Mission: Find that Mouse! and other issues...

[Chris R 2]

Aided with my trusty smartphone (I'm literally under my truck right now), I began my quest to locate and extinguish rear end suspension squeaks. Picked up a can of liquid wrench (Edit: Silicone Spray) and did a quick roll around. Here's what I found:



Mouse #1: Most noise. Silicone spray really helped here.

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Gotta replace these on both sides. The rubber looks completely trashed.

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Are these bushings bad?

Right leaf at frame:

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And left:

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Is this a bad gasket? It's not dripping but I don't think my oil changes are this messy:

Rear side of oil pan:

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Sorry if the pictures are bad. Was holding a flashlight and had limited space!

 

[Scott Tanner]

I have one of those rear leaks... I'm afraid mine is the rear main. It only leaks while running... It looks just like you picture.. Grrr. The other place these motors leak is by the drivers' valve cover rear where the PCV valve is.. Mine's drier than popcorn farts, so, It may be time to drop the tranny to get t the rear main this spring.... Dbl. Grrr.

 

[swshawaii]

Chris- Good for you, sometimes you just have to lay on your back and get dirty.

End link bushings may be OK unless they're splitting like your leaf spring bushings.

I would be inclined to replace them with polyurethane, much more durable than rubber.

Check the Energy Suspension or Prothane on line catalogs. Moog is not poly.



P.S.- Don't know about your oil leak. Sure some smart dudes here will chime in.

Nice shocks by the way, they look brand new! LOL :banana:

 

[Chris R 2]

Oh man! I was cleaning up some brake fluid spills, and saw this:



Front left and right radius arm bushings:



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At least I think that's what they are. Sorry I'm still learning all the tech terms.



So, poly bushings eh? Think I'm in for that.

 

[swshawaii]

Those are lower control arms (bushings). aka- LCA.



IIRC, Rodger (Georgia) bought a master kit

that included all bushings for the vehicle.

 

[swshawaii]

Check your body mount bushings while your under there.

 

[Shawn White]

It could be your pcv valve leaking oil, however some of the 4.0 SOHC engines have an issue with the oil filter adapter leaking. Ford released a TSB on the adapter stating that the metal used to cast the adapter was porous and the oil is leaking from the adapter itself. Go through and clean the wet areas off and then wait and see where the leak comes from. My adapter is leaking very very slow, so to me it's not worth pulling the exhuast manifold to replace the part.

 

[Chris R 2]

Gentlemen, thank you for your insight thus far :haveabeer:



I took a break from the task at hand and decided to do a quick detail and trim restore job. My first time trying Mothers Back to Black.



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About time to have a beer!

 

[Chris R 2]

Sws, I checked the body mount bushings as I was rolling about. From what I can see, the rubber looked solid at each mount point. Should I hit these with Liquid Wrench (Silicone Spray) for protection?



STanner and Shawn,



I cleaned off the area, but couldn't readily ID where the point of origin was. I'll continue to monitor in the coming weeks. I'll be changing my oil soon, so hopefully I can squash the issue. I wouldn't be surprised if it is the adapter, but all this talk about the PCV issues makes me want to pay close attention to that system.



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So, I did a quick engine degrease and apparently I did too good of a job lol. I believe I saw some steam coming from my exhaust pipes after I was all done. Odorless, white, and accompanied by condensation. Oops. Drove around to warm the system up a bit, and it was gone when I got home.



All done with the trim job too. Looks good! But, it isn't a durable solution unless topped with something like OptiCoat. May be a future project.

 

[Scott Tanner]

I'll have to check out the adapter on mine... this is the first i have heard about it... i think i will steam clean the engine first and see where the new oil eminates from....

 

[swshawaii]

Chris- I wouldn't use anything on the body bushings. They're a big mystery on

many Ford forums, and seem to randomly disintegrate regardless of the year.

Doesn't seem to be isolated to any particular region or environment either.

As for the PCV valve, I'll link the project below so you can check for leaking oil.

Hope you have good results with the "Back To Black". My bumper turns white any

time water stays on it. Haven't found anything that doesn't turn white, including

Stoner's Trim Shine. I'm really thinking about painting the bumpers and sides.

Let me know if you have any difficulty finding the bushings, I'd be glad to help.

 

[Shawn White]

I'm currently trying meguires trim restore, seems to work better than mothers.

It turned white but didn't run with a few good rain storms, seems to last longer.

I read on a jeep forum someone used Linseed oil and Mineral Spirits 50/50.

I also read using a paint product called pentrol worked well also, which is linseed oil and MS.

Someone reported the trim looked well for over a year and the results on a jeep looked great.

I think im going to try Pentrol before I use Krylon.

 

[Robert Caffyn]

Truck looks in pretty good shape. I've been slowly changing my bushings over to Energy Suspension urethane's. Not hard to do, just time consuming. Makes a big difference in the ride and handling. With those "Back to Black", "ArmourAll" type products, you have to keep applying them to maintain the look. Haven't found anything that lasts more than a couple of rain stroms. Besides, it makes the steps very slippery. Keep trying, and post if you find an answer. Bob

 

[Chris R 2]

Bob, I'll tell you that the truck must love me, because I went out of my way not to routinely TLC it over the years! Took me a while to 'grow up' I guess. But now, I'm logging the hours as I should, and I'll self-diagnose myself as OCD lol.



I'll be updating this post with my work progress in the name of completeness. Why have the internet if one does not use it to improve upon knowledge



One quick question before I go to the ends of the Earth, and master long-division to do some part searching:



- On fordparts.com, for the ST years '01 and '04, and Explorer 4WD '01, subheading 'Suspension, Springs, and Related Components', the callouts are essentially identical numbers. Can I assume from this, that I can:



- Use the 2001 Explorer 4WD in catalogs that do not specifically include the Sport Trac 4WD? (Energy Suspension, I'm talking about your catalog!)



I'm betting that the answer is probably 'yes' for this.



Regarding the oms / linseed oil: I've seen this come up a few times, and have also pondered some way to include UV resistance to the mix. Transparent Iron Oxide might be worth experimenting with, especially since it can be delivered in a solvent borne configuration, and for different colors (eg: black). It's commonly added to automotive paint, art paint, and deck staining to prevent aging / yellowing due to UV exposure. The question is: how to get it!

 

[Wes Davis]

My rear leaf spring mounts were squeaking badly. I took them apart and they were dry as a bone and polished from the metal to metal squeaking. I coated the mounting bolt/pivots with brake caliper grease and reassembled. I don't know how long it will last but they are completely quiet now, not a sound out of them.







/

 

[Robert Caffyn]

Many parts are interchangeable between the Explorer and the Trac. Your research will need to have some measurements to them to find the correct parts(dia, length, bolt hole diameter, etc) But yeah, you can interchange them. Bob

 

[EddieS'04]

Should I hit these with Liquid Wrench for protection?

Never use liqud wrench, wd-40, penetrating oil or petroleum distilates, on rubber bushings. It with cause them to disinterate and fall apart.

Use silicone spray or lube only.

 

[Chris R 2]

I apologize! I failed to mention that I am using the red can Liquid Wrench Silicone Spray. In that context, I was wondering if it would be good form to treat the body mount bushings. I also have some silicone grease and marine grease if that is appropriate. I went back and edited my posts for clarity.



Bob, thanks for clarifying. I find it a bit tricky to reference some of the info, given that there is some blurring of the lines between models. I hope the OEM Ford St manual for my year model will be more specific regarding bolt sizes, etc.. just have to receive it in the mail :banana:



And to touch on the original topic: my highway ride to work today was much quieter! I still have a couple creaks and squeaks but given the condition of the bushings, I'm not surprised. My truck smells like that engine degreaser though... bleh.

 

[swshawaii]

Chris- You won't find Ford part numbers or hardware measurements in the Workshop Manual.

It does list torque specs. Surprising a book of this size omits so many every day repairs.

Doesn't have anything regarding the lower thermostat housing either, a very common ST failure.

As for suspension bushings you're correct, nothing listed for the ST, only the Explorer or Ranger.

Probably wouldn't hurt to contact them direct for compatibility and proper fit.

 

[Chris R 2]

:bwahaha: I just got off the phone with my local auto parts store contact (great guy, helps me out whenever possible), who assisted me in contacting Energy Suspension about securing some needed parts. According to the ES rep, they don't make any compatible parts for the Sport Trac period, and will not willingly sell knowing they will be placed on a ST. He then suggested some parts from the Expedition may work (Super Duty?) as acceptable replacements.



I asked about Moog parts, and the store sells re-branded kits under their store line, but only for the F/R Sway Bar end links.



I've been scouring the forums for a while now, and some of the following list comes from that.



So far, my resources seem to be:



Rockauto.com

Suspension.com

Amazon.com



Front Control Arm:

Kit, Front End Control Arm bushing: 4.3157G ES, Amazon.com, Suspension.com

*Appears Complete - List for: '01 Explorer 2WD - Fordparts.com callouts match for '04 ST 4x4*



LCA: Ford Callout 3069A / 3069B

Front Lower Front bushing (1ea): 5651273 Raybestos, Rockauto.com

Front Lower Rear bushing (1ea): 5651274 Raybestos, Rockauto.com



UCA Bushings: Ford Callout 3C203 / HN1 / HN2

Kit, Front, Upper bushing: K8704 Moog, Rockauto.com



Rear Sway Bar Endlink Bushings: Ford Callout 4A479

Kit: K80085 Moog, Amazon.com



Front Sway Bar Endlink / Bushings: Ford Callout 5K483 / 5C491 / 5495

Kit, End Link, Bushings: 4.5155R ES, Suspension.com, Amazon.com



Leaf Spring Shackle: Ford Callout 5776

*There's a listed leaf spring shackle kit, but I'm not seeing the frame point bushing on rockauto.com*

Kit, Leaf Spring Shackle (1ea): 722009 Dorman, Rockauto.com



Leaf Spring Shackle Bushings: Ford Callout 5A546

*None Yet*



Rear Leaf Spring Bushings (rear/front/sleeve): Ford Callout 5781

*None yet*



Any feedback is appreciated, and hopefully I'm going in the right direction.



-Chris