Hello guys this is my first post here and I have a 96 chevy s10 regular cab with a v8 swap and I am needing to replace my body mounts in all six locations and I am having a hard time finding parts needed to make this happen without having to spend a fortune for everything and right now if I try to get all oem stuff I am looking at about $300 bucks but my searching around is I can get an energy suspension bushing kit for less then a hundred dollars but they have no hardware such as new bolts and also new metal retainers etc.

I have lost the lower bushing a long time ago along with the cup retainer on the front passenger side and just the other day I found my driver side front cab mount bushing and retainer cup plate or whats left of it sitting on the floor and a pile of rust so I need to start getting these things replaced. I noticed the radiator support ones look the same as my rear cab mounts but my issue is the bolts are really rusted and the radiator ones on the front the special bolts they have or what look like studs I want to replace with brand new hardware but I can't seem to find the hardware separate anywhere from summit to rock auto or even ebay doing different searches and I also have nothing listed in LMC catalog for my truck just for the early model chevy s10 trucks and also the chevy s10 blazers but not my year of a 96 s10 truck. In order for me to get the new hardware for my front two cab mount bushings I have to get a dorman kit which runs for about $55 dollar average and I would hate to have to pay that much just to get the metal hardware for that spot alone.

I talked with energy suspension and they don't have any hardware that I can buy from them and they said I have to use my old stuff but that is the problem my old stuff is two rotted and want to go all new. Can anyone please help me out here as to where maybe I can get the new upper retainer plates and lower retainer cup plates and new bolts without having to get the whole oem bushing kit so I can get the energy suspension bushing kit which would be a lot better and last longer. Thanks for any help and much appreciated.

 

Is something like this what you are searching for? There are other parts there that might work for you too:

https://www.carparts.com/details/Che...E1234130G.html

Put a 5.7 liter in the S-10? That pickup must move out pretty quick!

 

Yes that is the energy suspension bushings that I am wanting to install but I need all new bolts along with the metal upper and lower plates that cup around the bushings and energy suspension does not have them and I can not find anywhere that sells the metal hardware separate without having to buy the bushings with them which would I don't feel like paying over a few hundred dollars just to get the new metal hardware and then have all those oem bushings I won't need and then turn around and pay another near 100 dollars for the better energy suspension bushings. And yes my truck will really move quite well.

It has a dart shp chevy small block 377 cubic inch (4.155 bore x 3.48 stroke) Scat forged crank and scat h beam rods with icon forged pistons for the bottom end. The top end I am running a holley 650 custom made carb I done up myself and a trickflow air gap dual plane intake manifold that is identical to an edelbrock rpm air gap intake and I got a set of dart pro 1 platinum 200 cc cylinder heads that was all ported out and bowl blended and really done well on the intake ports and exhaust and I run a turbo 350 with a 3000 stall converter and 3.42 rear gears and a detroit trutrac posi unit. She runs nice and makes plenty of power and a monster amount of torque and goes to 5800 till she levels off and to boot I get 19 mpg on the highway if I am steady on it.

I just wish I could get the new metal hardware without having to get the oem bushings with them so I don't end up spending a fortune with a lot of left over bushings that I will never use. These factory mounts lasted for 23 years and I know my truck won't last that many more years lol.

 

Ok guys I have gotten the energy bushings to install but I also got the new lower bushing retainer plates. Now I a ready to tackle this thing but i am worried about some bolts not coming loose and I don't know where to start to try and loosen them. Should I use a ratchet and try that way or should I try an impact? The rear and front cab bolts are the four worst ones I am scared off either breaking or stripping and if they were to break when up in the cab especially in the rear how could I get to the top of the welded square nuts to try and be able to get them out just in case if that would happen? Thanks if anyone can help with information.

 

If you remove three or four ignition wires you shouldn't have any more "over torqueing" and chassis twist issues...but it's not as impressive

 

Ha ha that is a good one by unhooking the wires but all jokes aside I had all the bolts break towards the head on the cab mounts on the two drivers side ones and the radiator support ones came out fine and stuff was not overly hard but had to cut some new steel to weld to help the frame supports since they have never been changed in over 20 plus years. 4 down and only two more to go and then I am done with these bad boys. I have been lucky with welding a nut to the broken bolt and a heck of a lot of PB blaster and a lot of twisting and turning with an impact they came out without breaking more and the nuts inside the cab held up.

 

I wish I had your skills! Almost took time to take a welding class about 50 times in the last 40 years. Do you know what caused the breakage? Sounds like a real ordeal to change them out

 

I don't have welding skills yet but I am working on it but it was my Dad who did the welding stuff but I did some welding for the first time and it was not quite as hard as it was and I did actually do a pretty good welding bead. The bolts broke cause of the rust and debris over the years that had stuck up in the bushing cup holders and it just rotted stuff away and the bolts in the cab mounts are held in place by welded nuts and they use locktite from the factory so the bolts don't come loose and with over 20 plus years as my truck is a 96 I used a small ratchet and tried to loosen the bolts some and then retighten them with pb blaster and go back and forth and then eventually the heads just broke off leaving just a stud sticking out. My Dad welded a nut and we kept our fingers cross the bolt shank would come out and it did. I have two more to go then I am done for life as those polyutherance bushings will out last my truck most likely lol.