D35 Radius arm pivot or not?

Desertchild · Apr 4, 2014

I dropped my D35 from my Bronco II to put a lift kit on it, and everything went well, until I started to bolt the axle back up:

The radius arm on the passenger side of the axle is rigid, and does not pivot where it is bolted up to the axle, while the driver side radius arm is able to swing back and forth on the bolts with a little force.

I have never noticed this before, so I do not know which side needs to be fixed. Are they supposed to pivot, or are they supposed to remain static?

I ask, because I am having issues mounting the axle to the brackets, and the stiff passenger radius arm could be the issue.

Thanks for reading, and hopefully someone out there has the knowledge I seek

Have a good day!

Captain Ledd · Apr 4, 2014

They're not supposed to pivot.

There are only 2 points connecting your axles to the frame (excluding the spring, but bear with me). So imagine a line going through the 2 pivot points (the radius arm, and the axle beam), this essentially makes an "A-Arm" in terms of function and movement, but it's HUGE, so it's really strong. And your tire/suspension travel will rotate along that axis between the 2 points. So there's no reason for it to need to pivot, as it rotates along a straight line.

They are a pain to get back in. I used a jack and some long chunks of steel and wood to help mine along. Also a friend. I'm sure there's some trick to it, but it was my first time messing with it and I needed it done.

Desertchild · Apr 4, 2014

Thank you for the info!
Since I posted, I have gotten the driver side pivot arm mounted up, as well as it's radius arm, but mostly because the radius arm was able to pivot, so I could put it in easier. The trouble I'm having now is that with the passenger side, I can't seem to get the radius arm in place, while keeping the axle shaft in, and even then I'll still have to figure out how to get the beam mounted

4x4junkie · Apr 4, 2014

Loosen the two bolts that hold the radius arm to the axle, swing the radius arm to wherever it needs to go, then after things are in their brackets, tighten the bolts back up (an impact will help here... Not having one, you'll need to have either the beam or the arm mounted in it's bracket so that you can get some leverage on the assembly with a breaker bar).

Be sure to use some heat on those bolts (Ford used rather strong Loctite on them during assembly).

If your driverside arm can be moved around relatively easily, the bolts holding it on likely need to be tightened further as well.

Desertchild · Apr 5, 2014

Thank you very much for the reply 4x4junkie!
That's what I have been trying, but I'm not having much luck. I have an impact, but the bolt is too long for the sockets I have, and I'm guessing I don't have the size I need. Today has been a truly bleak one for this project haha

I have to rest for now, as trying to do all of this by myself has been extremely exhausting, but the next thing I plan to try, is disconnecting the axle shaft and finagling the stiff passenger side (radius arm first, then swing the beam up), then using the flexibility of the driver side to my advantage, so I should be able to bolt it up easier before tightening the radius arms down.

I will see what strength I can muster up tonight, but I will likely have to wait to recover more, and hopefully get a friend to help me with it.

I will post pictures of it once I get it, along with the solution. Thanks again!

Desertchild · Apr 5, 2014

All done! with the hard part at least!
I ended up putting the passenger side on first, then the driver side, playing on the loose radius arm to make it easier to position.

I got the new coils on, and the shocks mounted up! Once I get the steering adjusted, it will be good for a test drive, then on to the rear lift!

Once the rear is done, I'll update my build thread!
Thanks for your help and advice! Have a good weekend

D35 Radius arm pivot or not?

Desertchild

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