This time I have a question for those who have replaced their radius arm bushings. My 87 F150 (4X2) needs them. There are two ways to replace them and wondering which is easiest from those who done it. My radius arm bracket to frame is rivited, so those would have to be ground off if I choose to remove the bracket from frame method. Or, I could relieve the spring and unfasten the top of the shock and drop the I-beam down to allow enough movement to get the radius arm out of the rear bracket. Luckily, I have very little rust to deal with in getting the big nut broken free from the radius arm. My question, which method have you found to be the easiest?

 

Old master tech alignment man here
Both ways are hard
I've done it both ways a whole bunch of times
On a new or garaged kept truck, its pretty easy to pull the spring and radius rod right the hell out
On an old rusty beater, it's easiest to cut the rivets and then bolt the radius rod brackets back in
If you look at a '95 Bronco, those lower bolts have a special captured nut setup and Ford made special bolts to replace the rivets with
Pretty easy job if you have a sharp chisel bit and a good air hammer with plenty of compressed air
"X"ing the rivets with a dremmel tool helps

 

Yeah, I did the remove the rivets route on my '95, and yes, it was a very long day for that project! But if I ever have to replace the bushings again, should be a lot easier to just unbolt things!

 

Probably will end up grinding the rivits off.

 

When replacing the rivets, make sure the shoulder fills the hole and not the thread. Ford used to recommend going one size up if replacing a rivet with grade 5/8 hardware. Example, 7/16" hole = drill out to 1/2". I think the rivet is 3/8?