I'm replacing the disintegrating cab mount bushings on my 90 f250 4x4 with new polyurethane ones and am having troubling removing the old mounts. Problem is the lower flange piece is mushroomed inside the upper piece. Instructions from bushing manufacturer say to remove with a drift -- but if I hit it any harder I'm going to damage something. All I can think of now is trying to get something inside the upper piece from above and grind off the flange (which is waht I'm supposed to do once it is off for reassembly anyway.

If anyone has solve this before, I'd appreciate your advice.

Thanks

 

I know what your sayin'! I had to cut the bushing, massacre I should say, basically chisel them out, then used a cut off wheel to remove. Ford no longer carries most of the pieces. Had to doctor mine at the flange or mushroom to reuse these. Also had the machine shop fab the ones that I couldn't salvage, this worked out better than tryin' to reuse the old anyway(should have done this in the first place!). One other thing I ran into was rusting were the bushing and washer sit, used sign blanks to decrease the hole size and add a little bit extra to the mounts. Make sure you get all the spacing washers back in where they came from, unless your cab is tilted, then you may have to add or subtract a couple to get things all even. Only do one side at a time, this way the cab is still connected to the frame, I used a 2' 2x4 and a Hi-lift jack to raise one side at a time, when you get to the second side, leave the first just a little loose, this will give some "play" when raising it on the other, the old ones will most likely have more than enough give to get the first side. Good Luck and do expect them to go with a fight! Chuck P.

 

Use a drift as the instructions say but thread a bolt in from underneath just far enough to extend beyond the top of the mushroomed portion of the bushing (use a bolt you can discard and grind off any burrs before you unthread it from the bushing). Use a decent size hammer and strike HARD and repeatedly.I found that using a visegrip to hold the drift while hammering keeps it from flying, in other words clamp it on the drift and use 2 hands to control the hammer. It is not an easy job! especially the rear ones where space is tight. I replaced the cab bushings in my 89 F150 last fall. Lots of sweat and foul language required!
Good luck

 

Thanks a bunch for the advice, folks.

I think I'll give the vice grip idea a try next weekend.


-Dylan

 

Man, you guys are sure doing it the hard way!
1. Get 12-pack of your favorite beer;
2. Get a 2 or 3-ft. chunk of angle iron;
3. Drill a 1/2 in. hole in the center of one face of the angle iron;
4. Underneath the truck, thread one of the mount bolts up through the angle iron hole up into the mushroomed cab mount;
5. Get some short chunks of 2 x 4 (or whatever) and shim the angle iron so it's horizontal and WELL-BRACED to the bottom of the truck;
6. Power guzzle six of beers;
7. Put a socket and a rachet to the bolt and pop that ***** out.
I read the same instructions you did, about beating that thing out with a hammer and a piece of rod, and figured there had to be an easier way, and being the lazy, drunken sort, I did.
Eddie

 

Well, success finally.

In regards to the above post -- I did attempt to make a pull type system at several points, but didn't have appropriate materials -- 2x4s didn't cut it -- they began to crack before the bolts budged! In retrospect, I should have gone out and bought a length of sturdy pipe and drilled a hole for the bolt. I good puller would be the best way and would avoid flailing around with a heavy hammer in the cab. I would recommend constructing a puller or drilling the pieces out rather than hammering (although hammering eventually worked on three of four for me).

So just to add my experiences to this thread:

Front bushings: no sweat, no mushroomed flange pieces to worry about. Hardest part is getting a socket and ratchet down to the upper nut with the battery and washer fluid reservoir in the way.

Middle bushings (access under cab carpet): These were the *******s. I threaded some bolts I bought in from above to hammer on. I couldn't buy a long enough 7/16 bolt at the hardware store to really clear the cab floor, so it was tricky not to bash the floor when hammering. This worked for the left one, but the right never moved at all. I eventually gave in and used a 3/4" drill bit to drill from above -- this was the right size to just drill off the mushroomed portion -- I should have done this first and avoided all the flailing.

Rear bushings (access behind seat): These went easily: I threaded in a long bolt from above and gave it several thwacks. Lots of room to swing the hammer here and it only took a couple of blows.

Thanks for all the advice - these forums are great!