The radius arm brackets on my 2wd 78 F-150 are held on by bolts; from what I have read this most likely means the radius Arm bushings have been changed before and the rivets were ground off.

I am going to change the bushings over to poly.

Will there be tension on the radius arms if I unbolt them and take the brackets off one at a time? The frame will be on jackstands when I do this.

Any tips?

I read about a "candle trick in faqs" on an earlier post but I couldn't find anything about the candle.

D I need to watch out for compressed spring tension or anything?

MikeGV

 

Hmmm Never thought about takin out the rivets/bolts seems like alot fo work. I just undid the big nut on the radius arm, took the bottom of the shock off, pulled the wheel, supported the frame on jack stands, then using, well it was on a frame rack (ive got access to one so why not use it) but you can use a come along or something similar to pull the Ibeam Forward and the radius arm will come outta the bracket.

Dunno about a candle trick. Sry

 

UNless you have a hoist >
A floor jack,a come-along, the proper tools can get this job done without removing the wheel.
I just did this job on my truck in October on a hoist,it took about an hour.

Have fun

 

Removing the bolts is the easy way to do it. Nothing to pry around or pull on then. Remove the large nut first. Use the candle Trick that is listed in the Garage and Workshop forum Read First: FAQ thread. Any old candle can be used. I use broken ones, leftover stubs, or plumbers candles available at hardware stores. The bolts came loose with a combination wrench every time I have done this. Reassemble the bushing and bracket. Use new lockwashers or nylock nuts. Bolt the bracket to the frame, tighten bolts.

There will be some slight tension on the radius arm. I use a small scissors jack to support the arm to be on the safe side.

 

Should the hole in the bracket be round or oval?

 

Round. Should match the new bushings you have.

 

I read the FAQ thread in the 73-79 truck section twice and could not find the candle trick. Am I looking in the wrong FAQ?

 

I gound the rivets outta my old ranger and replaced the bushings, it worked like a charm!!.. Now I have to replace part of the bracket on my 77 f-150, the hole is ovalized and should be round I gather. So, I have a piece if 1/8 flat stock I'm gonna burn a hole and weld it to the bracket, it looks like it will work. Any Ideas?

 

From my previous post:

The information is here, you just have to pay attention.

Using some fab skills to make the hole round again is good. Just match the profile. If your radius arm is worn it may need to be replaced also.

 

Well, provide a link. Prove it!

 

Post #5

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=99689

 

If I provide an easy link they don't learn anything.

 

I wouldn't recommend anything but rubber for the radius arm bushings. Simply because I had them on my '79 F-150 and broke two pairs of brackets that mount the arm to the frame. I replaced them with regular rubber bushings and no more problems. It's scary driving down the road and having one of those brackets crack....you definately know something's wrong and get off the road as quick as you can!

 

Brian; thanks for your results. Any deflection with the compression of the radius bushings means very little to nothing in the alignment. Poly on the beam pivot points vs rubber will prevent a large variation in toe in or toe out changes when rubber sacks out and nornal use. You must keep an eye on the rubber radius bushing and replace them before they start to sack out from age, cracking or oil comtamination. Half poly / half rubber the last 425,000 miles is what I have been running. Thanks again to bring to light this topic.

Carl....=o&o>....

 

Wow, this is what I have to look forward to when I try to replace mine in the next week or two. I think I'll go with unbolting the end bracket on the frame instead of the main bolt holding the front of the radius arm to the spring and axle. I'll presoak the nuts and bolts with PB blaster first and dust off my impact wrench for easier removal.