New Radiator Support and stripped Bushing Bolt - ideas?

[daedal.]

How hard is it to change a Radiator Support? I'm rebuilding a '91 S-10 and am getting new parts to replace the old busted-and-rusted.

The Fenders and Fenderwells have already been torn out. Now, before I undo the radiator support, is there anything I need to know about what goes in there? Will I have to undo the radiator from the Engine or can I hang it some way?

Also, I've managed to undo the driver-side bushing but the passenger side bottom nut of the other bushing stripped so the corners of that bolt rounded out. Any ideas how I can get that out of there wihout having to chop through my bushing or is it better to replace both bushings while I'm am it? And how much do those go for? I was thinking of placing some sort of rag or material over the nut then place the ratchet in hoping it wont slip on the rounded-out corners.

I really appreciate any info you can throw at me.

[pro_am]

I believe your talking about the core support. Ya it's easy to change out, you have to take off the radiator. It whould be fastened to the core support at a few strategically placed areas. Then there should be two bolts one on each side holding it to the frame, and yes those bushings should be replaced. There are numerous places on the net were you can get decent and cheap poly urethane bushings for that. Be sure to have all of your lines take off of the radiator/ac (actual name eludes me) hope i have helped somewhat.
Jake
PS I have no idea what to do about the stripped nut, i would suggest try the rag thing, and if that doesn't work, and you dont' have one of those gator sockets laying around cut through the bushing to the bolt and cut it and replace it all, it won't cost much.

[timberdoodle]

actually you dont need to take the radiator out or disconnect it, in fact leave the hoses on cause they will help hold the radiator in place, just unbolt it from the top and it should be able to rest on the frame. im not sure if you can get a pair of vice grips on the bold in that model? if you cant grab it from both sides, your going to need to cut it with a torch. And you definitely want to replace those bushings, LMC trucks might have the ones you are looking for but you may need to buy the whole kit. for my k20 it was 64 bucks for the whole cab kit.

[daedal.]

I was actually refferring to the bushings found under the Radiator Support. I'm not sure if those qualify as cab bushings.

[timberdoodle]

yea they are all the same bushings, for my truck they all came in a kit, i was saying i dont know if you can order just two or if you need to buy the whole kit, for my truck there are six bushings four for the cab and two for the core/radiator support.

[daedal.]

Originally Posted by timberdoodle

yea they are all the same bushings, for my truck they all came in a kit, i was saying i dont know if you can order just two or if you need to buy the whole kit, for my truck there are six bushings four for the cab and two for the core/radiator support.

Sounds like a good deal. Considering I'm doing a complete re-build of my truck's panels, I will have to change all of the bushings. I visited my local parts store today and their pirce was of 26$ CAN for the bushings without the mounting bolts and hardware. Sounds kind of expensive to me. Anyhow, how much did the kit cost you? And is 26$ CAN so expensive or is it just me?

[timberdoodle]

well the problem that you could run into is that the bolts/nuts are rusted so badly that either you will have a hell of a time getting them off, or they will snap off, my truck is an 86, and the cab bolts are impossible to access from the top so you need to make absolutely sure you can losten the nut from the bottom otherwise the welds snap off and you cant get it out without cutting out the floor, i would take a good look at where they are and if you can get to yours. If the bolts are corroded badly such that the bolt has been eaten away and and is skinnier than normal you will definitely want to get new hardware. My 6 piece kit was $64 american so im not sure how that translates but that doesnt seem to expensive to me. Anyways let me know how it goes and feel free to ask any questions because i just did this last summer to my chevy and its probably a similar siutation.

[pro_am]

Thanks for spotting my oversight Timberdoodle
Jake

[timberdoodle]

lol ok no prob. also daedal, i would not get polyurethane bushing as although they do have an extremely long life, the ride the gives is not going to be very fun, this is especialy important in a truck. The stock rubber bushings usually last more than ten years anyways i would highly suggest getting plain old rubber.