IDI Body Mount Replacement

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hesutton

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Many thanks to Heath Sutton for doing a fine write up on this difficult project! The original discussion with all the comments is HERE. - Mel
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I recently replaced the body mounts on my '86 crew cab as part of a host of upgrades.......... See these posts for those details.....Part #1 Part #2

I had several questions come up about the process of replacing the body mounts and I thought I share my experience with the brotherhood.

I decided to use Energy Suspension's polyurethane body mounts, Part number 4.4107G (G=black, R=red).
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I also got a three pack of their special lube to keep the polyurethane from squeaking, Part number 9.11110
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These are the bushing for the front clip (left), front of the cab (middle), and rear of the cab (right). Of course you get one set for each side of the frame.
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Loosen the four cab mount bolts and the two front clip bolts next to the radiator support. My front clip is currently off the truck. The front cab bolts are under a plate in the floor board.


Front
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Rear
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Take the two cab bolts out on the side you want to replace 1st. Leave the opposite side loose, but don't take the bolts out. Then get a jack and lift the working side of the cab up.
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More to follow:

Heath
 
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hesutton

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Each body mount bushing has a two part washer/sleeve. The two ends are held together with a flair fit in the center. To get them apart and the old bushings out, you have to make a puller to pull them apart. Too bad that is not part of the kit from Energy Suspension.


You need the following to make your puller:

A five inch long piece of three inch diameter exhaust pipe:
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Roughly a nine inch length of grade 8 7/16th all thread with course threads. Three grade 8 7/16th nuts. A thick (not thin) washer that is a bit larger than three inches in diameter. A few small 7/16th washers to act as a bearing between the nut and the large washer.
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It takes quite a bit of force to pull these apart. I learned the hard way, that less than grade 8 hardware will not survive the endeavor. For the same reason, I'd not recommend using the stock bolts as part of your puller set up.



The driver's side rear cab mount is blocked by the front fuel tank. Take off the skid plate if so equipped. Loosen the rear support band, remove the front support band and lower the tank onto a jack stand. Don't go too far, otherwise you could damage the lines going to and from the sending unit. Best to do this with an empty tank as well. Once you do this, the driver's side mount is visable.
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The passenger's side rear mount is much easier to work on as are the front cab mounts.
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Slip the piece of exhaust pipe over the lower body mount bushing.
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Assemble the puller as seen below. Lube the threads/washers with antiseize.
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Tighten the nut against the large washer/pipe and hold the 7/16th all thread at the bottom (with two nuts locked together) with a wrench. Continue until the two halves of the sleeves have been pulled apart. It will take a lot of work and thread to do this. The rubber will compress and stretch a lot more than you'd think.
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More to follow:

Heath
 
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hesutton

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Here are the old rubber bushings with their sleeves from the rear of the cab.
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The sleeves have been removed to show you all the parts of the stock body mount bushings.
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New (left) and old (right) rear cab bushings side by side.
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Here is a shot of the puller being mounted on the passenger's side front cab mount.
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If you are having trouble separating the metal sleeve from the old rubber bushing....... give this a try. Compress the rubber bushing in a vice. It will squeeze the sleeve loose and you can pry it out of the old bushing.
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More to follow:

Heath
 
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hesutton

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This is the old passenger's side front cab mount and it's sleeve.
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The old (left) front cab mount and the new (right) front cab mount. Notice the difference in height. It was worse with the weight of the cab on the old bushing.
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I used an air dremel with a burr to remove the old flair on the sleeves. I did this for two reasons. One, to make reassembly easier on me, and two, to make this job easier to do in ten years.:D
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Lube all the contact points on the new polyurethane bushing with the special assembly lube. Insert the factory sleeves and you are ready to put them on the truck.
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Once you have all the mounts on one side done, start the bolts on the side you just finished, but don't tighten them down. Take the bolts out of the opposite side and move your jack to that side of the cab and lift it up. Repeat the process above. Now make sure your cab hasn't shifted position with all that raising and lowering. If so, get it as close to the factory position as possible. Once the cab is in the right spot. Tighen down the bolts and put your fuel tank back in its place. Then enjoy the truck. I didn't show any photos of the front two mounts. They fell off when I removed the bolts and require no pulling. But, keep the factory shims/spacers together and on the correct side. Place the factory shims over the new bushings when reinstalling everything.

Sorry I had to rush to get this done. I've been busy this week. I will go back and label the photos in my webshots album to reflect what was said here.

Heath
 
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hesutton

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Thanks for this. It's very thorough. Did you secure the cab after jacking it up or just leave it on the jack? I'm having a hard time picturing a cab jacked up on one side sitting on jackstands.

I left it on the jack. It was only a few inches off the top of the body mount bushings. Just enought to get the old ones out and the new ones in.

You gotta becareful not to put your fingers between the cab and those bushings or the frame. Don't want to have a crushed finger.

Heath
 

hesutton

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Alright call me slow to join the party but I think I now understand. The mounts have a sleeve and the sleeve has an internal thread at one end. As the mount is tightened the sleeve goes from || to <> (similare to a molly wall anchor) thus creating the PIA to remove. Top to bottom it goes body, top half mount, frame, bottom half mount?

Am I right? If I used hockey pucks instead would I still use the sleeves?

Joe, there are no threads, it is a flare fit on the end of the bottom sleeve, like you said, added after the mount was put on the frame. My guess would be it was added way before the body was ever added during the assembly of the truck.

Yup, Body sits on the top bushing. The top bushing sits on the frame. The bottom bushing bolts to the bottom of the frame and contacts the upper bushing.

Hockey pucks for a body lift or to completely replace the bushings with the pucks?

Heath
 

hesutton

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Ahhh another light goes off. I now assume Ron used the puck with the mount to gain added height...Damn I need more coffee this morning.

Joe, I think you are right. Ron used the pucks to lift the body and inch or so. He put them on top of the stock mounts.

Heath
 

hesutton

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Thanks guys. I was my pleasure. I was most annoyed by the driver's rear mount as the tank made the whole procedure a huge PITA. The other mounts were less of a struggle. If I had the not tried to use the grade 5 hardware the 1st time, I would have saved some time and aggravation.

Mel, or whoever, just let me know what I need to do or change if this is to be added to the Tech Section and I'll be happy to do so.

Heath
 

hesutton

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Great write up heath, I have the blacks with 60k on them, no noise ever.I used an axle nut socket as a puller to remove the front cab mounts , put a long gr 8 bolt in the rear from the top after soaking and hit with a big sledge, figured it would takemany whacks to remove, one did it. I like your puller, thin and functional

The sleeves do not need to be pressed back in , that swadgeing procedure was to keep the mounts from falling out of the frame at the factory when they rolled it all around, upside down, I saw pics once , cant remember where.

Thanks Russ. It is good to hear the black poly body mounts are quiet. A BFH works for a lot of things. LOL I agree with not needing to press the sleeves back together. I did remove that flair so the two halfs would slide together easily.

Heath
 

hesutton

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One other thing I will point out; the front fuel-tank interference must be a crew-cab thing, and possibly an extended-cab.

I don't remember the fuel-tank even being anywhere close on my standard-cab. ;Sweet

Damon, I had a look under my regular cab F250, and it is the same as the crew cab. The front tank blocks access to the driver's side rear cab mount. Sorry.

Heath
 
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