Bloody hell

[Mark K 2]

Just tried to replace the front sway bar bushings on my Wisconsin-based 14 year old Sport Trac. I wore myself out trying to get those four bolts loose. I gave up. Damned rust. Need air tools. Whew!

 

[RedRanger 7]

And some PB Blaster spray and a propane torch to warm things up. Wouldnt expect it to be an expensive job if you stopped by a muffler shop with your bushings. Good luck! :fire::supercool:

 

[swshawaii]

Agree with using penetrant and heat. Don't want to break those bolts, they are threaded into the frame. Only fix is retapping or using captured "flag nuts" inside the frame. PITA

 

[Igor Smetaniuk]

Mark K



Damn - Thanks for the heads up because I'm going to be doing '01 once the Northeast decides to get toasty out again. I always have success dowsing stuff with penetrant and heating with a torch. If it's a booger, I'll heat it up, spray it with ice water and then heat it up again. that expansion/contraction effect usually helps to break rust bonds. I only do that on bolts like these that don't play a major critical strength role.

 

[fred fdunfordcomcastnet]

Just wondering what kind of ride improvements can one expect to see with new bushings? Make sure to investigate the grease-able ones offered by a sponsor here?

 

[swshawaii]

 

[Dean Hedin]

And make sure you put either a good grease or anti-seize on the threads when you put them back (and new bolts if required). Good Luck.

 

[Johnny O]

The best rust penetrant is a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone. Just mix it in small batches because the acetone evaporates so fast and put it in a spray bottle. Trust me on this.

 

[Mark K 2]

There. Sprayed it yesterday and bought a 13 mm - 1/2" drive socket. They came right out today. Now I have new bushings and end links.

 

[James Hatch]

Mark, nice job...



Your truck has 2 years on mine, but I hope the rust on mine doesn't get that bad in 2 years!

 

[swshawaii]

Well done Mark, although the end links appear slightly over tightened, especially if they are Moog K7275 bushings. Tighten only until they start compressing.

 

[James Hatch]

double posted.. oops

 

[fred fdunfordcomcastnet]

Are changing the bushings done for noise reduction or is their noticeable ride improvements such as roll reductions?

 

[Mark K 2]

The stock bushings wear out and "rattle." I had Moogs installed in 2008 and they wore out, so I replaced them.

 

[Todd Z]

I have to measure the set I have here, I have a brand new set of polyurethane black bushings with brackets lying around.



Todd Z