sounds like my rear is falling out of the truck

[bobstrat]

hey guys, it's been a while.

just picked up a 1995 xlt for a cool $1500 beans. 351, power locks, windows, mirrors, seats. body is pretty damn straight, paint is good and the interior is remarkably clean for a 15 year old truck. took it for a drive and it sounds like the rear rear is going to fall out. it's not a grinding noise, more like clunking or banging, from a start and when the suspension compresses. i think it may be bushings, but i'll happily take suggestions if you have them.

 

[95 buckin bronco]

honestly sounds to me like the spider gears in the rear end are shot.really its no big deal the gears are $88 for the whole set,but u have to pick them up at ford one way u can be sure is u can put the truck in a hard turn either way and if it pops or anything then u know but i could be a number of things i would suggest takin the inspection plate off the rear end and lookin if nothin else

 

[bobstrat]

i would suggest takin the inspection plate off the rear end and lookin if nothin else

will do.

 

[bobstrat]

had the truck up in the air on sunday. drivers side spring hanger is bent considerably. ordering new spring hangers, shackles and associated goodies. i plan on replacing them on both sides since it appears i may have to drop the tank for easy access, which is ok, the fuel gauge doesn't work so i'll get a chance to check that out too. if i remember, i'll bring and USE my camera. usually i bring the camera, but forget to use it. i'll get a better look at the rear while she's apart.

 

[bobstrat]

update:

i got all the parts, hangers, shackles and bolts. mercer spring in trenton, new jersey (800-448-8874), stocks all the frame parts and fasteners if anybody else needs them. as usual, i took no pictures. being a shopless mechanic, this job was a little more time consuming than i had originally estimated. the gas tank definitely needs to come down, so anyone else considering the project should probably soak all the nuts and bolts holding the tank up a couple days in advance. i had several that i was unable to get loose, i had to resort to a dremel tool to cut a few of them out. talk about a nose bleed. this is a good time to clean up the rear part of your frame, so having some paint on hand is a good idea. you'll also need the fuel line disconnect tool on the newer broncos.

fuel line tool

when i swapped out the tank on my 90, i was able to do so with only common hand tools, so i don't know what year they switched the fuel line connections. you could probably get by with just lowering the tank if you had to, but i wanted to clean up the frame rails, requiring the tank to come out. once the tank is out of the way, it is a straight forward job. cut the old hanger out with a sawzall, grind the huck bolt heads off, then punch out the remaining piece from the frame. a little wire brushing and some paint for the frame rail and tank cover. put humptey dumptey back together.

it helps to have a buddy on hand for the assembly portion of the job. with the rear still hanging by the front hanger, i needed help to push the spring up high enough to get the shackle bolt installed in the correct direction.

summed up, if you're going to undertake a similar repair in your driveway, do what you can to facilitate the tank removal beforehand. cutting the rusted bolts with a dremel was, by far, the most time consuming/frustrating part of the whole job. a rusty bolt will only snap when you don't want it to. maybe an air chisel would work, if you have a big enough compressor tank to run it continuously. i do not, so i spent more time waiting on the air tank to fill than i did actually using the chisel.