Replacing ALL the body bushings!

[Brother Bob]

Howdy folks,

I'm currently, slowly with lots of cussing and busted knuckles replacing all the body bushings and hardware on my wifes 1972 GMC Jimmy 2 WD!
I bought the complete set of bushings and hardware from LMC and so far today I managed to get the back 2 out! LOL. All of them in this truck are shot, worn rust swollen and a ***** to get loose.

I was wondering if anyone has done this and if you have any tips to share?

I was planning on getting them all loose, hard ware removed and jack the body up and replace the ones in between the frame and body....then drop it down and install the hardware and lower bushings?

SO far I'm real good at busting bolts and cursing.

Any tips?

Thanks,
BB

[BIG ORANGE]

I would just spray PB blaster on all the bolts then call me and let me know how much cash I need to bring over to take it off yr hands,,,,lol
Sorry couldn't pass that up.
Sounds like you got it figured out to me.

[Brother Bob]

LOL thanks buddy! Already soaking in PB and I'll go back in the AM ready to face the spiders, mud dobbers and rust and dirt falling in my face all day!

All of the body bushing are really rough and this GMC Jimmy is nice rig so I guess they are all factory.

Yea me!
BB

[franken]

I have a little 3/8" breaker bar for just this sort of thing. I'm not a tool addict!
If there are cage nuts, break the bolt loose 1/4 turn. Turn clockwise 1/8 turn, then counterclockwise 1/4 turn. Repeat.
The threads jam and the cage nuts spin. Often the bolts are rusted and they shear.

[hemi43]

With my truck, I cut the nuts off of the bolts with a cutoff wheel, then used an air hammer to vibrate the bolts out of their location. A bit of heat can really help too.

[GMC-YA68]

every single one of my bolts were spot welded to the floor. Is that factory or did someone get lazy?

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by GMC-YA68

every single one of my bolts were spot welded to the floor. Is that factory or did someone get lazy?

MINE WERE TOO a light spot weld almost a brazed spot?

Got em all out today , I'll go back together in the AM. All the hardware was rotten as hell, most of the rubber was shot. I was surprised I had to pull the radiator to get the front two out....oh well.

Tips- Big impact to bust the nut or twist the bolt in half.

-Die grinder was really helpful with the spot welds on the heads of the carriage bolts.

-Buy the LMC kit complete with bolts and hardware- every part was there and right as rain. I think I paid 200 + bucks.

BB

[Blazerowner]

I used an impact wrench when I replaced mine. They came off with ease but that was only on the carriage bolts. The regular bolts I just unused a large ratchet. If they are spot welded that isn't factory.

[BIG ORANGE]

Mine are all spot welded in the bed area also,, lil PB blaster and they unscrewed nicely....
Good luck

[68SWB4x4]

I just got done replacing them on my suburban.

Tips.. Clean the frame up and repainting/check for rust on top& bottom where the bushings sit. I put some rust converter on mine.

Replace one side at a time and while the body is jacked up put the bottom mount on loosely. It can shift a bit and make getting the bolts/sleeves in a bit of a pain.

I'll have a full writeup in my build thread tomorrow

[hemi43]

Mine were tacked also !

[Brother Bob]

All done! They have been played with before but not replaced..see the pics.






Cant believe that crap was in there! LOL doors close better now!

The Jimmy

[72K5CSTDarkOlive]

All of mine were tacked except the last two in the back. The two on driver/pass floorboard had a lot more weld than the others and the bolt sits below the floorboard, almost like a round divot so I had to be really careful cutting it.

[Ewr101]

How's the handling and ride now BrotherBob? Mine look about the same as your old ones!

[Brother Bob]

Originally Posted by Ewr101

How's the handling and ride now BrotherBob? Mine look about the same as your old ones!

Couldnt tell ya honestly. I've had this one off the road for darn near a year.

Bought a new hard top for it and used it to brace the body so I could do the bushings. Just did a new rear diff and panhard bar....still need to take a trip through the brakes and find out why the P brake dont work?

Too much to do I guess and these SOB bleed us of money!LOL.

I've been steadily making progress though. My wife has owned this Jimmy for 16+ years and its tough to get her to stop driving it to do work and upgrades..

BB

[Brother Bob]

Oh I forgot to add - I did these bushings back to front- I picked up the body under the tailpan up a couple of inches and was able to replace them all except the front ones in the core support.

I replaced the top bushings dropped the body down, used a rolling head bar to line up everything and jacked up the front and did the front two.

Easy peasy and was able to drop the bolts right in.

Hope that helps someone.

BB

[68SWB4x4]

Got my writeup done

Amazing how crusty these parts are that are holding the body on!
http://carmelvalleyclassics.com/2015...t-replacement/

[Jdubs71]

Here's a useful thread that vtblazer posted a while back.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=362908