I was looking under my truck today and well my front end isnt doing so well, the radius arm bushings are starting to fall apart and on one side went missing. But i guess for how ever long the bushing went m.i.a. it made the bracket get destroyed and is no where near a circle. I ordered a new bracket/bushings all around. I plan on drilling the rivets out and then grinding the rest off, is there an easier way to do it? I have access to a small shop, but id like to do it in ny drive way. Anyone ever under go this lil project that can offer me some insight? Anything helpful is appreciated.

 

Use a torch to heat up the rivets, then use an impact hammer to chisel them out. Saw it done on an episode of Trucks on Spike TV.

 

It depends on what tools you have available and how much space you have to work with. When i did some spring hangers a few years ago i used a grinder to grind the rivet head completely flush.

When i was done what i could see was clean metal with a circle in it.

That circle is the rivet where it passes through the frame.

I hit that dead center with a heavy duty punch & 3 lb sledge hammer to drive the rivet out. If i remember right, i did use the torch to heat the area up because that makes em' easier to drive.

When it was finished there were four neat holes in the frame exactly where they were meant to be.

I think if you tried to drill the rivets out the bit would invariably end up wandering off center & you'd end up with holes that don't match up with the new control arm brackets ?

 

I recently removed the brackets on my 91 2WD. was fairly simple. How you do it really depends on the tools you have available. Methods have already been mentioned: You can drill the heads off the rivets, you can grind the heads off the rivets or you can torch the heads off the rivets, Or any combination of these; Then simply drive the rivet shank and tail through frame. If you're replacing the brackets and have access to a Oxy/Acet. torch I would use this method it would certainly be the quickest and the damage you might do to the brackets won't matter.

Make sure to jack the truck and securely support on the frame with good jack stands. FWIW I drilled the heads off the rivets and re-used the brackets. FYI you will probably have to replace the bushing heat shield on the passenger side - MOOG K8729. I had a much more difficult time driving the rivets out of the passenger side on my 5.8L truck - 20+ Years of Heat from the Cat - I think!

Remember to re-assemble using Grade 8 Hardware and steel lock nuts or at a minimum lock washers. Nyloc nuts will not handle the heat from the exhaust on the passenger side.

ToddsSS, Benton AR

 

Fairly easy. Torch the riviots and soak with pb

 

There is a fuel line on the drivers side that passes right next to 3/4 of the rivets so I used a drill, grinder and a 7/8 cold chisel. Took some time but it worked just fine