1g Radiator Bracket Bushing

As most of you guys know, our cars are more than a decade old, some of us with 1g are approaching 20-21 years. A lot of the components on these cars are getting old and deteriorating.

Many have seen that STM and other companies have produced evo and 2g radiator brackets. Since they are the same design it works out, but what about us 1g guys. Here's an easy solution to 1g radiator brackets.

I got fed up with rusty brackets ruining the clean look of my engine bay. So I looked for a way to get some new brackets without having to order them from a supporting vendor. Mach V sells new brackets and hardware on their website, but the stock rubber look in the brackets is not that attractive, plus I wanted to powdercoat the brackets.

NOTE: this is done with a 1g Punishment Racing aluminum radiator.


Tools Recommended:
• 12mm Socket Wrench


Optional
• M8 x 1.25 tap
• M8 x 1.25 die


Proper Safety Precautions:

With any modification or work done on a car, proper eye protection is needed, please were shatter proof goggles or glasses.

Steps

I took my old brackets, rusted and ripped bushings, and brought them to my local Powdercoating and Ceramic Coating shop. Grand Stand Designs (GSD Powder Coating & Sandblasting - GrandStand Designs).


They were kind enough to remove the old bushing but leave that metal ring that is pressed into the bracket. They coated them satin black for me.


Now there is the part about restoring the bushing. This is by far the easiest part. What I did was purchase front stabilizer bushing from a early 90's Mustang LX. The parts should come with 4 bushings, only two will be used. The bushings are a direct fit and do not need to be cut or adjusted. As you can see from the picture below, they just pop in.



Once you have placed the bushings in the brackets, you are ready for the installation. It is the reverse of removing the brackets. Pretty straight forward. Since there was a lot of rust around my brackets and on the bolts that screwed in, I decided to get a m8 x 1.25 tap and die and rethread the holes for the bolts and also rethread the bolts themselves. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND DOING THIS, IT WILL YOUR LIFE EASIER AND PRESERVED THE THREAD IN THE FRAME ALREADY.


Install your brackets back with the new bushing, the radiator should fit snug in place. I did have to use a little elbow grease and force to get the brackets to line up correct again, but I think that's from many years of having obsolete bushings.

Special Thanks to GSD Powder Coating

 

[agentorange313]

Its been brought to my attention that the mustang part that is used for the bushing is incorrectly described within the tech article.

Now there is the part about restoring the bushing. This is by far the easiest part. What I did was purchase front stabilizer bushing from a early 90’s Mustang LX. The parts should come with 4 bushings, only two will be used. The bushings are a direct fit and do not need to be cut or adjusted. As you can see from the picture below, they just pop in.

It should be noted that the part above is a bushing from a stabilizer/swaybar endlink. The part that should be ordered is called a
Stabilizer Bar Link This will included the bushing that you will use.

Furthermore, I have included several exact part numbers for rockauto.com for the part above further sort through any confusion:

MEVOTECH - MK8265

Moog - K8265

Deeza - FOL616

Raysbestos - 5451012B

 

[agentorange313]

Recently user tmoney20g utilized my article to restore his radiator bushings. He was kind enough to post a picture on my profile and I would like to share it with you guys:

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[Chrispaugh]

Looking good