does anyone sell the metal washer/sleeve combo that goes through the upper cab mount bushing? trying to upgrade mine to polyurethane mounts and my upper sleeve/retainer is rusted out.
Could I also just sleeve it with an appropriately sized piece of stainless tubing?
and oh, for a 1979 F150

 

I thought about this too. Factory used two washers with attached tubes that "swaged" themselves together as the bolt was tightened, I've heard it said they compressed the rubber this way as they set the cab's clearance above the frame. Polyurethane is not as compressible as rubber. I suspect the polyurethane is made to fit correctly with proper spacing with minimal compression.

My first idea was using washers about 3" OD, but with only a 7/16" center hole, even if I had to spot weld 7/16" ID washers in the center of larger 3" OD washers. I was gonna use steel water pipe for my spacers, 1/2" ID .... and make each in two pieces, or one piece and cut center. I was gonna weld one to a washer for top, and one same for bottom, and use 7/16" nuts with the factory bolts, double locking each with a separate second nut.

Another idea was to just use one piece of the 1/2" ID steel pipe welded to one washer and insert it from below. ... but still have a washer with a hole small enough it will not push down on the pipe. Each pipe would be cut to length of the two bushings for that position. The spacers do not support the cab weight, they limit compression of the polyurethane bushings. One would not have to weld the pipe to the lower washer, I just thought might ease install. I would well paint, even coat the bolts with never sieze. On the outer, a good coat of paint or even Iron Armor bed liner.

Just my thoughts as the upper polyurethane will set the cab's level off the frame. I'd use thicker walled pipe, not tube. I might would look at using something like a 3/4" OD Pipe even if I had to bush it down for the 7/16" bolts. I just would want something that is not gonna crush when I tighten thiose bolts, and I only want to compress those bushings a little bit for snugness, not a lot like rubber.

 

I might try the sleeve and washer method. No good reason to weld the sleeve to the washer, right? It's being held on by the bolts anyway. I'll need to think this over a bit more. Hard to believe the cab is only held on to the frame by 4 bolts.

 

found these for Jeeps. not sure what the dimensions are and can't see to find them listed anywhere.

 

Yeah, and little 7/16" ones at that, not even some big honkin' inch bolts .... Gotta be good steel.

I agree, if the pipe can't go through the washers, it'll be perfect for spacing. A 1/2" steel schedule 40 water pipe is 0.840" OD and 0.622" ID, so 1/2" or even 9/16" grade 8 bolts wound work, and see about making some 3" OD 1/2" or 9/16" ID heavy flat washers. My measuring tells me that the water pipe will go through all of the poly bushings. My question is how much compression should I go for? Poly will not compress like rubber, so maybe an 1/8" or 3/16" overall. If it proved too loose, be easy to pull the sleeve spacers one at a time then
and trim a little shorter. I updated my picture. My set is maybe different numbers, "Prothane" kit I found on Ebay never used, guy just cleaning his shop up.




And I'm not sure where I found this below, but he made his telescoping?

 

how do you know if it’s too loose? cab starts sliding around? lol. I might try one if the retainers I listed above for the Jeep’s

 

doublepost ........................

 

Those shiney rings are "molded into the poly" metal sleeves that fit snug in the frame's holes, then you'll have bolts up through them in steel tubes so the bushings would have move with the cab floor. Those molded in metal sleeves will keep them in place on the frame holes.

What I'll do is measure from frame to cab floor at each bushing, and compare that to the new bushing height. Just as an example, that top bushing (#3) for the cab rear is 1-5/16" tall not counting the metal molded in piece. As best as I recall, my cab floor is like 1-1/4" above the frame there. So, I don't figure there's much squish to do ... hence my plan to allow 1/8" squish. .

Too tight will result in the cab floor too close to the frame and no give for when the frame flexes, a rough ride will result.

Too loose will let the molded in ring be pushed out of the frame hole.

Just right is "just right".
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