I guess mine is just going to lean.

[mango]

A dozen more off and ons of the C caps tonight, and still no luck. That makes 3 nights totaling 6-7 hours of trying to get my radius arms parallel. I am giving up. The cord going to my little compressor was getting pretty hot trying to keep up with my impact gun.

The closest I have got them is 3/4" difference. I have tried every conceivable tightening pattern. I have tried swapping the bushings around, swapping the caps around, and swapping the arms. Nothing any better than 3/4".

Anything else to try? New bushings? Wedge in the cap?

 

[BwoncoHowie]

A dozen more off and ons of the C caps tonight, and still no luck. That makes 3 nights totaling 6-7 hours of trying to get my radius arms parallel. I am giving up. The cord going to my little compressor was getting pretty hot trying to keep up with my impact gun.

The closest I have got them is 3/4" difference. I have tried every conceivable tightening pattern. I have tried swapping the bushings around, swapping the caps around, and swapping the arms. Nothing any better than 3/4".

Anything else to try? New bushings? Wedge in the cap?

Did I miss something?

Is there another thread somewhere?

 

[broncodriver99]

How much lift and how is your trac bar set up? Adjustable trac bar? Trac bar drop bracket? Track bar riser on axle? Have you measured the springs to make sure they are the same?

 

[blubuckaroo]

Where are you measuring to? You have to measure to the frame. All that "C" bushing hocus-pocus makes me want to laugh.;D

 

[garberz]

3/4" is great. I've done a bunch of "C" bushings on different Broncos, and with 3/4" difference in the radius arms, you wouldn't be able to see any lean. You've got some other issue going on. Check some other stuff like others have said.

 

[Bituman]

3/4" is great. I've done a bunch of "C" bushings on different Broncos, and with 3/4" difference in the radius arms, you wouldn't be able to see any lean. You've got some other issue going on. Check some other stuff like others have said.

Yep I think what garberz says is probably right, may well be something else going on. When I did my front end I actually had the radius arms touching the ground at exactly the same time, i.e, no difference. Are you really using a pneumatic wrench? That might be part of the problem. I did this all manually and tightened cap bolts only a very little at a time and rotated frequently L to R and T to B. Sometimes I would turn those things less than a quarter turn at a time. Not sure you can be that precise with an air gun. I also used a trick I read on here somewhere and used dish soap to lube the bushings so they would seat better. Reassembling my front end was something I really dreaded after reading all the Bronco lean stories here. But I took my time and it actually came out okay. Probably this is the only thing that worked out well on my rebuild! I guess eventually I got lucky and did something right the first time. I remember this being a good resource: www.wildhorses4x4.com/product/bronco_lean/bronco_suspension

Anyway, sorry you are having a problem.

Bob

 

[nrramse]

I had the same problem. No matter what I did, my radius arms wouldn't get parallel. Personally, I think it was assembled wrong at the factory.

I worked the problem by clocking the arms with a couple of peices of sheetmetal strategically sandwiched under the C-bushings.

Newell

 

[mango]

I agree those are all things I should be checking. A lot of new suspension parts have been put on recently. I was just so sure my lean was being caused by the radius arms not being parallel. Well I am going to put it back together and start measuring everything mentioned above.

blubuckaroo-The 3/4" I am measuring is the distance to one arm end when the other is just touching the floor. I am usually a skeptic when it comes to theories. Since I hope to find a cure elsewhere, I hope this is hocus pocus.

broncodriver99-2.5" SL, 1" BL, drop pitman, adjustable trac bar, trac bar drop bracket, 6.25 deg C bushings,

garberz- I guess I was kind of looking for motivation to either keep trying or, buckle it back up, and search elsewhere (the direction I am going to go).

bituman- I can't imagine going through what I did by hand. Several times during removal, while looking down at fine metal particles surrounding the cap hols, I did think that their has to be a poitn where these bolts are going to give up. They are on now, and will hopefully stay that way.

nrramse-I did think of that option too. Only I know with my luck I could only achieve negative results. I am constantly followed by this dark cloud.

 

[av bronco]

Sounds like the track bar is binding up.

 

[mango]

Sounds like the track bar is binding up.

I should add that when trying to level the arms, my axle is completely unattached.

When I get it back together, how can I tell if it is binding? It is a new BC adjustable trac bar.

 

[garberz]

Check the rear spring shackles, make sure they are moving freely. Did you do some rear suspension stuff as well?

 

[broncodriver99]

I have only put in a couple sets of bushings but have always been able to get them level. I would try a new set of bushings since you may have deformed the ones you have by torquing them down so many times.

I always did mine by hand as well. You have way more control over which way the arm pulls that way. I always put the radius arms and bushings on the axle with it removed from the Bronco then bolted the radius arms and coil springs to the bronco. I then squared the front end and installed the trac bar so I could adjust it if necessary. Put a few miles on it and rechecked. It's a PITA but you'll get it eventually.

As far as the metal shavings a little lube will work wonders.

 

[70_Steve]

My Bronco sat for almost two years because of the lean. When I finally learned of the cause, I struggled to get the radius arms parallel, just like you. It took intentionally installing one of the c-bushings upside down, and standing on the housing as I tightened up the caps to get the arms parallel. That was 10 years ago, and the Bronco still sits level today.

 

[JWMcCrary]

I switched to BC Broncos adjustable radius arms to fix my lean, The closest I could ever get the arms was 1/2 inch and I still had noticeable lean. The EB we have been working on the most recent I coated the bushings with dish washing liquid and we were able to get them dead on. The dish washing liquid will wash off and you don't end up with grease all over everything.

 

[MattW]

I did mine by hand and the fear of leaning was always in the back of my mind. Just put everything back together, stepped back and no lean. Guess I was extremely lucky for I didn't really do much except bolt everything back up. I had already prepared myself to tear back into it if need be.

Side note, my 2.5" suspension lift used 7 degree bushings, not 6.25. Maybe that has something to do with it?

 

[ol gray mare]

Mango, you might check the degree mark on the bushings. There was a thread posted a while back from a guy that had bought some from auto zone. He said the bushings were marked with two different degrees. I've noticed some of the parts that I've ordered seem to have been opened prior to shipping. When I bought the rebuild kit for my T case, I noticed the blister pack had greasy finger prints and had been opened. It had the front output bearing from a J shift, when I'd ordered the kit for a T. The vendor made it right, but it might be worth the effort to check the next time you pull them off.

 

[mango]

MY TRUCK IS LEVEL. That's right I can't believe it. WOW.

I took the advice given in above posts, and from others who were concerned about my well being. Pulled the axle completely out from under the truck, so I could put all kinds of forces on the arms to level them as I tightened by hand. Tightening by hand wasn't too bad for the 2 tries that I did it. Well after 2 times loosening and tightening, I was finished. I am not going to touch the C bushings any more. It is not because I got them level though. Oh no. They are exactly 3/4" apart. The passenger arm sits 3/4" above the floor, while the drivers side arm is just touching. Not level. Exactly the same result as the first 15 attempts. I am sure tht it is not possible to get my arms to sit any other way. I was pissed and gave up.
So I reattached the axle to my Bronco, and said I am going to have to live with the lean. This was not true though. While re-assembling, I was making a big effort to measure correctly to get the axle centered. Ended up adjusting the trac bar quite a bit from where it was before. Took it for a long drive today, and noticed it stayed between the trees, even at 55mph. Felt much more comfortable, and safe to drive. No more wondering which way it will go when I hit the next depression in the road. Felt good.

Just got home, and did a quick measure from ground to frame. Checked out level. Couldn't believe it, so carefully measured it again, and YES it is level.

So I am now a member of the C bushing hocus pocus club.

I also found that my trac bar was very hard to move (binding). Removed, cleaned and retorqued. I am sure it helped.

With this good luck, I expect something new to start leaking tomorrow.

My wife and I got the night off from kids, and took it on our hot date. I might treat her to a mud festival for being so nice to me today. My Bronco that is.

I am not going to look at all that time messing with the arms as wasted. It was time well spent with my Bronco.

Thanks for all the help and encouragement.

 

[av bronco]

Congrats, I know the feeling of battling a crazy ass problem for 12 rounds and coming out victorious (and bloody);D

 

[69 Fl. Bronc]

RNYC sunday?

 

[bax]

I am glad you got it.