F150 Coil Spring and Radius Arm repair

[@w.c.6678]

The BEST Harbor Fright tool I ever got for Rusty bolts is a Chicago Electric 1/2 inch electric impact drill. It's about the size of a small football, and weight about 10 pounds. It stays in its drawer until the big dog needs to come out on a tough job. It works great! Saved me DAYS of messing with michigan rusty bolts on my cherokee!

[@ToyManFlyer1100]

😊😊😊... When it comes time to undo the Front Torsion Bar,...Undo the Bottom Bolt , washer and Nut connected to the short link...That way, the assembly drops down...The top bolt interferes with that drop down motion....😊😊

[@JonnyCrash]

So much rust. I was stationed in Germany for a few years where they also use a lot of salt during the winter. Seeing all that rust reminds me of working on some of the beater cars I owned when I was there. The worst one was a 2000 Ford Focus wagon. I had to replace the entire front frame crossmember (a pretty heavy, stamped piece) on it when I found that it was completely rusted through in some spots that I found when I was replacing the control arms and ball joints. I'm living in the southwest now. I'll never take a rust-free vehicle for granted again. I'm really enjoying your videos. A lot of good information to file away for later.

[@Foxboss9]

Thanks.. Rust free is very very rare here..

[@Dadsman544]

dude. i just found you so i dont know how much experience you have, but PB blaster is your best friend for rust.

[@John45acp]

Just wanted to say thanks for the tip of getting a port a power to move the front axel forward, Because there is no way i would have ever been able to move the axel far enough to get the Radius arm bushings out as well as in. Again thanks. I am redoing my whole front end parts on my crew cab 1995 F350.

[@Foxboss9]

I have seen people doing it with a ratchet strap around the bumper but I just had the porta power laying around.. Glad this helped out!! Thanks!

[@researchandbuild1751]

I'm glad I live in Oregon now , used to live in Wisconsin. In Oregon I don't have to deal with all the rust anymore Also I'm glad you bring out the fact that you have to torque lug nuts evenly. SOOOOO many shops don't do that. Ever since I started using a torque wrench on disc brakes, i've never had shaking/warping rotor problems since. I had my wife's car worked on a couple months ago to replace the struts. I always do brakes,etc myself on her car but for struts I had a local shop do it. Later on, a few weeks later, the car still would start to shake as soon as you would hit about 70MPH. usually that means the tires aren't balanced, but I had had that done not that long ago as well. Just for double checking, I then checked the torque on the lug nuts , i could barely even REMOVE the lug nuts on some of them!!!! They were on SOO tight! I couldn't believe this shop did this, I thought they were well known pros. So I took the wheels entirely off, put them back on, and properly torqued the front wheels to spec, all around. And believe it or not, the shaking at 70mph went away entirely! I sent a message to the mechanic shop about it and said I couldn't believe they did that (I literally had to STAND on the breaker bar to remove some of the lug nuts, not all of them but like 2 of the five, on both front tires). They gave me some excuse that yes they usually use "torque bars" and it shouldn't have happened. I'm like, you should torque manually, it's the only way to be precise and correct. They offered me a free oil change for the hassle lol. I think a LOT of people don't know you need to be aware of this. Most tire shops even probably screw it up too. I've gone through lots of rotors on my cars until I started to use a torque wrench. It makes a HUGE difference.

[@roscoe4130]

I own a 88 f150 have you experienced real bad shaking in low speeds I've replaced all bushings and ball joints, steering gear, new rotors, front calipers, front pads, front bearing, brake master cylinder, brake booster, got it aligned, new tires, rebalance wheels checked for bend wheel, energy suspension radius arm bushing, sway bar bushing and links,I did notice what you said about torque the wheels evenly but tryed that, I got the new rotors cut thinking the rotors may have been warped out the box and the guy that had cut them said they were but still shakes in low speed very badly shakes the dash high speed shakes very little but fast

[@Jacksongamma]

I have a couple of potential ideas. To start, I say give the pivot bushings a check. I’ve seen some that are like nearly disengaged and causes the twin I beam to be ever worse than of a design that it already is. Sounds crazy but does it shake when your foot is on the acceleration pedal or at all times?I’m almost thinking maybe your motor mounts could be bad. On idle my door panel shakes all over the place because the motor and body mounts are bad. Also, I know it seems random, but you never know; another issue I ran into was that my rear drums brakes would constantly seize. They could very well be failing or getting stuck and that may be causing a vibration. Let me know if you have checked any of these. I’ll keep looking into potential ideas as they pop into my head.

[@Jacksongamma]

If those drums are somewhat stuck it will reduce the rear wheels from rotating as well and the rear tires will skid a little bit and cause a vibration. Happened to me. Anything is possible. In your case it’s tough to figure out since you changed so many components.

[@roscoe4130]

I figured it out always had problems with the brakes not having a pedal, but what was making the front end shake was the star adjuster was not locking once I figured that out it went away

[@DS-mo6md]

I'm about to do a whole front end on a 1991 Econoline... I ended up buying the moog 1420 lbs.. but not sure if it's supposed to be 1200 pounds. It's a 5.0. The other problem is the vans have a double bolted top spring retainer and I'm not sure... do the bolts thread into the I beams?? I just got 3/4 - 14 7 1/2" bolts.. but 3" of thread and the rest smooth.. I hope i didn't get the wrong bolts again... I'm doing rad brackets and arms too so.. why is it so hard to get the right hardware.. took me forever to get the right body insulators too. went to get yellow zinc washers for those bolts to sit on the body under the carpet and they send me regular steel... you cant win even when youre right.. lol

[@shanesmith5603]

I have replaced everything in the front end of my 1996 2wd f150. Except the radius arms.. I want to know if I replaced them would the bump steer stop. It's insane in my f150. Will send you to another lane .if they are big pot holes .at say 65 mph.

[@LouRock]

Those are actually the correct shock forgot what there called but my springs are close at the top three coils but not touching those were shot !

[@Foxboss9]

The springs I replaced were 1 year old.It was the second set of springs that I bought new that did the same thing so I had the problem for years even though the springs were not old at all.. Just needed to upgrade to Heavier springs..

[@codytownsend3966]

I just got a 93 i6 and it's bad this video literally saves me $100s thank you soooo much

[@IntegraDIY]

Wire wheel attachments to an grinder and a drill, take off all the rust scales.. than use a product called Fluid Film. Best stuff ever.

[@michaelcarroll9084]

What is the model number of the Port-a-Power? I went to Amazon and was unable to find it,there were many models of this product but none like you used in the video. Thank You, Mike

[@Trple777]

Bottom nut is more like a 28mm no? I tried today with 1 1/8” and it’s too big. The 1 1/16 is too small. Left the truck lifted for now. Will go back to it soon but neither one of those fit on my truck at least. A real pain

[@matthewmosher1970]

Thanks for the video! This is going to be a big help in the near future!

[@Foxboss9]

You are welcome.. Good Luck!

[@jasondrick2648]

Very helpful sir! Bought to do it to mine.

[@kolbyhaynes9065]

Headers looking nice

[@Foxboss9]

👍😁

[@72fordmaverick]

Use a angle grinder to cur the spring once u have removed the pressure from it and it will allow u to get socket on it alot easier without adding a 2foot extension.

[@Foxboss9]

car guy got to reinstall it though..

[@conejoloco7502]

Where did you find the information for the torque specs on the coil spring and shock absorber?? Thanks

[@doncrews6710]

When you do the upgrade to towing package springs it would be wise to upgrade the coil spring tower's also. otherwise the front end is just gonna bounce more. And from the looks of yours they wont last long with a higher spring rate load. Coil spring tower's for the towing package use's dual shock's and are much stronger.

[@Foxboss9]

Coil spring perches are identical for the F150 regardless of engine options stripped out or fully loaded, using 4.9 5.0 or 5.8 liter so there is no "upgrade" perch. When going to a "heavier" coil, because F150's use the same perch, The overall installed height of the coil is identical so you would not experience any additional bounce just a more supportive, firmer ride. Although this trucks perches had rust(NE Ohio all do) there wasn't any deterioration that allowed movement in the mount. Until 2 weeks ago I drove the truck daily with no adverse effects and 3 months ago towed our Travel Trailer with a weight distribution hitch pulling (5800lbs) with 700lbs in the bed 200 miles at 55 to 75mph without even a creak from the suspension. . If the truck stays in the rust belt. like it currently is, and is driven through the winters, I would suspect The perches will need replaced in about 3 years.

[@Foxboss9]

This applies to 2wd.. 4wd has the option of dual shocks

[@doncrews6710]

+Foxboss9 When you tear it down to replace the shock/spring towers just a fyi stay clear of the NOS. they where bad from the start. I live in the rust belt also and have a 89 full size bronco that only has 60,000 miles on it and I had to replace the entire suspension. All the suspension part's (spring towers leaf spring hangers, radius arm and bracket's) all shaled out. found this to be a problem on bronco's, F series truck's rangers & econoline vans. You might want to also check the oil pan on your truck living in the rust belt. Early 80's through the late 90's are well known to blister and leak oil, again another part made with poor metal and not painted correctly in the manufacturing process.

[@Foxboss9]

+Don Crews I agree. I replaced all the rear spring perches and shackles on this 95 f150 and the truck prior to this one a 94 f150. Also on this one I replaced the oil pan. While the pan was off I installed a new oil pump and pickup. The most shocking part that rusted out on me was my radius arms.. One of them actually snapped when pulling into my driveway ( video on that too). Of course both gas tanks and the bed and cab corners have been replaced too. During the winter, NE Ohio loves to salt the roads!

[@JohnKaufmann]

Good repair man. THAT was a disaster waiting to happen.

[@Foxboss9]

Thanks!! It was a scary prospect!

[@jasonlink9284]

Does the latch for the coil spring interlock with the strut tower ; opposite of the bolt side? Like where there is a notch in it? Thanks!

[@tj8771]

Radius arm is no longer available through link, do you know of another supplier?

[@ePRmu]

Thanks for the upload! Great information. Quick question: I replaced my coils on a 95 351 f150 with new moog cc822 springs. I noticed the new coils had more rings than the old one. Is it okay for the rungs near the top to almost be touching after installed?

[@Foxboss9]

Coil stack is NOT normal, However, you may not experience any problems... But, If you don't like the trucks stance or ride I would go for the towing springs(video description)..They felt much better to me once installed...

[@ePRmu]

Thank you for the quick reply. +1 Subscriber

[@allanblazek6214]

Just got new Camber caster bushings installed I still want to replace the springs myself because it looks easy To me will it affect my alignment? Please let me know if you need an alignment after changing them

[@Foxboss9]

Yes

[@kaitlynrich5540]

Where did you find a ford arm everything I see is dorman

[@karodbass4415]

What did you use to cut the bolt off

[@calvinyoung4942]

How much did all these rust related repairs cost? have a 1998 with similar problems. I am considering selling the unit and purchasing another van because of the rust issues and need to replace structural part. Mine is not as bad as yours. Would like to do, but getting a little old and have a lot of other things to do.

[@Foxboss9]

If you are in the Rust Belt and you are depending on the vehicle, then it's best just to purchase another. If you were in the Rust Belt and you just need a vehicle to drive back and forth to work there's no sense in subjecting a new vehicle to rust, just run what you have into the ground. And then go out and buy a new one.

[@brianneubecker4838]

You mentioned ford carrying the big ol center bolt that runs through the Ibeam any idea what the part number is or where to begin tracking one down? Im currently doing the same thing to my truck arm twist and all.

[@Foxboss9]

Let me just tell you that even if you do find it it's not going to be cheap that bolt was like $70 whenever I could locate it. That's why I went to all the trouble of reusing the old one. You may have to hunt one down at and Industrial Supply shop

[@brianneubecker4838]

Joy, and thank you. I was trying to avoid destroying mine but it didnt go so well..

[@CAS-ru5gm]

Great video! Thanks! I am gathering parts to do a nearly total replacement of the front suspension on my 1996 F-150 and this and your other videos are really helping me get prepped! One question... Do you happen to recall the bolt/nuts sizes that are used to connect the lower shock mount bracket to the radius arm? Using all new hardware and would like to get the proper bolt and nut before I begin. Have not been able to find this info. Thanks again!

[@Foxboss9]

CAS 1 Sorry, I am at a loss trying to recall any of the dimensions... Good luck

[@CAS-ru5gm]

Thanks for the rapid reply! Mine also is an Ohio truck so everything is so rusted I plan to just pull/cut it all out and replace with new parts.

[@cjkent3300]

You can buy the extended bolt from LMC Truck...I just got two in the mail...they were $12.95 each. I also got the nuts and the rubber stops that go on the bottom of the shock mounts. The part # for the bolts is 40-0725. I got the radius arms off eBay new for $46 each...Dorman 522-389. I would never buy Dorman anything, but here it saved me $120 and they fix well.

[@CAS-ru5gm]

CJ Kent Thanks for that info CJ Kent. Actually I do have all of those parts but what I can't seem to find are the /nuts for the "45-2745 LOWER SHOCK MOUNT" from that same diagram you ordered from. How did you mount this bracket? Did you reuse the old hardware? I have a bad corrosion problem here so just want to use all new hardware. Thanks again for your reply. It is very appreciated! :-)

[@Purosanluispotosi]

I Ned to to that bushing on my 95 but they are rusty bad

[@Funkedelic84]

How do you find the new springs? I went for the heavy duty springs for me e150 and it sits a little too high. I can't decide if I should go with the regular duty springs or the inch shorter heavy duty spring to correct my camber and avoid the spring failure.

[@Foxboss9]

My Springs worked out great. The increase in overall height was approximately 1/2" so no problems with alignment..

[@mrwoodrow]

I wonder if the parts will fit 4wd?

[@allanblazek6214]

question about your sway bar does it work good? my truck has always been missing one and my handling is horrible my whole front end is pretty wore out too

[@Foxboss9]

If your truck doesn't have a sway bar on the front end you need to go to the junkyard and get one immediately. There is a huge difference with a sway bar on the front. Make sure you get all new bushings if you get one at a junkyard

[@allanblazek6214]

@@Foxboss9 perfect thank you!!!! im going to do that!!!!

[@giskard80]

im gonna go from the top...all the way down in..with extensions...CUT! 2 hours and 3 cans of PB later, 'so, i got the coil spring off, and' :)

[@Foxboss9]

giskard80 rusty a$s stuff😊

[@giskard80]

just did a new knuckle with new ball joints, and a new warn hub on the passengers side of my 95, the old ball joints weren't terrible, but one of them had a bind in it, so bad the steering would be 'dry' if i was anywhere past center toward the pass side. Never seen anything like that before, but some moogs solved the problem. next is manifolds. Just wanted to say thanks for posting this stuff up, I watch you do it, then I do it too lol.

[@roblittle5083]

was wanting to know where to get the control arm holder? mine is rusted. thanks

[@Foxboss9]

Ford OEM

[@joshuaoverton196]

I am trying to change the spring on The from of my 4x4 bronco I jacked the jack up as high as it would go and put a jack stand Under it but I can’t get it to drop enough to let complete tension off the spring what do you suggest?

[@Foxboss9]

Double check to make sure that you disconnected the shock mount and also the sway bar mount. At that point you may have to push down to allow clearance for the spring to be removed. If somebody has installed oversized Springs you may have to go to the parts store and rent a spring compressor.

[@billlambert6157]

I just did my 95 150 4x4 and had to replace coil bracket one the body is as high as it will go I just pushed the axle down with my weight to get the spring to go back into the bracket but you need a spring compressor also but my compressor would not compress it enough thus me pushing down on the on the axel

[@billlambert6157]

Also you have to jack the body not the axel

[@sonofavet]

Hi...1996 F150 2wd Can you tell me what wrench size the nut was you ground off that goes thru the radius arm? The nut that holds the spring was 1 1/8 wrench size this one is bigger. Both radius arms are rusted bad and trying to replace them. Thank You. nice video!

[@Foxboss9]

D. Murka not sure, I used a pipe wrench...

[@brutalblues]

My 93 4wd F150 xlt radius arm nut was 1 1/8”, the same as the spring nut. Heaven help you if you decide to replace the radius arm itself like I did!

[@curtislawson4518]

is the i-beam actually threaded or is the bolt just rust locked in it?

[@brutalblues]

curtis lawson the I beam is threaded on top (stud) and the bottom one is a big bolt that screws into what looks like a nut welded in place. If you look into the hollow arm just under the u-joint you can see it.

[@curtislawson4518]

the reason i ask is i tried using the pb blaster and a 1/2 drive breaker bar. it was so stuck it broke drive off the bar

[@nicholaspandolfo9458]

Did you ever do the pivot axle I beam bushings?

[@Foxboss9]

No.. Sorry

[@nicholaspandolfo9458]

I need you to make that video please becsuse I rely on you to learn how to do my repairs great ball joint video

[@alanbarth6798]

how did you remove coil spring?

[@Foxboss9]

+Alan Barth follow all the steps up to removing the nut at the bottom of the spring.. at that point push down slightly on spindle/I-beam and it will allow the top of the spring enough clearance to clear the upper cup area and pull straight out.. On some trucks the spring wants to fall out without any effort at all..

[@SheepDog7071]

I know this is an old video but brother it was obvious that you had the wrong shock on that baby. The shock was holding your axle up and compressing your spring,,you should have noticed that when you disconnected the shock, that the coil relaxed. The shock is not supposed to hold anything, only to put downward force on the tire.

[@Foxboss9]

those are the correct shocks that are on there. the suspension was fully unloaded so the shock would then support that I beam along with the sway bar and radius arm. my F 250 is the same way. if I want to remove the coils off of it in the same manner that I did in this video on the F 150 I have to have tension on the suspension to remove the shock from its mount. at that point I can then allow the coil full extension to release it from its pocket mount. the only way that shocked with C that limiting force would be if I was off roading with a two wheel drive and the vehicle left the ground on the front end. that's why they have limiting straps for guys that hardcore off road because of the shocks can't handle it.

[@robertyeary5633]

is this the same thing as a ranger

[@Foxboss9]

kind of.. little different though..may want to search KZbin for a ranger video..

[@andrewsoltis459]

I'm having trouble sourcing the pivot bolt. Any help is appreciated.

[@Foxboss9]

+Andrew Soltis Local industrial supply or bite the bullet and pay the big $ for Ford.. I ran into the same problem so I reused my old ones that had barely any damaged from grinding off the nuts(thankfully).. Good Luck!!

[@andrewsoltis459]

+Foxboss9 Yes, I removed the nut the same way you did. I ground down both sides of the nut and used channel locks to twist it off. I called a ford dealership and they couldn't source the bolt. They said it was an obsolete part. I'm trying to get the bolt out now. I can turn the bolt but it won't back out. Any suggestions on getting it out? I've used quite a bit of PB blaster so far. As well as a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

[@Foxboss9]

+Andrew Soltis put a nut on the end of the bolt and try to hammer it out at the same time running the impact on the head(in reverse obviously).. The same obstruction that is keeping the bolt from dropping out will provide a place for the bolt threads to "bite" but you have beat the bolt to get the threads down to that point.. Once the threads grab remove the nut and impact the bolt the rest of the way out

[@andrewsoltis459]

+Foxboss9 Yes, I was thinking along those lines. Didn't think of putting the nut on though. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@Foxboss9]

+Andrew Soltis yea, you don't want to damage the end threads of the bolt.. Good luck

[@jonothanl4886]

Oil Spray that old girl every year. Its a thing in Canada. When done correctly, it makes a big difference. my 1980 is rust free because of it.

[@user-rr7hm5up3m]

You need to show more on your video of how that spring come off your fake videos

[@DS-mo6md]

ooooooo spring perch and a second bolt... ugh.. lol

[@2guns908]

That truck in gone..fuuucckk😆

[@Foxboss9]

John Doe you would think. But you'd be wrong. It is currently on Facebook Marketplace for sale yet again with a different owner and asking $2,000 for it. Here In the Rust Belt as long as the frames or solid you keep on driving them. Surface rust does not mean anything in this state.

[@rickobrien4025]

i guess you live somewhere that they put salt on the road, huh ?

[@Foxboss9]

During the winter months, I sometimes wonder if the roads are actually paved with salt. :-) NE Ohio. where 3 months a year the Blacktop is white. Either with snow or salt..