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Dean Hedin

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I just did the body mounts on my 2003. I used the Prothane kit.



I just wanted to add a few tips that I think were not mentioned in other post regarding this project.



1) The plastic trim pops up so you can roll the floor mat to gain access. You do not need to remove the seats to gain access to the "Position C" mounts. I just cut a 4" slit the floor material just behind the front seat mounts. After everything goes back together you don't even notice the cut.



2) On the driver's side you have to get the parking break cable out of the way of the "position B" mount. You have to pull the black sheath forward to pop it out of the frame. Emergency brake has to be off.



3) The bottom washers want to turn while you try to unscrew the bolts. I used a long nose, clamp on wrench to keep them from spinning.



4) The propane torch is the key to melting the Ford thread lock. 30-40 seconds does it. If you get stuck heat it again. I had a stubborn "D position" mount where a re-heat was required. I had it 90% loosened and then it wouldn't budge. The clamp on wrench kept popping loose from the bottom washer because of the torque I was applying. Finally I heated it up again and it went easy. I didn't have to heat the "A position" bolts.



5) My "Position A" bolts were rusted badly. I bought some long, fully threaded, M12 bolts and some large fender washers from Sears Hardware to replace. The "Position A" mounts are weird. When re-assembling I torqued the bottom to 41ftlbs first and then the top nut to 41ftlbs. The others are 60ftlbs



6) I de-rusted all the hardware with a wire brush and painted with some fast dry black enamel. I then used liberal amounts of grease on the telescoping pieces of the mounts and on the urethane. I didn't want any squeeking, plus the grease should help keep the rust at bay. No grease on the threaded bolts. Just some locktite.



I had other things going on, so I did one side one day and then the other side the next day.

It's a big job.



I think the original Ford mounts absorbed a lot of the higher frequency vibrations. The new urethane mounts are stiffer and allow some of that to get through. Would have been nice if Prothane used a softer durometer for the B, C, and D positions or maybe mold some cavities in them.





 
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I watched my body man do my '04. He did not have to do your #2.

My A mounts were solid. So left the factory ones in place. Only did the B, C and D. Despite torqueing to spec. After one week of the cab settling. I had him to retorque all to about 80. Over 1 year now all is well.



I actually like the more solid feel of the prothanes over anything less. The cab feels connected in hard turns and curves. I havent' noticed any NVH at all.

Since I have full length pin stripe. I notice the cab is about 1/4" higher. Not a problem though.



My body man said, in all his years he has never seen such crappy oem bushings, from the factory. He is an independent and does' more of the work than hired help. I didnt' time him but, he did the job fairly fast. He placed my Trac on his frame rack to raise it up. Helped that he could stand up and do the job. Plus straped the frame down to lift the cab easier.



$250 for labor was worth it to me. :driving:

 
Well, I recently installed some M/T tires and I can definitely say that I can now feel them growl in the seat of my pants after changing over the bushings.



I can't blame Ford for trying the experiment with the foam mounts in order to improve the ride and comfort. In my case they lasted over 12 years. That's not a bad trade-off. Maybe if they coated the bushing with some sort of rubber layer they would have lasted a lot longer.



We used a similar polymer at work that goes under the trade name Poron. We used it for shock protecting hard drives in embedded applications.



You have to try things like this, take the risks in order to improve the state of the art. It's like aluminum bodies for F-150's.



You got a good deal for $250. However having done it myself I would say that I could do this job again in about 3 hours. It's definitely in the realm of DIY. You just need a jack and some timbers, and a selection of half inch drives extensions and sockets. And the torch of course.
 
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When replacing the mounts, is it worth it having new bolts or are they usually ok? I thought I saw a photo somewhere of the mounting bolts having been fairly corroded when they removed them.



Just wondering if I should pick up the bolts before tearing into my body mounts.



thanks in advance.
 
It's regional based on how the roads are treated during the winter and where you drive, and mileage. Roads that are salted is a big factor. Here in So. Cal., there is no appreciable rust and parts can last 50+ years.



My suggestion is to get the bolts from somewhere that they can be returned, so you'll have them on-hand, but aren't stuck with them.
 
Probably not. A propane torch gets to 3000'F+; a heat gun is around 1100 and doesn't concentrate the heat as well.
 

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