Installing radius arms

[PJambo]

I've replaced the bushes on my radius arms and am now attempting to reinstall the arms. I'm having a bugger of a time getting these things on. I've managed getting the middle bolt on, but can't seem to jack the axle around to get the other holes aligned. Any tips?

 

[Napalm00]

Put the rear mount on first with just a single thread holding the arm in place. Jack the front arm into place and use a pry bar or long socket extension to wiggle it into place

 

[Dan kemper]

Agree with above, ratchet strap can also be helpful to pull axle forward if needed.

 

[AdamSanta85]

Yep same here, rear first. Shouldn't be that hard.

 

[PJambo]

I figured it shouldn't be that hard either. The difficulty I'm having is primarily with the chassis end. The threaded end goes in fine, but due to its entry angle it prevents me from putting the rear bush in and getting the bolt on even to the first thread. It's almost like it needs to go straight in, bolted up, then have the other end pulled down to meet the axle, but the axle location won't allow that. I'll take another swing at it tomorrow.

 

[AdamSanta85]

I figured it shouldn't be that hard either. The difficulty I'm having is primarily with the chassis end. The threaded end goes in fine, but due to its entry angle it prevents me from putting the rear bush in and getting the bolt on even to the first thread. It's almost like it needs to go straight in, bolted up, then have the other end pulled down to meet the axle, but the axle location won't allow that. I'll take another swing at it tomorrow.

So jack up the radius arm from below so that it is straight, suck it in with no rear bush, just washer and nut, then remove the washer/nut, install bush, reinstall washer and nut.

 

[jafir]

So jack up the radius arm from below so that it is straight, suck it in with no rear bush, just washer and nut, then remove the washer/nut, install bush, reinstall washer and nut.

Use the old nut to suck it up, so that you don't waste a new nylock. Though, I'll bet lots of Rovers are running around with re-used nylocks on the radius arms. Probably not a huge deal.

 

[PJambo]

Got everything on and buttoned up. The issue was that my axles were too far apart by a quarter inch or so. I was able to get everything put back together using Adam's tip plus some ratchet straps to bring the front axle back towards the rear. Amazing how much smoother the truck rides after replacing just a few bushes.