Hello, I took my B2200 into Mazda as it has had a squeaking noise coming from the rear that happens whenever I hit bumps in the road & they said my trucks rear leaf spring bushings were bad & quoted me a ridiculous price for repairs & I can't afford it. Has anybody changed these rubbers before & is it hard to do? Thanks for any help I sure needs it.

 

See attached file, remember that I'm in Arizona so don't have rust. It's somewhat tedious. Biggest issue is getting the correct bushings. Ford Ranger bushings will not fit 1986-1993 Mazda trucks. Leaf spring bushings

Front of leaf spring Moog K9948 (O’Reilly, Rock) or Mazda 387428330

Rear of leaf spring Mazda UB4028333
Upper rear shackle Mazda UB3928333

But also, here are instructions someone else posted somewhere:How to Install Leaf Spring Bushings http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/f...shings-157034/

A leaf spring bushing is a rubber compound in the eyelet of a leaf spring that helps limit vibration from the axle and the chassis. Leaf spring bushings may degenerate, crack or fall apart over time, and if they are loose, they can cause wheel hop or sloppy steering.

If a vehicle is left stock, leaf spring bushings will typically last more than 30 years. However, if the vehicle is modified, leaf spring bushings need to be replaced each year.

1 Undo the leaf spring bolt with a box wrench.

2 Use a jack to lift up the frame of the vehicle and relieve tension from the leaf spring. This will cause the leaf spring to come out of its position. Sometimes, leaf springs will be stubborn and you will have to force them out of position with a hammer.

3 When the vehicle is lifted, put a jack stand underneath so the vehicle can’t fall and crush you.

4 Force the old bushings out of the eyelets of each leaf spring using a hammer and a punch.

5 If the bushings don’t come out using this method, use a torch to heat up the bushings and force them out; some bushing may be extremely hard to remove.

6 As a last resort, completely burn the bushings out with a torch and then clean out the eyelets with a wire brush. Use this method only if nothing else is working.

7 Grease the inside and outside of the new bushings before you install them.
8 You should be able to slide the new bushings in by hand. You can also use the hammer and punch.

 

My rear leaf spring bushings were so worn out, like letter "C", on my '88 B2200. The front bushings on each side were OK.

 

Well I sure appreciate all your good advice & I followed your instructions & got the job done in about 20 minutes from start to finish & here is what my old worn out rubbers looked like on the bottom row as compared to the knew ones on the top row. Much obliged to you.

 

Great !

It took me significantly longer, and the original ones were as bad as yours. Did you do the front bushings too?

Can you please post a link to exactly where you got your yellow replacement bushings???

 

nah i havent dun the front ones yet its to hot out an ise gots to talk to my neighbor an see if he gots some front ones. my neibor gave me the rear bushings said they were very low quality chinese junk and besides he just had them laying round on his workbench an was just goin to throw em away an im glad they seemed to fit.

 

Hey Cuss, where did you go? We are old buddies from the Mazda Truckin forum.

 

Most of us are on facebook. This one is the most popular, but there are many others as well.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/337132006624505/

 

Well I appreciate your having let me know where everyone disappeared to. I might eventually have to hop on over there to F/B, but not until I think Cuss has cooled down a bit. I would not blame him if he were mad at me, as I carried it a bit too far with my teasing him.
Cuss has helped me & that has always been his nature is to help anybody that he can with his mechanical knowledge of things. Cuss is a good egg!

Lizard you take care over there in MN it would definitely be better than CA right now. I'll see you around!

 

The Cuss is not mad at ANYONE !!!

Maybe with the exception of himself, as he forgot to pick up 4 lengths of drip edging for his patio cover extension; hopefully one of the two stores in town will have them, or he'll need to drive into Prescott (30-35 minutes) this morning....