I'm trying replace the radius arm bracket on my 96 ford f150 4x4. I have tried everything to get the nut off the radius arm. Sprays, heat, and even air gun have been done. Please help the only other thing I can think of is to cut the nut itself off.

3/4" ratchet or breaker bar and a 4' cheater bar and some good old fashioned brute strength normally will get them off.

Just as Randy said- And I've had to put my 300 lb self on the end of the cheater at that...

JBowers said:

I'm trying replace the radius arm bracket on my 96 ford f150 4x4. I have tried everything to get the nut off the radius arm. Sprays, heat, and even air gun have been done. Please help the only other thing I can think of is to cut the nut itself off.

Click to expand...

breaker bar if that wouldnt work id go drastic and cut the rubber insulator thinga majig (i forgot what theyre called) slip the arm out and see if i got to replace the arm itself.... don think i ever would do that but just saying

JBowers said:

I'm trying replace the radius arm bracket on my 96 ford f150 4x4. I have tried
everything to get the nut off the radius arm. Sprays, heat, and even air gun
have been done. Please help the only other thing I can think of is to cut the
nut itself off.

Click to expand...

Where you at?
Is it rust or what?

I've never had to do anything like the others are describing with Arizona
trucks but I use a double boxed end wrench on stuff like that. But, I did
have a heck of a time with the captive bolts on a couple front bumpers
tho! a '91 and a '90. :/ Wised up and the third time I used a propane torch
and softened up that stinkin' glue Ford used and they came off easy as
anything! All three were the first time they'd ever been removed BTW.

The trick is to heat it up so it smokes a little. The smoke is just from the
grease and oil getting hot enough to cook pancakes on. In your case
the rubber might get hot and scorch and stink but you're going to replace
all that stuff anyway, right?

PB blaster is the stuff of choice for rust everywhere I've read, but the
chlorinated brake cleaner is slightly better on the glue/Loctite stuff IME.
Nowhere near as good as heat on that stinkin' glue tho.

Alvin in AZ

Take to semi truck garage have them take a 1" drive impact to it . With the large volume of air the have should come . Tighten up drive home replace as it should come .

I have had a 6 ft long pipe on a 3/4 ratchet . with 2 guys to get loose before on a truck from new mexico.

Lost said:

I have had a 6 ft long pipe on a 3/4 ratchet.
with 2 guys to get loose before on a truck from new mexico.

Click to expand...

x2

If you put -enough- wrench and cheater-pipe on it, you can lift
the far side wheels off the ground, if it's really all-that-stuck.

Sumthin's gonna give, is all I -really- meant there. LOL

I prefer boxed-end wrenches over the socket-stuff. YMMV?

-----------------------

Crescent/adjustable wrenches? Holy-crap those things are bad! :/
No kidding, I've done this many times showing it to many guys...

They get the 3/4" to 1+1/4" bolt+nut as tight as they can with
their Crescent wrench and cheater pipe and right behind them
I tighten the heck out of it -more- with a simple combination
wrench by using the boxed-end of it, let alone a longer double
boxed-end.

How does that work?

If you've done it too, you know why.

A Crescent wrench -springs-open-. Even a regular ol' open-end
wrench can even beat 'im most of the time. No kidding, BTDT
while showing others just how crummy those things really are.

Alvin in AZ
Retired US&S M23a switch machine and switch point maintainer.

Hi there;
I'm a newbie here (see the introduction section). I've read this thread with a great interest. The rubber of the right radiusarm of my truck is gone too. I'm gonna keep all the suggestion I've seen here in mind. I was thinking what it will do when I spray WD40 a couple of times, give the bolt some blows with a copper hammer and then trying to loosening it with a socket.

best regerds Ton

Ton van der Sluijs said:

I was thinking what it will do when I spray WD40 a couple of times, give the
bolt some blows with a copper hammer and then trying to loosening it with a
socket.
Ton

Click to expand...

Cool.

I replaced the rivets in the radius arm bracket with bolts on my '75 F150
and '91 Bronco. There's always a debate when this is brought up. LOL

Decide which way you want to go, leave the brackets riveted and work
around them or remove the rivets and make it "easier for next time".

After reading a bunch of threads on this, it looks like to me it boils down
to that. Removing the rivets ain't easy so it doesn't make the "whole job"
easier the first time. It's a trade off.

I like the idea of making my vehicles more "utility" so I do stuff like that
every chance I get.

'75 F150 showing the 7/16-20 flywheel bolts replaced the rivets...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm1.jpg

'91 Bronco...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarmB.jpg

'75 F100 parts truck shows the bellhousing resting on a crossmember...
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/F100-FEbell.jpg
...that I un-riveted on my '75 F150 to make working on it easier...
-easier-right-then-and-later-both- No doubt about that one. LOL

I've worked out several different ways to remove the rivets and it takes
a few different ways because the best+easiest method can't be used on
every rivet because some of them are hard to get to.

Alvin in AZ

If you use a nice big 1" impact it'll come off

crzybil87 said:

If you use a nice big 1" impact it'll come off

Click to expand...

LOL
Jeez you guys.

It's only a 3/4" bolt! LOL

The hex size on the nut is 1+1/8", same for the nuts
inside the coil springs.

Nut hex sizes for 3/4" bolts come in lots of sizes...
1+1/16" , 1+1/8" and 1+1/4" are the common ones.

Alvin in AZ

Well, I live in northern Michigan where rust chemically welds everything together, and every radius arm bracket and bushing I`ve done requires heating the nut with an oxy-acetylene torch, and while it`s still red-hot you throw your beefy 1/2" ratchet (my Proto for example), AND your cheater pipe on it, give it a big groan, and they come loose. They may only be 3/4" bolts, but they still require alot of torque, and they have time on their side.

Yea but using a 1" impact gun (especially mine) is kinda seatisfying and fun

sorry guys; there was e little mistake in language by me
When I did see Alvins photo's I realized that I was writing about another rubber to change.... The pivot bushing of my right front axle arm is worn... that one I have to remove. Since I own the truck, I have to learn new technical english

best regards Ton

primetime said:

Well, I live in northern Michigan where rust chemically welds everything
together, and every radius arm bracket and bushing I`ve done requires
heating the nut with an oxy-acetylene torch, and while it`s still red-hot
you throw your beefy 1/2" ratchet (my Proto for example), AND your
cheater pipe on it, give it a big groan, and they come loose. They may
only be 3/4" bolts, but they still require alot of torque, and they have
time on their side.

Click to expand...

Putting a long heavy chunk of iron behind the nut and a shorter piece on the
other side of the nut then beating on the shorter piece with a big hammer
won't loosen any of those rusty nuts?

Not in the rust belt in AZ

Ton van der Sluijs said:

The pivot bushing of my right front axle arm is worn... that one I have to remove.
Ton

Click to expand...

Yeah but, same things need to be done... and a little bit more is all.
It's all real easy, if your bolts aren't all rusted to hell, like Prime's in
Michigan because they put salt (NaCl) on the roads.

What's your rust situation?
Got an pictures?

Alvin in AZ

Hey Alvin; thanks for your reply. There's little or no rust underneath the truck; It's amazing for a 17 year old one. Okay; she's only 7 years here in the Netherlands ( original from Nevada). We do have salt on the roads here as well. Before the winter I'm gonna spray the frame and stuff to protect it. Next week I have to replace my Catalizer; every year our cars have to get a check up (by law) and my CO2 was to high. What a truck!! She rides like my old Ford Granada, which I had in the eighties!
time to hit the sack it;s 2300hours

best regards Ton

Well Alvin, the beating on it method does work, even around here, but we tend to, oh how do say, flip the dumb stuff when you`re talking about 15 year old (or older), trucks. Nothing says "come with me my pretty", like a whole lot of heat.

Well that just figures, jumped on, made a reply and burned my dinner.

primetime said:

Well that just figures, jumped on, made a reply and burned my dinner.

Click to expand...

LOL
BTDT!
Many times.

Some of us eat at the computer and I've always wanted guys to give
a warning they're going to post a picture of their -face- I mean, some
of eat at our computers.

Alvin in AZ