5 minute - $5 Rusty Body Mount Fix w/ Video

[Big6ft6]

Hey guys, I usually don't have much to offer on the forum, I typically am always taking advice and not giving much back.

I had a success today finding a way to quicly fix the body mount bushing that cause corrosion and fall through the frame bracket. I use a huge washer (5" outside diameter with 2" inside diameter) that I cut to slide under the top bushing. I was able to buy 4 washer for a little over $5 from local industrial metal supply shop. I don't remember how the body mounts were on my 1991 suburban so I'm not sure if this is helpful for the k5 crowd, but I know there are a fair amount of chevy c/k TBI guys that hang around here too. Hopefully someone will find this helpful so I can pay back all the good advice I've taken off this forum in the past.

 

[tRustyK5]

Some good DIY stuff there. It looks like you could get a weld bead on a good chunk of that washer too if you were so inclined.

 

[diesel4me]

I have done that before,but using similar things,because 2" I.D. washers are next to impossible to find around here..your lucky to find a 1" I.D. washer around here..

I used a a stack of 4 round electrical outlet box covers from Home Depot on one trucks cab mount that did that,instead of washers..just knocked out the center hole "slug" and I had already got the cab mount bolt out,so I didn't have to cut it into the "C" shape..being galvanized,those covers probably outlived the rest of the truck..

On my '82 pickup the body mount at the left front radiator support did the same as yours--I was going to cut a metal plate into a C shape like you did,but I came across some chromed trim ring things that are hinged,that go over pipes in a house,where they pass through a wall..I had a bunch of them so I tripled them up and jacked up on the body mount bolt to get the rubber back in position,then clipped those things in place..its still holding!..did it about 6 months ago..

 

[campfire]

Neat work. Cool to meet another Wisconsinite, too.

 

[Big6ft6]

Yeah I didn't expect to find washers this big either. I went to this metal supply place with two new bushings I had purchased and I was expecting to have them fab up a plate and cut a 2" hole in it for me to repair my frame brackets. But when I explained this to the fab guy he was like "Couldn't you just use a big washer? It would be a lot cheaper" I said "sure" and he walked me over to their warehouse area they had racks of washers. This one is for a 1 and 7/8" bolt!!! (I can't imagine who uses those bolts !). With those washers I grabbed a couple extra thinking maybe I could shore up my front mounts (which I wasn't planning on replacing) using the method I posted above and it worked great! If I had thought of this I could have used this approach on all the mounts and saved hundreds and lots of time.

My local farm & fleet store or hardware store had nothing like this. This place I went was an industrial metal supply place that sells 8x10 sheets of metal etc and ships them out to local shops. It was in an industrial park not in a retail area. I went there once to order a metal mesh deck for my trailer and was surprised so see they had a little showroom and retail area. So I go there now all the time...super friendly. It is still a little intimidating...it is more of a shop than a store. But they're eager to help me even though I'm only by $5 in washers.

 

[Big6ft6]

Neat work. Cool to meet another Wisconsinite, too.

Thanks Ethan...I"m way down in Madison with no cool places to drive my truck I have to wait for a good snow storm to have an excuse to even put it in 4x4...! Jealous of you guys up north with some trails to go on.

 

[Big6ft6]

I have done that before,but using similar things,because 2" I.D. washers are next to impossible to find around here..your lucky to find a 1" I.D. washer around here..

I used a a stack of 4 round electrical outlet box covers from Home Depot on one trucks cab mount that did that,instead of washers..just knocked out the center hole "slug" and I had already got the cab mount bolt out,so I didn't have to cut it into the "C" shape..being galvanized,those covers probably outlived the rest of the truck..

On my '82 pickup the body mount at the left front radiator support did the same as yours--I was going to cut a metal plate into a C shape like you did,but I came across some chromed trim ring things that are hinged,that go over pipes in a house,where they pass through a wall..I had a bunch of them so I tripled them up and jacked up on the body mount bolt to get the rubber back in position,then clipped those things in place..its still holding!..did it about 6 months ago..

Sweet!! Nice work being resourceful I was racking my brain trying to find something like that would work, you did better than me, I just stumbled on to these washers. Glad to hear yours sis still holding up...gives me hope.

 

[diesel4me]

Yeah,I have to improvise a lot when things you want to buy simply aren't available here local,the only place you may find washers that huge here would be at a place that services things like dozers,or a bridge builder,etc...it sucks when you cant even buy something when you have the money around here..and 50 stores all stock the same stuff,everything BUT what you want!..

I know of a few small machine shops that would probably be able to punch out a few washers that large from metal plate,but they would want 10+ bucks to do it most likely..they'll also do some off the wall projects for reasonable cost other larger places dont want any part of,or want a kings ransom,hoping to scare you away.
I had them machine a custom carb adapter out of 1" aluminum plate I had,they only charged me 25 bucks..sadly those types of shops are scarce now,and often buried with work due to the fact they'll cater to us backyard mechanics,so you may have a long wait to get those things done..

I drilled three holes in the stack of outlet covers and pop riveted them together so they could not slide out or separate--could have welded them together at the edges too,but didn't want to burn the galvanizing off or inhale the fumes..

After having to fix cab rust on that "rail" that goes under that body mount to the reat of the cab, on many of my square bodies,I have found that slotted angle iron stuff often used to make shelves comes in a size that fits perfect inside the rail,and you can bolt or weld it to the remains of the rail and fold it upward where it goes up towards the firewall--I did that to my pickup recently,no more cab flexing and door rattles now..
I also had to patch the floor in my pickup on the drivers side over the cab mount bolt and weld in a new nut for the bolt,I used galvanized duct metal off a hot air furnace system,its 16 gauge and wont be rusting again in my lifetime..

 

[campfire]

Thanks Ethan...I"m way down in Madison with no cool places to drive my truck I have to wait for a good snow storm to have an excuse to even put it in 4x4...! Jealous of you guys up north with some trails to go on.

The trails up here are nicer than what's down there, that's for sure. But you have lots of really neat back roads that go through all sorts of cool winding valleys. There's cool stuff in every direction from there, but my favorite would hafta be the area NW of Mad-town. Take HWY 12 or 14 toward Mazomanie. Driftless Wisconsin is a beautiful place.




Even the main routes like US-151 make for pretty drives as the road cuts through the bluffs.




I pass through Madison several times each year if you ever wanna meet up.