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Great thread but FYI, the OEM style hardware is available, I got mine from LMC.
Original Ford "off the assembly line" parts? :)
What'd it take for you to squeeze the two parts together? :)
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On my '91 Bronco they didn't squeeze the mounts together far enough, they
were a good 3/8" shy of "right". So far I've fixed 6 of them and got two more
to do when I take the 8.8" out to put an Eaton True-Trac in it.
Thanks for posting this, I am going to give this a shot on my truck to save some money. If you are still around by chance, have they held up after all these years?
I am still around but I no longer have the truck. I ended up having to sell it before I finished it. I am not sure how it is holding up now.
Thanks for the write-up! I was just about to click order with LMC for about $180 - all the mounting hardware minus bushings.
Pretty sure I know what to get for the most part, my only questions is about washers. You, by chance, remember where you used washer? You mentioned using 2 fenders washers, was that so they didn't bend when torqued? I know top and bottom of bolt, but where else? Did you use shims for rad support?
Yes, I stacked the fender washers to make them thicker. I couldn't find anything that big at the time that was about 1/8" thick. Once I got it all bolted together I didn't have to use any shims for my truck. Once you get all the new bushings under the truck you should be able to see if you need any shims. I also suggest a lock washer or something to make sure the bolts don't back off.
Yes, I stacked the fender washers to make them thicker. I couldn't find anything that big at the time that was about 1/8" thick. Once I got it all bolted together I didn't have to use any shims for my truck. Once you get all the new bushings under the truck you should be able to see if you need any shims. I also suggest a lock washer or something to make sure the bolts don't back off.
Great. I ordered small stuff on LMC. I'll make the expensive lower sleeves. I always use top lock nuts. Those *******s hold! I'll probably use both here, considering.
I made my own as well. I did a step down as it was a very tight fit sliding the bottom bushing over the thicker tubing that fits the top bushing. I left some room for compression and will finish off with a flat washer and stover lock nut on the bottom.
Hey all, I just did this a few months back. I used 1/2 black steel pipe from home depot, see below link. I also used the large washers you can find in the grade 8 drawer at home depot. You can fit the monster sized grade 8 bolts as well, you just need to ream the pipe out a bit with a big drill bit. If you don't cut the pipe to exactly about 1/8" short of the height of the bushing it will either crack the bushing or it won't tighten, meaning use a chop saw and deburr the pipe when your done. Took me about 3-4 hours to do the job after having the old ones out already. You have to be precise.
