scsm76
Bronco Guru
I recently installed a Speedy track soft top on my bronco, which has worked well so far, but the frame rattled much more then liked. We all know 30-40 year broncos shouldn't rattle right.
I finally decided to do something about it. The main source of the rattles is the brackets that mount the hoops to the bed rails. The tubes are just mounted with a 1/4" bolt through a 5/16"hole in the tube that has a lot of slop, If you want to be able to put it up and down without tools you can't tighten these down. So my solution was to add Nylon bushings to all these joints.
I used 8- 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD, 1/2" length flanged nylon bushings (McMaster part # 6389K443) For the front hoop and back bracket at the base. The front hoop needed a little more space taken up to keep it from sliding side to side so I added some 1/4" Nylon washers on either side (medal washers would work as well). The rear bracket was a little tight with the flanges so I sanded them down about a 1/16" on each side. For the rear hoop there isn't enough room for the flanges so I used 4- 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD, 1/2" length Nylon sleeve bushings (McMaster part# 6389K113). I couldn't find 1" long bushing so used two 1/2" bushings. Installation is simple just disassemble, drill the holes to 3/8", install the bushings and reassemble. It took me about 10 minutes. I ordered every thing from McMaster because I live pretty far from town, but you could probably find what you need at any decent hardware store. I spent less then $20.
This should also work for a Kayline or STC top using the same parts, It would definitely work on the old Kayline frame I have in the garage. I'm not familiar with Bestops, but it might work for them as well.
I still have a slight rattle where the door frames mount to the quarter panel and windshield frame brackets, so I ordered some 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, 3/8" length flanged nylon bushings (McMaster part # 6389K625) to put in these locations, I will let you know how they work when they come in.
Now I can drive my bronco with one less rattle to drive me more nuts.
I finally decided to do something about it. The main source of the rattles is the brackets that mount the hoops to the bed rails. The tubes are just mounted with a 1/4" bolt through a 5/16"hole in the tube that has a lot of slop, If you want to be able to put it up and down without tools you can't tighten these down. So my solution was to add Nylon bushings to all these joints.
I used 8- 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD, 1/2" length flanged nylon bushings (McMaster part # 6389K443) For the front hoop and back bracket at the base. The front hoop needed a little more space taken up to keep it from sliding side to side so I added some 1/4" Nylon washers on either side (medal washers would work as well). The rear bracket was a little tight with the flanges so I sanded them down about a 1/16" on each side. For the rear hoop there isn't enough room for the flanges so I used 4- 1/4" ID, 3/8" OD, 1/2" length Nylon sleeve bushings (McMaster part# 6389K113). I couldn't find 1" long bushing so used two 1/2" bushings. Installation is simple just disassemble, drill the holes to 3/8", install the bushings and reassemble. It took me about 10 minutes. I ordered every thing from McMaster because I live pretty far from town, but you could probably find what you need at any decent hardware store. I spent less then $20.
This should also work for a Kayline or STC top using the same parts, It would definitely work on the old Kayline frame I have in the garage. I'm not familiar with Bestops, but it might work for them as well.
I still have a slight rattle where the door frames mount to the quarter panel and windshield frame brackets, so I ordered some 3/8" ID, 1/2" OD, 3/8" length flanged nylon bushings (McMaster part # 6389K625) to put in these locations, I will let you know how they work when they come in.
Now I can drive my bronco with one less rattle to drive me more nuts.
