Worst Bushing Replacement I've ever done in a Hendrickson Walking Beam | Old style from 1960s-1990s
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ก.พ. 2025
- Trying to compress 8 hours of hard work into a 38 minute video. This was probably the worst set of walking beams I've ever re-bushed in my life. The amount of rust that I had to fight against was unbelievable. So come follow along as we show you how we strip down the old style Hendrickson walking beams that where very popular from the early 70s all the way till the mid 90s. We'll show you how we strip the beams out, re-bush them, and install them with all new fresh parts.
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As the kind of guy who would bring something like that in, I would have NO clue as to the work involved and would probably walk away thinking the bill was too high! This was truly an eye opener!
thats why you dont drive those kind of thing lol
The bill is always too high till I show you the work involved. After a few of these trucks they are not that hard but labor intensive...we gonna have to work for that money
One of the most UNappreciated jobs in the world ,THANK Y'ALL!!
Hi , worker who works on lorry and tractor have been treated like shit for years but it charging. Customers will ask now if they help you to get reliable work done.
I appreciate it a lot!
Pi worked at krop forge we made themiworked inthe heat treat dept hot hard work
Well, I now know what a walking beam suspension is, I know how bad the bushings can be, I know how they are removed and replaced and I certainly know that you have a lot of experience doing this work. Highly appreciative of your efforts to share a video of this work. Thanks very much from Germany.
Truly heroic, thanks for sharing
I always had great respect for mechanics. But to see you handling that heavy stuff demands my upper respect, young man ! 👍
You sir have both skill and patience. Your character shows. Great work!
I like to share a lesson from an old plate fitter, who told me about sticking my fingers into strange holes with no ??? I was an apprentice with heavy equipment installing a loader bucket and the spring coupler was stuck, I stuck my finger in the coupler to check the alignment, he barked at me, and that very second later the pin snapped into place! leaving me bewildered and thanking my lucky stars. I was watching you to the very end, until the walking beam jumped, and it brought back memories of that day LoL. I am retired now after 40 yrs of aligning machinery and still have all my digits. Enjoyed your honest work video, wish I still had my younger strength.
Reminded me of “shake hands with danger”
Don’t put your fingers where you wouldn’t put your member.
Surper great video, showing expertise, patience, and focus. My hats off to you gentlemen!
Just came across your channel and definitely subscribed. 30 years in driving /hauling heavy equipment I just got a glimpse into the world of a good chassis & spring man here made me realize how under appreciated this job is. Wow. Props brother👍🏻
Thank you for a very educational video. I always had respect for the mechanics that worked on the big diesel trucks. This video just confirms my respect for what you have to deal with everyday. Carry On Sir. You deserve more pay for what you do!!!!
Good job. Dangerous work. Some reminders from an old-timer for any newbies:
1. Don't let something you're cutting off land on the acetylene/O2 hoses. Saw it happen in a shop.
2. Don't drive over slag. You could be buying a tire. Saw it happen.
3. If using a tool on something red-hot, be aware you may ruin the tool. Lost a good pair of vice-grips that way.
4. Keep red-hot parts away from tires. Check the 14:50 mark in the vid. Imagine if the tire itself exploded under there...
5. Do not be in-line with a rotating swivel-type socket. The crack emphasizes this. A broken piece or nut/bolt would hit you in the face or head at what, 25 mph?
6. My old boss would not buy us sandpaper. I had to bring my own to do a good job. Props on the A+ quality.
7. Props for using eye/ear/skin protection. Work smart. UV rays could cause skin cancer down the road. Great quality weld!
You are spot on about the risk of EXPLODING TRUCK TYRE= DEATH HAZARD
I met a gentleman who was a heavy equipment mechanic. When he was called to the tar sands in the dead of winter, they used to build a massive tent around the rig, throw in some heaters and get to it. Dedication and ingenuity.
I know it’s a little bit late, but I just found this channel today and started watching a couple of videos. I enjoyed seeing how you work on the big trucks. And for what it’s worth, I appreciate the type of work you guys do.
Awesome! Thank you!
I just spent the better part of last weekend replacing suspension parts on my car so I had to watch this. I wish I had a pit and your experience. What a pita but you have the tools, knowledge and the tenacity. Always a pleasure to see a pro at work.
That would be the last thing I thought you'd do to replace those bushings, I mean cutting those cross members. Your a better man than I Gunga din, I would have had no clue how to go about this job, your simply amazing just to know what to do in the first place.
Good job! I have done many beam jobs in the past and the rust buckets are always the worst. I like your press, much faster than the one I used. One secret, on the end bushings have a piece of flat steel plate the correct size to use as a stop to always get the bushings the correct depth. With a press that fast you can over shoot very easily. I grew up in a spring shop in Oklahoma retired now.
Funny you mention this but we found out the wrench we have next to the press is the correct size for a spacer...we use that now.
Totally awesome how well this video is produced and how clear the workflow was to watch, not to mention the skills on display.
Now that looks a little more familiar, and I don't miss it. That job was a work out. Now when jobs come in the shop if the parts weigh more then me, forget it.
That press sure is nice.
Great work guys back in the day I worked on trucks so I know the hardship that goes with it,rust rust and more rust.
I watched this video before I did this job on my 62 Kenworth. Your technique worked like a charm. I wouldn't have known how to get the adapters apart otherwise. Thanks!
Excellent presentation and excellent work! It's good to see your wearing hearing protection properly. When I got back from Vietnam, I worked on heavy equipment while finishing college at night. Remember you won't always be young and get some help with some of that heavy stuff and the very best of luck!
I NEVER KNEW IT INVOLVED THIS...WHEN YOU CUT OUT THE CENTER TUBE...I ACTUALLY WAS THINKING IT WOULD BE RE WELDED IN PLACE...HA!!! OK...NOW I KNOW!!! GOOD JOB...ZOWIE...
Wow!! We have one of those that needs to be done. We do have a service pit but a press of that size is something we lack. Your video setups are amazing.
I loved the confidence and your workmanship...nice to watch.
What a lesson for all of America to see and remember. Thank you guys!
A lot of work, and a very nice job. Having the right tools, like homemade press blocks, really makes a difference!
Did this job last year on a 89 Pete. Would have been great to have a pit. I would have to say that it was one of the most exhausting jobs in my career. Very nice job you made it look easy!
this one was one of the most exhausting ones I've done. I can usually have the beams out and on the floor in about 2hours max. this one took 4 hours and way more cutting and burning than usual. After that I had to take a nice long break and do something else for about an hour and a half. I had to gather my strength back so I could re-bush the beams.
Never had and probably will never work on a big truck but this. However this video was super fun / interesting to watch as someone who works on their own vehicles. It's another world.
Next time I’m whining about replacing a 2# trailing arm I’ll keep that beam you manhandled back into place in mind. Massive respect young man!
Hehe, after the first few times, I got too tired and asked for help.
Those spigot always a pain in the but to get out good thing for the gas axe. Good effort you guys make it look easy good luck to any first timers attempting this task you're going to need it !!!
This one was special. They are usually easier than this...but yes quite the challenge for someone new.
What I wouldn't do to send my kid to work at a place like this... amazing work, you guys are masters
You referenced proper cleanup and preparation. I am a 63 year old master ASE technician who spent the majority of my career with Ford Lincoln and mercury. I learned a very long time ago to plan your work, and work your plan. Love what you guys do. Thank you.
thanks. we spend a lot of time cleaning. probably the most unappreciated part of our job that nobody knows about.
Firs time viewer, you might want to use a plumber's heat shield and/or a thin sheet of plate steel. That Ox/A torch heated the tire and given enough pressure build-up, it can explode next to your cranium.
Hi from Australia, I am a retired truck mechanic and have replaced hundreds of these bushes over the years, the two worst ones were on concrete mixers (you always had to dig away heaps concrete to find the bushes) and the ones fitted with aluminium rocker beams the steel sleeve of the bush would corrode inside the beam and most of the time would damage the beam beyond repair.
oh, that is fun. we've done a few of the aluminum saddles with the rubber block suspension. Replaced quite a few in my day. not so common anymore.
Dang son.... that one gave you a work out !!! Good lord, I love when stuff doesn't have any intention of coming apart.
this one did not want to come apart at all. Like the title says, worst one I've done...at least in a long time.
Always good to watch someone who knows what they doing. You like a surgeon with that cutting torch. Good job.
I try to cut like a surgeon. that is the goal!
Not that I have a reason to watch this video, beautiful job with a great attitude!!
That air hammer you have is awesome. I needed that
they still make that same air chisel. Closest one I could find is the Chicago Pneumatic CP9363-3R 3" stroke with a 5/8 anvil....the one we use is a 3" stroke with a 3/4" anvil (I believe, been a few years since i pulled it apart)
Always fun to see these kind of videos! Awesome job guys! Very cool stuff!
It is hard for me to get full length videos out like this so I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Everybody's a bad ass rocking heavy equipment until it breaks.....then you meet the REAL bad ass. The Mr. Nobody who keeps it working. Nice job bro!
This was awesome to watch. Fantastic line of work you're involved in.
What a great video, thanks for sharing. You give me the motivation to rebuild my Hendrickson suspension.
You can always strip the beams out and bring them to a shop to rebush.
Never stick your finger where you wouldn't stick something else! ;-) great video as always
Nice Work enjoyed the Video
I can relate as I did this work for 6 years in Nova Scotia. Hard work but you made it look easy.
That is some tough work there!! No place for "tinker bells"! lol You deserve two beers after that project!
GOOD job, Pal! This looked like a bunch of old mixer and quarry trucks I used to herd. If there was no need to fix them, they weren't. Maybe some welding to keep the beams from wrecking the tires but it was put them down the road or in the pit. That owner will have to learn to drive that Ford all over again. I got used to rigs steering from both ends at the same time. You need a NAP for all that you did. BLESSINGS!
nice clean job
These guys need to post more often. Excellent content 👍
yes i need more time to post more content hehe
Very well done! You guys doing all that hard work for a customer. You deserve more than a big 👏🏻!
Hope you were near me because I have the same style suspension system that need re-bushing! 😢
We had a fleet of 13 trucks with Hendrickson suspensions back in the 70's, and I hated working on them, One thing I did different was to pull the wheels and lower brake shoes, cut the flange off the outside retainer plug and drive them through to the inside. Some had aluminum walking beams (ex- Ruan trucks) that were at least lighter to handle. After that every truck we bought was on NewWay air ride. Hendrickson's are tough, but a pain to work on.
every time I see one of these old ones I know it is going to be a tough job. at least the newer design (same beams different bushings) is easier to remove and re-install.
I've had some nightmare Neway suspensions to work on too hehe.
I guess they have all their own style of difficulties.
Great job replacing those parts. I am a licensed mechanic working in a shop with only a manual press. That hydraulic press makes that job so much easier than having only a manual one.
I worked at Myrmo's in Eugene OR. in the 1990s. We did a lot of that kind of work on logging equipment. I don't miss it.
Nice work I have 2 Ford LN 8000 Im have had both of them done years ago I was thinking they bought beams that were already re bushed & just installed them. Helps to have a nice press like yours. Good job saving that old truck.
We like to give our customers their own beams back. I would hate to rebush a set of beams, send them out to a customer and find out that they where bad or cracked or bent or twisted.
@Simcoe Spring Service That’s a good policy. I like to avoid this setup as much as possible. If I do have a beam suspension, when serviced, I want the beams crack tested. I know they don’t fail very often, but when they do, it can be bad. All of this stuff is getting pretty old now. The beam failure that happened in my circle was about 30 or 35 years ago when these things were newer. You guys do really nice work. You have a bad habit though. Using your fingers for a line up indicator is bad business. I can’t show you what will happen if you keep doing this, but my wife can(grew up on a farm). Take care and thanks for a good video and keeping a good old time spring shop going.
I did suspension bushing in my Volvo 240. I was the biggest baddest job I had done on the car. But this is amazing! Flames, sizzling beams, hydraulic press! Nice.
Incredible good job! Tough work done very well!!!
I just don't get the same feeling of job satisfaction being an Account. Great Video, thanks guys
yes, but you are needed and that matters too.
@@simcoespring Thank you, for taking the time in answering.
Bro found your channel by accident. Your work is great. Keep the content coming.
thank you.
excellent video I liked it a lot since I dedicate myself to doing that type of work it hurts that here we do not have many of the essential tools to do the job but it was perfect thank you very much for the video good luck and blessings greetings from Mexico
the only thing that saves you down there is that there is a lot less rust. Other than that, still a difficult job.
Your a great mechanic thanks for your dedication
Excellent video content and production!
Much appreciated!
This is like the American version of the "Pakistani Truck Repair Folks" - Awesome I love it man.
Nice repair, thank for the share.
Nice work fella's, you make a tough job look easy and the pit really helps. 👍
Burning out bushings flat on your back is not for the faint of heart. Plus getting your beams back from the spring shop and your bar pin end bushings aren't 100% straight make for a long day. Ask me how I know.
oh yes the pits sure do make it so I can do my job. Wouldn't want to do this work without them.
Great job guys!!!
Video is very well done
This is a very informative video. Very impressed with the skill level and handling of the job. Nice to see the repairs on the Hendrickson walking beam, A bit of a Monster repair. Done right!
Wow! What a PITA! Thanks for sharing.
Your a rare breed 🥇
Sick with the gas axe and bashing the rust around 🎨
Man that’s nice I liked your video keep posting more!!
Great work fella's
Great work. Great videos 🎉. Really enjoy your channel 😊
I broke a beam or two in my day, the center beams were always the worst, I can remember maxing out the press to 100 tons before the centers would move and when they did the sound was deafening and the press would take a little hop and scare the crap out of the rest of the driveline shop
we would wait for the new employee to be washing his hands for morning teat, press was next to wash basins, then watch them leap of the ground along with the press when the bush cracked
heat! get the torch out and heat it up!
Sir we need more Americans like yourself incredible work knowledge and skills. Also having excellent tools and a quality shop to work in always helps. thank you for the great video. God bless America. PS did your father teach you these skills and help you build the shop just curious or did you start it on your own.
That's hard work ! Thanks for sharing
My respect for this great job , God bless you guys
Those are some beautiful new bushings.
That was fascinating and interesting to watch. Thanks.👍👍
That working pit looks like a game changer for truck suspension work. Looks the perfect working height etc
Yes and yes. I wouldn't want to do this job without my pits.
@@simcoespring What are the dimensions, and how thick is the concrete?
I work on boom trucks and heavy haul semi trucks. These videos remind me exactly why I don't question when the bosses say we send in suspension stuff. This is a thankless job and just plain sucks if you only do it every once in a while and don't have the right stuff.
Great to see how you do these jobs . I own a spring shop in New Hampshire and have been doing suspension work for 22 years . I teach my guys that prep work is the most important before installing. Keep up the hard work
awesome I've been doing it for almost 20 years. Prep work, cleaning (especially rust) goes a long way.
hit me up on instagram some time simcoe_spring
You Are Amazing. Great Work, And Attention Too Detail. WOW.
That was GREAT! Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Good job brother, so perseverance pays.....
Hehe, I love your method of using air hammer to push out a pin, realizing it's too small to go out that way due to the rim of the wheel, and just burn it off to push it out the rest of the way. That's my problem, I don't always think of such things, but why not you're replacing it anyway.
Love your hardwork. Thanks for the video.
I’m not a mechanic. That said I truly recognize your skills and how screwed that suspension was. All because of a lack of maintenance. Well done Sir.
These are no maintenance suspensions. When they get this bad you swap all the bushings out. So he was doing good maintenance.
Got to love that press
Yes and yes
Bacck in the 70s I was a kid at my dad's excavating co. We would bring our trucks to the local stealership who waould run a special on this job. It was the early days of aftermarket truck parts from Korea. The shiny new black bushinge wouls split and push out in a month or 2, then we'd bring the trucks up the local guy for OEM parts like you're doing. Nice job.
Great video, glad I found your channel!
Awesome, thank you!
Great video. If you ever do an old neway suspension I’d love to see how it’s done
That's some good fun. The only way to make this job better is to do it in the winter when the truck comes fresh off the highway and is a giant block of ice underneath. Glad I had the experience of doing this kind of work.....but I don't miss it. I didn't have a pit either....that would have made things much easier on me.
You made me think. I'm a retired mechanic. I used air chisel with no ear protection for 55 years. Went to the Drags Raced stock car. I'm 73 & can still hear. My Dad did none of this & was hard of hearing by 68.
I was a mechanic for almost 30 until a life changing injury and right next to my bay were big two a** Champion air compressors with only a 1/2 plywood wall between them and me. Like you the air chisels was one of my go to tools doing suspension work. I also have played drums most of my life, drag raced a Nova with a blown BBC on Methanol and still shot competitive skeet and trap That said I never wore ear or eye protection except for shooting and then only because if you didn’t they wouldn’t allow you to shoot and my hearing the last time it was tested it was better than average for someone half my age. My father who since his twenties has worked in a office and shot skeet with me and always wore the best ear protection money could buy has tinnitus and needs hearing aids. I am not saying you shouldn’t wear ear and eye pro but like most things in life I believe they should be personal choice and we don’t need the SS aka Safety Sally’s who 99% of time are armchair experts telling people what and how they should do things.
Good you guys are doing well. Im 53 I worked in factory work 20years and did part time mechanic work about 10 of those years, mix in lot lawn mowing. I've lost bit more than 50% my hearing and use 3m brand headband type earplugs in hope to hang on to some hearing. Ive managed to work safe for the most part but some tall blond was tying her shoe and uhh did bump my head on a hilo fork.
Pěkná práce, na začátku jsem si skoro myslel, že to jdete rozebírat do šrotu s tím acet. hořákem :).
Very interesting. Thanks for the video.
Reminds me when I worked at my Dad's shop. He wouldn't turn down many jobs but did on these because we didn't have a press large enough to press out the bushings.
We are the only shop in our county that can do these, which is pretty cool.
Expertly done. Thanks for the Vid.
I’m looking forward to seeing kingpins and bushings. When I sold my truck, KW W900 it had 1,128,000 miles with original
Good for another million miles. Great work.
Hi I have fitted quite a few Bush kits but you made it look easy. If they were rusty like your I would cut them off with engine driven concrete saw. I will watch more thank you
Awesome job!
"What kind of fool would give me a lifetime warranty?" Words any mechanic could say!
1 I never had a pit to work in worked on the ground 🤦
2 didn’t have a big enough air chisel 🤦
3 no oxy/ acce to burn shit out 🤦
4 one hour from town 🤦 had to get a guy to come help🤦
5 no big press for bushings 🤦
6 thank god I will never have to do one again 😁
Never seen rubber explode like that
Great job mate good you have the right tools for the job 👍💯🇦🇺🦘🦘🦘🦘
I can't even imagine doing these any other way than the way we do them. I'm always up for information on new tips and tricks. I hear about some people doing them without presses and ...I just don't know how it is possible.
I agree ,they must be flapper wheeling the crap out of the beams ,what they dont realize is beams are now junk