprised to see the cab mounts disintegrating on my 13 F250. For the past couple of years, there has been an annoying rattle/clunk going over choppy bumps on pavement which was hard to pinpoint, even when riding in different places in the truck other than the driver's seat. It's not the front sway bar bushings or end links (replaced those), the shocks (they're good), the ball joints (no play), unit wheel bearings (no play). Track bar is tight (pulled on it hard with a 36" breaker bar and cheater pipe).
Never thought to look at the cab bushings until the weekend when I checked and saw they are some kind of dense foam that's literally falling apart. The lower part of the bushing is almost gone on the rear mounts. The only ones not falling apart are the 3rd position ones which are some kind of rubber as I have a crew cab, but even those are cracked and splitting.
Guessing this is causing the clunking noises and I will be replacing them soon.
Yep, very common on these trucks. Had to replace them on my '05 F250 CCSB and my current '12 F250 CCSB, which I did back in November. Mine were all shot except for the #3 position on both sides. Don' t know why the #3 position is made of rubber where as all the rest are crap that falls apart. Whole job took about 4 hours to complete. The new bushings are polyurethane which are much more substantial material but they transfer noise and vibration to the cab. I replaced my shocks, which were shot as well, and all is good now.
Can't understand Ford's use of these inferior bushings for so many vehicles. What a PITA to deal with.
Eight new mounts are on the way, my wallet is $450 lighter. I decided to go the Dorman/OEM design route after reading all kinds of complaints on the aftermarket polyurethane bushings like Daystar. The S&B silicone mounts look promising but not for a truck that I don't plan on keeping forever.
Eight new mounts are on the way, my wallet is $450 lighter. I decided to go the Dorman/OEM design route after reading all kinds of complaints on the aftermarket polyurethane bushings like Daystar. The S&B silicone mounts look promising but not for a truck that I don't plan on keeping forever.
I'm not sure you will like Dorman either. When I go to a parts store I specifically tell them no Dorman products. I've had too many problems with other Dorman products. They are the best the Chinese can make...
The #3 mounts are probably fine even if they appear to have a surface crack. Mine were. I replaced with OEM and am happy with them. If they need replacement in another 10 years they'll certainly by easier to replace. I did not use new thread locker, they don't need it in my opinion.
Just something to keep in mind, the S&B mounts come complete with brand new steel cups and OEM hardware. You don't have to reuse any old stock parts.
Thanks. The OEM style replacements I got came with new steel cups, cab bolts and cage nuts as well as the bushings. I seriously considered the S&B mounts, but I only plan to keep the truck for another three +/- years....if the originals made it seven, then I don't see having to go through this again.
Originally Posted by Stevereeves
The #3 mounts are probably fine even if they appear to have a surface crack. Mine were. I replaced with OEM and am happy with them. If they need replacement in another 10 years they'll certainly by easier to replace. I did not use new thread locker, they don't need it in my opinion.
That's how the #3 mounts look, surface cracks but not falling apart like the other six. I figure if I'm changing the rest of them, might as well change those also. I plan to do the work this coming weekend.
Changed out all 8 mounts over the weekend. The rear mounts were by far the most disintegrated, but ironically the bolts came out of those with the least struggle. It took about 4 hours all in. The RF captured nut spun but it was easy to get to after taking the grill off.
It was definitely challenging and made me nervous lifting the cab, I highly suggest a bottle jack on wood cribbing because it lifts straight up instead of the arc a floor jack lifts in.
The ride is way, way better than it was and there are no more strange rattles or squeaks going over choppy bumps or turning into driveways where the frame flexes.
Wow! Your worst looking old ones are in better shape than my best looking ones were...no joking there. I had a couple that only had the stud and the cups. Those pics look good. Are those the Dorman mounts?
Thanks, I was kind of shocked how bad the rear mounts were in relation to the others. This is a FL truck that has never seen salt roads or winter weather and is relatively well taken care of. Ford just uses some lousy materials in the name of a quiet and smooth ride I guess LOL.
Yes, those are the Dorman mounts. The bushings seem to be better made than the OEM ones and the hardware is good.
Yea, my truck was originally from Texas and I've had it 3 years for here in Louisiana. No salt conditions here either. Just inferior material on their part. Oh well, now that it's done, we shouldn't have to deal with this again. . Congrats on getting it done.
EDIT...I am unable to upload pics at this time but you should see how bad mine were
Your post got me to wondering if this is a problem for all model years. I have a 2002 that look to have the originals and they look fine. I wonder if maybe this is heat related. I'm in WA so the temps here are really mild most of the year.
All years are not affected. Based on my understanding (which could be totally wrong), the 03-16 trucks are the ones with the crappy foam bushings that fall apart.
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