twin i-beam suspension

88gt · Aug 29, 2008

i have a 88 ranger gt, and i was wondering what there is to do about getting the front tires perpendicular to the road. currently yhey loo like this \ /
now, thats a overly overdone example example of what it loks like straight on. but is there some other size front coil spring or something i could throw in there or what?

Will · Aug 29, 2008

It's out of alignment. Are you going to align it yourself? Are there aftermarket parts on it?

88gt · Sep 1, 2008

Will said:
It's out of alignment. Are you going to align it yourself? Are there aftermarket parts on it?

Well, thats what i thought myself at first. i had it aligned at a shop and it made no difference at all...as for aftermarket parts, don't have a clue. everything i found is either stock or drop springs. i want to retain a stock suspension until i get to that part of the truck later on down the road, but in the mean time, i don't want to be goin thru tires.

Just for a breif history of my truck, i purchaced it lowered (by a hack ), with bad heads. got it for 500 bucks, couldn't complain. me and my dad unlowered it and rebuilt the top end of the motor. where the question lies is if we missed something raising the truck back up, all we did up front is buy new springs. any suggestions????

Insanejughead · Sep 1, 2008

Probably the camber adjusters. The guy who lowered it did the right thing and got offset camber bushings for it... You'll need to set them to zero or buy some new ones that are set at zero already. (Check to see if yours have a marking on them 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2... etc...)

Let us know what you see when you check them out.

88gt · Sep 1, 2008

well, shoot, i wasn't aware that i beams could have that adjustment on them
and the reason i say that they guy before me was a hack is because the rear practically fell apart once i got the u-boltd off the axles. i tapped the plates that the axles mates to the springs with gently with a mallet and they dropped to the ground. wow!!!
it was on the verge of blowing out!!!

88gt · Sep 2, 2008

allright, i looked at the truck today. i wasn't seeing anywhere where there could be a camber adjuster. it is just the ibeam and it connects right tot he spindle part. tho only real adjustable thing on this i guess is the toe. i think the camber adjuster came on the later independant front suspensions.

but as for the spring, im thinking that the height of the spring is wrong. so with that said, what are the heights of ranger from coil springs for a 4x4 and a 2wd, i might just have the wrong spring in there. i didn;t buy the springs for the truck, my dad picked them up for me so i don't know, but my current guess is that i have the wrong height spring in there. and numbers in this dilemma would be appreciated.

Insanejughead · Sep 3, 2008

Believe me, there IS an adjustment that can be made to the I-beam. It is hidden right under your nose at where it connects the spindle to the beam. Just look closely at the thing directly ABOVE the nut that holds the top balljoint in place. There will be a marking on there that specifies the degree of camber it can be adjusted to. You will also see a split in it. That is there to allow it to expand a get some grip on the balljoint as well as being a reference to see where the adjustment sits (positive, negative, neutral...) Stock camber adjusters are a 12 point 1 1/2" star. Most aftermarket adjusters are 1 1/2" 6 point hex shaped. I'm sure yours will have the six sided adjusters.

Also, that plate that goes on top of the springs isn't supposed to be bolted down to the springs or axle. It just allows the u-bolts to have something solid to bolt to once they are wrapped around the axle and springs. Think of it as one big square washer.

Let me know if you need anything else.

88gt · Sep 3, 2008

allright, let ya know sometime this weekend. truck is at the old mans house.

canyoncritter · Sep 6, 2008

there is a pair of fully adjustable bushing's that will fit your truck in the forsale section of this board.

http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24972

like jughead said, your top balljoint, look under the nut that hold the spindle to the beam end and you will find it.

88gt · Sep 6, 2008

allright, i have access to a parts truck the same year as mine that is still completely stock, so i can pull the adjuster off that one and put it on mine. im gonna be at the old mans tommorow toswap tires, so ill inspect it then.thanks

88gt · Sep 7, 2008

Allright, got under the truck today. so it turns out the previous owner did do something right when he lowered it. the truck has a 1 1/2 camber adjuster on it. so...thanks canyoncritter about the heads up on the adjustable bushings. also jughead...sorry i doubted ya..ignorance is usually on my plate. im in the fast lane now so thanks for all the help.

As for the rear, heres a pic. you can pick out the crappy weld spots where the shackles were when it was lowered. to be honest, im still suprised that they were even still attached when i purchased it.

Insanejughead · Sep 8, 2008

Glad you got that straightened out. I don't blame you for being ignorant for a minute. I've had it happen to me and we just go on and learn what we can to help out someone else out when we can.

Now the alignment shouldn't be a problem whatsoever.

twin i-beam suspension

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