Hey I’m having trouble finding suspension kits for any of the trucks a really. Am I just overlooking all of them or are they actually difficult to find sometimes. This is my first project so I don’t know all the good sites to go to yet. I have only been able to find things on Moog for some of fords smaller vehicles. If anyone could help me find suspension rebuild kits for my 76 F-250 RWD that would be AMAZING!! Thank you!

 

What specifically are you looking for?

The radius rod bushings and I beam bushings are both available from rock auto from various manufacturers. Also pretty much the rest of the suspension parts are also avalible from them.

 

double post

 

A lot of I’m seeing for the steering and suspension is for the 4WD variants of the truck. Are they the same for the 2WD trucks as well?
And what specifically am I looking for? Well I’m looking to rebuild the steering and suspension for right now and taking it back to the original quality is all. I know I could order each and every part individually but being young and new to rebuilding things I don’t want to miss something or mess up an order and not knowing the correct part to order. That’s why the idea of the whole kit is appealing to me so then I know I have all the pieces and all of the replacement hardware as well

 

Ok no prob. To see the item on the included exploded view below just match up the numbers.

So you will need all the rubber bushings. This includes the radius rod bushings or as rock auto calls them Control arm bushings. (3B203 on the below pic)

The I beam pivot bushings or as rock auto calls them Alxle bushings. (3B177)

For the rear you will need the leaf spring bushings. (not on this exploded view but self-explanatory)

That will cover all the rubber suspension parts for a 2WD.

For steering the components,

There are the, tie rod ends 3 in total (One is more like a drag link)
You will have a left inner a left outer and an adjusting sleeve (3280) and a right-hand tie rod (3304) which goes from the pitman's arm to the right side spindle and is some times called a draglink..

You will also want to check the kingpins for wear and they will likely have to replace them and their bushings (3111) (every number with a ■ or ♦ by it is was in the factory kingpin replacement kit)

Of course, you need things like new shocks front (18124) and rear (not shown) but that sort of goes without saying.

All of the above stuff is readily available from rock auto or your fav part supplier.

There really is not a whole kit for all this stuff most of it will need to be bought separately.

But now that you have an exploded view of the front suspension, if there is anything on that you are not sure what it is or is called just shout out the number and some one will be able to tell you exactly what it is.

 

If you're looking to rebuild the front suspension to include king pins it is easiest to tale the I-beam and radius arm as a unit and then take it to a shop to have the king pins done. A reamer will need to be purchased if you're going to do it yourself and requires a skill set most don't have to include many mechanics. Find an old timer who has practice at doing it you'll be happy with the results. With your new king pins installed familiarize yourself with how to keep them lubed and they will last you a long time.

 

So you are suggesting to start off with replacing all of the rubber bushings for the suspension first before I go ahead and replace any parts unless necessary? And along with that inspecting and possibly replacing the kingpin and kingpin bushings? Then getting new left tie rod ends and adjusting sleeve, and right tie rod as well. Getting new front and rear shocks is also a part of the plan. Sorry if I seem like I have no idea what I’m doing but I’ve simply never worked on suspension like this and don’t want to mess anything up. Thank you once again!

 

This depends on how far you want to go. If you want to bring it back to factory original ride quality then yes. If the existing kingpins are tight then you could leave them. The same goes for the tie rod ends.

The rubber bushings if they have not been replaced will be well on their way to being perished being that they are now some 45 years old.

If you want post pics of the rubber bushings and we can give you an idea of their condition.

Also do forget about youtube there are lots of good instructional videos there on how to inspect and replace some of these items.

And as noted you will likely not be able to do the kingpins on your own. But you can remove the spindles and bring them in to have new the bushings installed and renamed. But that is still 15 steps down the road to be worrying about that just yet.

 

On a side note if you replace the coil springgs there was a variable rate spring you could get in the suspension package on the "camper special" that are hands down the best upgrade you could make to the front suspension. It will ride like an old buick electra 225.

 

Heck yeah! That’s what I’ve got is a 76 Camper Special!!

 

Yeah even I can tell that all of the bushings will need to be replaced. They’re dry, cracking, and almost disintegrating where they are. Thank you guys for all of the help and input on what direction I should go!!

 

Does it have factory anti-sway bars front and rear and a limited slip rear end?

 

I know it was the sway bars but I’m not sure about the LSD, will they always come with each other?

 

I used energy suspension polyurethane bushing kit on my 78 f150. Drives much nicer , more firm than the rubber bushings. Been in for about 12 years.