[Rustbucket Ranger]

In the SM, the mount replacement procedure calls for getting the car up in the air, putting jackstands under the body, and then lowering the frame away from the body (after loosening various things, of course). Can anyone offer advice or guidance about the best way to do this for someone with a collection of jackstands, hydraulic jacks and ramps, but no full garage setup? (that is, no power hoist) Can the body be readily jacked up away from the frame? Just how far is needed, to get clearance to get at the upper bushings? The SM also calls for doing the front separate from the back. Could one alternatively do one side and then the other? Advice, opinions, cautions all appreciated. Thanks.

 

[bmccoy94]

I did mine diffirent from the service manual. I raised the body on each side (seperately).
Seemed to work out real good. Don't forget to un-do the radiator core support bushing or you will do strange things to the front fender. I went ahead and replaced those (core support) bushings even thou they are really not considered body bushings. So I ended up with all new upper bushings, stock Impala SS part numbers, and all new lower bushings, Scott Muller recommended part numbers. Eight uppers per side and 7 lowers (#5 over the rear axel has no lower bushing, or bolt for that matter) per each side. Did the bolts also,
however being a southern car the only bolts with issues (some rusting and narrowing in the center portion of the bolt), were at the rear, #7, on each side.

To raise the body from the frame I used two floor jacks and two long 2x4's (stacked) along the rocker panels outside of the frame rails, 2x4's were for spreading the load and gaining
some extra height. You will find the body has to come up higher then you expected it would have to, to get the old bushings out. of course I started with the car off the ground with 4 jack stands under the frame, stands carefully positioned to clear the holes in the frame that are for access to the body bolts.

I would post some pic's, but mine were taken with my SLR camera, before the days of every body and their brother having a digital camera, well everybody probably did even back then, 2000, except me, so I would have to figure out how to use my scanner to post the ones that I have, then would also have to figure how to post pix.

The body bushing job really made a big diffirence in the way the car felt when driving, definately worth the trouble.

Looking thru the pix I have, looks like I also removed the cats (right and left) and their heat shields to get to the bushings that the service manual referres to as the #1 and #2 upper bushings, inbord near the back of the engine, and the next set back, outbord about inline with the "A" pillar. Probably not necessary but made the job much easier, and these cats (stockers) are easy to get in and out.