1996 Itasca Sunrise 31rq F53 Project Suspension Upgrades 1

[FrankenHome]

Thanks to Oz I'm suddenly motivated to post another one of my 1996 RV projects. This time it's the suspension. On our way back from KC to our home on the east coast last April I got my butt kicked by strong crosswinds and gusts for almost the entire 1200 miles. To make matters worse, I pulled into a gas station in western Virginia to fuel up. The exit sloped downward and when I pulled out turning right the coach pitched so badly that the left rear corner contacted the asphalt tearing the corner open. (See picture 1). When I go home I knew I had to repair the corner damage but I also had to do something to improve the handling. Crawling underneath, the first thing I found was that the rear sway bar bushings were completely gone (Pictures 2 and 3) and the shocks were original. Throw in a set of very tired leaf springs  and you had a ride that only a dentist could love because every bump, expansion joint and pothole would jar the teeth right out of your head. Time for some serious repairs. Let's start with the rear sway bar bushings.

[CapnDirk]

Dude!  I've been turning a wrench for more than four decades!  Iv'e never seen a sway bar bushing completely disappear.  What chassis?


And what have you been doing?    [size=78%]  [/size]

[Rickf1985]

Man! That had to be really noisy!!!!!!

[FrankenHome]

Hello CapnDirk and Rick.

It's a Ford F53 Super Duty with a 460 that totally kicks butt. This is my first RV and nobody said that I couldn't off road in it. I think it was the last jump I made at the dunes that completely took out the bushings. I just thought the wallowing around was because of the sand.

Well in all serious, the rear sway bar bushings were certainly a "Duh!" moment and I've been turning wrenches for over 40 years too. My excuse is that this is my first RV and it must have had a pretty rough life before I got it. I had so many other things to fix just to get it on the road I hadn't gotten around to the suspension issues yet. While I was at my daughter's house in Kansas she said that she thought she heard something clanking and rattling from the rear of the coach but I had so many things that was clanking and rattling already that it never occurred to me that the rear sway bar bushings were completely gone until I got home and checked. I'm sure your right Rick. The rear sway bar was just hammering away at the top of the differential housing and it must have been making some seriously scary sounds. It really rides nice now and holds a line like it's on rails so it appears to have been worth all the time and money I spent on the improvements. Take care! John