Community Forums

TeJay · 10-01-2016, 07:02 PM

Terry,

At least you caught it before the bracket got mangled as has happened with others. You do have the poly bushings so you'll be good to go after you get it fixed.

When this thread was started it was mentioned that it should become a, "Sticky" which would keep it at the top of the forum but that has not happened as of yet.

TeJay

Hudsoner · 10-01-2016, 08:19 PM

The bracket problem seems really to be a problem of newer chassis. My son checked mine just prior to my recent 4000+ miles trip, and everything was OK. I am just back from exploring mountain north west, and di a lot of curvy road driving. I will take a look in one of the next days, to see if the brackets are still OK.

TeJay · 10-02-2016, 04:58 AM

Hudsoner,

I agree with your thinking on this issue. There have been a few older coach but the majority of the missing, loose and broken SB bushing bolts/brackets has been on newer units.

That is the exact reason this has become more of an issue. Why would a new or recent coach (F-53 chassis) owner suspect that bolts directly from the factory would not be properly torqued? It just does not make any sense yet it is still happening.

TerryZ (poster #84 above) had it happen on his 2016 Itasca Sunstar 30T the same unit as ours only newer and made by Winnebago. And as reported,his independent service guy has seen a lot of this same issue.

The bolt comes loose and when the SB tries to work the bracket not properly secured to the axle moves around. Since the bolt is still in place but loose it eventually breaks the welded nut loose. If the top bolt comes loose then the bracket may/will break or become twisted.

Our Vista 30T (2013 chassis) and his Sunstar 30T (2015 chassis) are made in the same factory in Forest City, Iowa with the same Ford F-53 chassis on both coaches.

There are not to many reasons why this is happening. Maybe the brackets and attaching bolts, when properly torqued from the factory are not adequately strong enough to permanently secure the brackets to the axle.

That can't be the reason because when properly torqued to 66 ft/lbs and secured with blue lock tight they will and do stay in place. There are many of us owners who have done just that and we've had no subsequent issues with those bolts.

These units are either coming from the Ford factory to the coach builder not properly torqued or the only other possible cause would be deliberate loosening of these bolts by person or persons unknown.

KTM251ss · 10-03-2016, 05:46 PM

Can you take a deep socket impact driver and spin the bolts loose a bit, add the loc tite and then snug them up with an impact and then run the torque wrench on them? I visually looked at mine but didn't have a wrench with me, but was thinking I would loc tite them any way.

TeJay · 10-04-2016, 06:36 AM

KTM251ss,

You might get it done that way but here's some concerns.

When I use the blue lock tight (BLT) I coat the length of the bolt from the tip up far enough so as the bolt threads enter the nut there is sufficient liquid to assure good coverage until the bolt is seated all the way onto the nut.

BLT is expensive very important to apply correctly and important for the job it has to do. If you loosen the bolt a few turns the BLT might not get down the bolt threads far enough and on to the threads of the nut which is where is has to be located to get the job done.

If you loosen the bolt enough to get the BLT down towards the end of the bolt threads your idea would work. My concern is just applying it on the threads of the bolt up to high it may not flow far enough to cover the threads at the end of the bolt and therefore it may not get into and around the nut.

We shouldn't think of it as a penetrating oil. Some of the BLT comes out thick or kind of clumpy and some of it is real thin and runny. It concerns me that the runny stuff may not have enough stuff in it to harden and do its job. I guess it probably says on the bottle to "shake thoroughly." The stuff is so darn expensive I'm trying to get as much usage out of a bottle as I can. I've combined bottles over the years as well.

This reminds me that there are different formula's available. I have some that is thicker and more like a grease. Maybe that's the better stuff to use. One would just apply it to the thread ends and therefore waste very little. We would not expect to rely on the stuff to run down the bolt threads.

Maybe I'm overthinking this but IMHO it should be applied correctly to get the job done.

CJ7ole · 10-04-2016, 07:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KTM251ss

Can you take a deep socket impact driver and spin the bolts loose a bit, add the loc tite and then snug them up with an impact and then run the torque wrench on them? I visually looked at mine but didn't have a wrench with me, but was thinking I would loc tite them any way.

Ditto TeJay, but I would add that in my experience with lug nuts, sometimes just "snugging" them up with a rattle gun will over torque them so you need to be very careful and set your gun on a lower setting, and don't bang away after they first seat.

Hudsoner · 10-04-2016, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJ7ole

Ditto TeJay, but I would add that in my experience with lug nuts, sometimes just "snugging" them up with a rattle gun will over torque them so you need to be very careful and set your gun on a lower setting, and don't bang away after they first seat.

My son has his professional impact wrench set to such power that he has always to follow up with a torque wrench (in his case, it is an electronic one). He says that all mechanics at work do it this way.

joes2901 · 10-11-2016, 04:23 PM

I have not seen a recommendation to report rear sway bar bracket problems to NHTSA as a safety problem; it is. I reported the DS bolt loss & twisted bracket and the broken PS bracket. On the uneven US-89 N/B from Jackson, WY the broken bracket caused the top of the RV to sway 2-3 feet and load and unload the tires on each side that made steering feel almost out of control. After being gouged $400 by a local mobile service to replace the bracket, I decided to search for a permanent fix. Roadmaster makes a beefier poly bushing kit , I had Redlands Truck & RV install it and the aux rear SB. With everything now lubed the ride lost the quick choppy feel and is smoother. Check out Roadmaster ' s web site and catalogue.

TeJay · 10-11-2016, 08:29 PM

joes291,

thanks for your report. You are the first one who has experienced any driving issues with the rear SB brackets.

Most have just either noticed no bushing under the brackets or saw a missing or broken bracket. Sometimes as in post #79 above a partial bushing just hanging down.

When the bracket is broken some may hear banging or clanking noises but that's all that has been reported. When the bushings deteriorate gradually so is the sway control lost gradually and often most don't realize that they have lost it.

It's good that you reported it.

Lakehouse 2 · 10-14-2016, 05:29 PM

Tejay-

In an earlier post you mentioned greasing the bushings with a grease made for poly bushings. Can you let us know what it is called and what brand you use? I have been to three different auto parts store and none knew of a lubricant made for poly. Our MH is going in to Ford next week to have a missing rear sway bar bolt replaced. When I scheduled the work I talked to the service mgr. about lubrication. He was not sure what they would use but was going to research it.

What do you think about drilling a small hole thru the bushing and adding a zerk fitting so the bushings could greased??

TeJay · 10-14-2016, 06:19 PM

This is what I found. It is specifically designed for poly bushings. The tub is more than enough to do several sets of bushings. I'm sure there are other sources. I got the tub because I like to keep a supply of things like this for others and for future uses. I know there will be several guys in our WBGO club that will need it and in the long run it's really not that expensive.

It's called "Energy Suspension" and is available from Amazon.com for about $17 for the tub.

When I took my SB bracket off I realized that the bushing is actually split on the backside so it can be easily removed, lubed all around it then reinstalled. Very simple. If your bushing is not split just take a knife and cut it on the back or bottom side which would be against the axle (front) or differential (rear).

Adding a grease fitting would work but I don't think it's necessary. WHY?? Lubricating these bushings is something that you might do every 5 years or maybe more.

Also think about where you want the lube. It should be between the bushing and the SB and not under the bracket and on top of the bushing. Drilling a hole through the bracket would put the lube in the wrong place. It would have to go through the bushing and on to the SB.

Yes if you had a needle point fitting for a grease gun and injected the lube between the bushing and the SB that might work. It still wouldn't get all around the SB. I think the best way is to remove the bracket and bushing. Slather the lube on the SB then replace the bushing and bracket. JMHO !!!

Caswelld · 10-15-2016, 06:27 AM

Just checked my 2015 F53 with 15K miles, everything looked tight.

Lakehouse 2 · 10-15-2016, 04:40 PM

Thanks Tejay for the information on the grease you used. I will be checking Amazon for it. Safe travels.

TeJay · 10-24-2016, 04:31 PM

Caswelld,

This is I believe the third time I've read your response. You said everything looked tight. I just have to say. I can't look at a fastener to determine if it is properly torqued or tight.

We'll assume that by saying you (looked at) you did put a ratchet (or torque wrench) and socket on one of the SB bracket bolts and it was torqued properly.

This is just me. If I did that I'd also have to check all of them. In addition, to put my mind to rest, I'd have to remove all 4 bolts and add some blue lock tight as added insurance. We know those bolts were supposed to be torqued at the factory but for some reason in some cases that is not happening.

Not trying to be a pain but!!!!