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advice on worn body bushings

advice on worn body bushings

rockinreel

Jeeper
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Location
Midway, GA
Vehicle(s)
86 CJ7 Renegade
AMC360, Dana 300, T5 Tranny, Dana 44 rear, Dana 30 front, 3:73 lockers
86' CJ7 . I was trying to figure out if I had a lift or not and observing factory mushy rubber bushings answered my question. Should I replace these bushings?

A 1" BL is fine with me. That worn out bushing looks one inch to me. Is a 1" BL going to be taller than that factory bushing?

thanks
 
Yes, they should be replaced. Usually easier said than done. The problem is getting the old bolts out. Pre-soak them for at least a week ahead of time. Some heat may also be your friend when you try to remove them. And save your front grille mount. Not all the bl kits come with that one.
Yes, a 1" bl will be 1" taller than the stock ones.
 
You can also replace the grill bolt and mount with some washers, new bolt, hockey puck, and part of an exhaust hanger. Just throwing that out there. Haha


Sent from my probably outdated electronic device, more than likely tracked by our government.
 
You might wind up with a 1/2" body lift out of stock replacement bushings!

That photo looks very familiar, minus the lack of oil on everything...:D
 
Can I do a body lift by myself and how long does it take?

Is installation like one of those half day jobs that turns into the whole weekend and then some? (even if I lube the bolts a week in advance).
 
Can I do a body lift by myself and how long does it take?

Is installation like one of those half day jobs that turns into the whole weekend and then some? (even if I lube the bolts a week in advance).

Yes and it depends on what breaks upon removal. I didn't run into any issues when taking the tub off of my 1980; took all of 20mins. One bolt was broken in the process and that was removed with vice grips after the tub was off.

Get some help; a lift, a tractor, something and/or someone before you attempt to move the tub around. It weighs about a lot of lbs. I can move mine around on the floor a sit sits now by picking up each end and doing the move/slide thing. some might say they moved theirs without assistance, but I'm here to tell you that hernia repairs are expensive and hurt like HE (double hockey sticks)!!

But yes, you can get it done in one afternoon. IF nothing breaks and IF you have all your stuff lined out. Disconnect one side of your clutch linkage if you have one, trust me...:chug:
 
And just for a worst case scenario to the one above, and keep in mind this is a rust belt Jeep. When I removed my tub all but one bolt broke and a couple just twisted the captured nut and all right out. And two of the captured nuts under the bed supports had to be cut out because the broken stub of the bolt wouldn't come out. So prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
 
My stock bushings looked like yours. I replaced with a 1" body lift. I think it was about $100 for the parts. For two weeks in advance, I sprayed each bolt with PB Blast every couple of days. Upon removal, all but one came loose easily. That last one was troublesome because the bolt head rounded off. Thankfully, I didn't have to contend with any broken captured nuts inside the body.

Whether you go with a body lift or just the OEM bushings: Unless you have broken captured nuts in the tub, you DON'T need to remove the tub to do this project. Just loosen the bolts (don't remove all at once), then use a jack to first lift one side of the tub slightly (shim with boards if you need to while replacing stuff), replace the pucks, lower that side, reinsert bolts (you will get new bolts with replacement pucks), then repeat on the other side. After everything is replaced, tighten all the bolts. If you fully remove all the bolts at once, you will probably have a chore getting everything lined up all at the same time.

My only required modification was to slightly lower and then remount the bellcrank pivot bracket.
 
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