F53 Rear Sway Bar Bushings: Wrong Size

[Sastma]

I ordered and just received replacement polyurethane sway bar bushings for 2010 F53. The problem is the replacements are 46mm wide and the originals are 50mm wide. The 36mm holes are find and would fit well except the mounting brackets are 4mm two wide.
What I ordered was supposed to fit 1999 - 2011 F53.
Where can I find the same size bushings (50mm)?
Should I just cut/grind 2mm off to fit the original brackets? The originals look much more robust than what comes in the kits.

Thanks!

[Sastma]

Thanks for the tips.
I got a real good fit after compressing the brackets. You might notice these brackets are pretty sturdy compared to the stock. In all the existing bushings are in really good shape, they were just about 1 mm to wide.

[georgelesley]

Be sure to use blue locktite on the bracket mounting bolts, the bolts often come loose otherwise. This is a very well known problem and torque the bolts to 66lbs when installing. There is a long thread on IRV2 Ford forum about this exact subject.

[FloridaRosebud]

RedRollingRoadblock wrote:
E-Bay seller skuterdude makes and sells quality replacement bushings. Contact him and give him your measurements.

Yep, agree. I bought mine from him, and he is very knowledgable and helpful. Cost is minimal as well.

Al

[RedRollingRoadb]

E-Bay seller skuterdude makes and sells quality replacement bushings. Contact him and give him your measurements.

[Sastma]

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[Sastma]

[img][/img]

Cause we all like pictures…
[img][/img]

What ended up doing was put the brackets in a vice to add more compression around the bushing. It did make a tighter fit.
[img][/img]


When pulled the brackets I noticed the bolts were quite loose. Thinking the brackets might have spread out do to the loose bolts.

The whole thing seems like a hodgepodge fix by the PO.
And now I just added to it 🙂

I’ll get the proper parts.

[MountainAir05]

just measure the bar and see if it is the one that came on the RV. Are the new ones the right size for the bar.

[Sastma]

Turns out those original bushings aren’t original. They are larger, unfortunately in every dimension including the hole. The opening measures nearly 38mm which is why they were so loose. You can probably tell by the pics the size difference. For now I will need to put the old back on until I can get replacement brackets (stock).
Either way the old non-original bushings are too big for the bar.
Or perhaps I just go out and buy whole new setup… just don’t tell my wife 🙂

[Sastma]

For reference I’ve included a pic.

[MountainAir05]

https://www.suspension.com/products/ford_f53_2wd_2010

https://www.moogparts.com/parts/suspension/vehicle-bushings.html


https://www.energysuspensionparts.com/universal-sway-bar-bushings.asp


Moog and energy suspension is what I used many years ago. I do not see any 50 mm. I order mine by measurement of sway bar. They have a chart of how to measure for their bushing and bar. Without a picture can't say about cutting off. If it fits use them as is if not cut. If the sway bar is after market then you might have to look there also by name on the unit.

[Sastma]

The problem I’m having is the problem I found out is there are no replacement bushings with the same 50mm dimensions. Interesting that Most kits come with replacement brackets to fit the new bushings. Hope I’m not the only one who has run into this 🙂
My goal was to replace with polyurethane bushings. My search continues as I try to find a match.

[MountainAir05]

Have them replace with the correct bushing.