the previous owner of my 95 F150 had the passenger radius arm bushing changed but not the driver's side. I'm getting this good knocking sound everytime I hit a bump, consistent with the same knocking sound I got when the radius bushings went out in my 91 Ranger, so I am pretty certain that this is culprit, especially since one bushing is still factory and I have 111k miles on it.

The passenger radius arm bracket had the rivets removed and replaced with bolts. How do you go about removing the rivets WITHOUT the use of a cutting torch (as I used back years ago on my ranger)? I don't have a torch so I need an alternate method.

 

I took my old bronco to the nearest muffler shop, had them cut the heads of the rivets off. cost me $5. I then drove it home and knocked out the rivets and disassembled it to put in new bushings. I drilled out the holes so i could put bigger bolts in. I think i used 5/8 grade 8 bolts (3/4 head)

 

Well that's scarey.....like holloween scary.

With a big bump, a hard corner or emergency braking the radius arm would have removed itself from the frame and someone could have been killed when you lost contol of your bronco.

Fosgate3:
The rivits can be removed with an air hammer and chisel bit or a BFH and a hand chisel to remove the heads and a punch to drive the rivits out. The latter will work, it just takes time.
The reason the passenger side wears out is it melts from the heat off the pipes. There should be a light metal colar to reflect the heat on the passenger side bushing.

I've also seen people use a come-a-long from the axle to the front of the frame to pull forward the radius arm without needing to remove the bracket. I'm not saying this is a good idea, just that I've seen it done.

Hope this helps.........