Quality Cab Mounts/suspension

[ArdWrknTrk]

If you have popping and groaning (especially while turning, over bumps) you should look up the TSB on loose cross member rivets and consider a slip sheet with bolts reamed and torqued according to the instructions.

It may be that urethane mounts are too stiff.
But if the cross members are flexing mounting the cab softly is only covering for a bigger issue.

[kramttocs]

Thanks Jim!
After this happened the first time I did a lot of forum searching and that TSB came up. Seemed like a good culprit but I looked at all the places and couldn't find anything that looked like it was shifting. I also removed the tcase skid plate (it's still off) as a quick test since that skid plate and the body mounts are the only two things that changed in regards to touching the frame. Prior to the rebuild, there wasn't any noise like this.
At the top of the fender where it bolts to that horn on the cab I noticed fairly early on that I could tell they were shifting slightly. This fits with where the sound appears to be coming from primarily.

Appreciate the suggestion since if these don't work, I'll be back to the drawing board. Albeit with lighter pockets...

[ArdWrknTrk]

. Sorry. I didn't realize you had already investigated that TSB.

I hope your new silicone bushings do help with both the noise and ride quality!  

[kramttocs]

No apology needed at all. As said, I am glad you mentioned it. If I hadn't ran across it already, I'd be out there looking now before the silicone ones are shipped/charged. Actually, I will do another inspection this weekend.
Plus, for anyone else considering these due to noise and not just worn out original rubber it's something they should be aware of.

TSB 97-3-10

[JimJam300]

kramttocs wrote

What are you thinking? Should they get grease?

It was just a thought. All I know that poly suspension bushings can make noises without grease.

[delco1946]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Scuffed pucks are free at the local rink.  

Somehow $455/6  seems a bit unreasonable for a cab mount under an almost 40 year old truck.

But I guess this goes back to the what's it worth debate, or Gary's idea of insurance coverage for Big Blue.

I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for. Plus the age of the vehicle is irrelevant to the cost to manufacture something. If anything, i'd think it becomes more expensive as fewer vehicles exist to sell product too. I'm just glad there aren't more mounting locations - some of the newer ford trucks were up to $8/900 due to more mounts needed.

Plus, I plan to have my truck for decades, so I'd rather do it right and be done with it until 30-40 years from now, when they'll need replacing again. But I get it - to each his own.

Anywho, as an FYI these are on backorder. I ordered mine a month ago and was then immediately notified that they should ship out around March 15th. Curiosity got the best of me so I called today, and they said next week. So I would anticipate a 6-8 wait for those who order.

[kramttocs]

Same here  - I called late last week and they thought they'd have enough for all the orders with the shipment that was coming in. Chatted with them yesterday and they said they would go out later this week. If they told you next week then we shall see...

[kramttocs]

Mine arrived yesterday. A lot closer in feel to the factory ones than the polyurethane.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I'm going with hockey pucks cut down in the bandsaw to level out my bed after I had to rebuild my right rear cab mount and the body doesn't line up with the cab anymore.

Cab is probably twisted from the poly mounts but the doors close fine so I'm not going back to that.

I'm sure your truck will ride smoother than mine when you're done Scott!  

[Gary Lewis]

Anxious to see what you think after they are installed.  

[kramttocs]

Replaced my polyurethane ones with the S&B rubber ones last week and wanted to give it a little time/mileage before providing my thoughts.

My personal opinion is that they are great quality, well thought out design-wise, and well presented but priced a bit more than is necessary. These are worth looking at when replacing worn out factory ones with something similar and long lasting but in my case with already having the poly ones I can't say they are worth the cost.

Since I had already removed the factory pressed together bushings I didn't use their two removal sleeves so can't comment on those beyond saying it's nice they included them.

Removal of the old and installation of the new was straightforward. The core support hardware changes in that it's no longer a bolt from the bottom and a separate nut from the top. Instead it's like the other mounts where the bolt goes down from the top (maybe this is how later years were from the factory?).
None of these have a built-in nut on the bottom to put a socket on but I didn't have any issues torqueing them down from the top/cab by myself.
Once torqued down they are quite a bit shorter than the poly ones and a little shorter than factory. With poly I had to shim my bed up 1/4". I removed those shims after installing the S&B and thought it lined up well. After getting it outside and driving it a big though it looks like I need to shim the rear mounts up a bit - they provide plenty of shims to address this. This is why I am saying they are shorter than factory. For me this means removing half the rear seat again to access the bolts so haven't felt like doing that yet.

As far as ride goes I am not a good judge for feeling stuff like this unless it is to an extreme but it does feel a little smoother than with the poly.
Unfortunately for me it didn't have any impact on my creaking noise when the truck is twisting so admittedly that's a big part in why I can't say it was a worthwhile use of time and money despite knowing there was a chance it wouldn't fix it.

In then end, if you want the best out there I'd say these are them. If you want to save your money and get rubber or poly replacements, I don't think you'd ever miss not having these.


As a side note - for anyone going to rubber or poly and not wanting to make your own factory bushing separators, I am happy to lend these out.

[Gary Lewis]

Good report.  Thanks.

[fryntrz]

Thanks for the honest review!
Bummer about the creaking.  Did their install instructions mention anything about lubricating the contact surface, or have you tried that as part of your troubleshooting?  My poly kit came with a small packet of grease.  
For the record, I put my money where my mouth is and ordered these back in March.  I couldn't suggest them and not be one of the testers!

[kramttocs]

Have you received yours? I followed up with them fairly regularly and one day they told me that they were shipping now but my Paypal payment had essentially timed out. Guess since there was such a long delay between placing the order and them shipping. They had to send me another invoice.

No mention of lubrication. No instructions besides some diagrams that showed the part numbers and torque.

Most complaints about noise with poly mounts do seem to be squeaking at the mount itself so the grease makes sense (in moderation at least, right Gary? ). For me it sounds like it's coming from the passenger door - fender area despite checking and tightening those bolts. I'd hoped the silicone mounts would let the body move together a bit better and maybe it does but not enough to stop the creaking.

[delco1946]

I received mine but I haven’t installed them yet, and it will be a while honestly. It did take over a month to manufacture them and ship them though, although they did call me and email me within two weeks after shipping to see if I was happy with him which was nice

[Gary Lewis]

Yes, in moderation.  Otherwise you can crank that thing down to any size you want.  

[kramttocs]

The followup call was a nice touch.

I started to add the spacers to mine last night. The second and third row bolts on the driver side came out without issue and without requiring additional hands.

The first one (core support) spun on me and I ended up wrapping the jaws of some water pump pliers in electrical tape and holding on to the bottom half while my wife used the ratchet above.
While I realize these should be an install once and done type thing, I called S&B to at least mention it and make the suggestion that a nut (without threads) or even a square hole for an extension be added to the bottom half if it was made such that it was lower than the bolt.

[fryntrz]

I finally received mine, dropped shipped to me in Alberta through one of my go-to aftermarket suppliers.  

Won’t be going on anytime soon but here’s a pic!