1985 Ranger 2wd alignment bushings?

[Bird76Mojo]

I'm familiar with most all generations of the Ranger 2wd front beams and most of the differences from 83 to 97, and I'm 99% sure my 1985 truck has the alignment bushing underneath the beam from what I do know, but why does Rockauto not list a larger selection of front alignment bushings for this 2wd truck?

The only bushing I see listed is:

SPECIALTY PRODUCTS 23162
Front; 1/2 DEGREE CAMBER SLEEVE; 1/2 DEGREES CAMBER SLEEVE; 2WD


Are they the same bushings as the 4wd of the same year and it's just Rockauto giving bad info? Or am I just ganked here and can only get a 1/2 degree bushings? Yes, I have searched with very little luck.

 

[bobbywalter]

there is a smaller and a larger. the d28 is one style the d35 is the other.

the tib is early and later iirc. dfference in year i do not remember exactly. forged verse cast beam ect can bring variance.



the earlier style is one type, the later d35 type they still use today on the 2wd super duty and e beams.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I knew there are two sizes of 4wd front ends but my 2wd I'm just not sure what it needs here. I guess I'll have to go through the winter without an alignment, because the shop I called said the bushings were $120 without them marking them up in $$

No way I'm paying that.

But he did mention they were adjustable 4.5 +/- which makes me think they're just the normal Moog style adjustables for like $20 a pop.

 

[JoshT]

Rock auto lists a +/- 2-1/4° degree bushing for 2wd. MOOG K8668

I seem to recall NAPA had some back in the day that might have allowed for more, but that may have been for the 89-97 trucks. Don't recall the part number and wouldn't know if it is still available, but it might be worth checking into.

 

[bobbywalter]

Northstar 1 3/4 Deg. Ford Caster/Camber Bushing

Adjust Ford Caster Camber with Northstar 1 3/4 Deg. Bushings. Easy-to-adjust Hex-Head design. Fits 2WD and 4WD.

www.alltiresupply.com

MOOG Auto Part Finder | Vehicle Part Results

After entering your car's information, here are the MOOG® parts available for your vehicle.

www.moogparts.com

sniff around there....

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Rock auto lists a +/- 2-1/4° degree bushing for 2wd. MOOG K8668

I seem to recall NAPA had some back in the day that might have allowed for more, but that may have been for the 89-97 trucks. Don't recall the part number and wouldn't know if it is still available, but it might be worth checking into.

Unfortunately, they only have a qty of 1 listed on that bushing. Moog K8668 No one else has it online except Oreillys, and they're $75 each. No way in heck.

Rockauto also lists SPECIALTY PRODUCTS 23162 but it's the 1/2 degree bushing.


Why is this truck such a bastard? I can't get a plug-n-play 4 pin trailer wiring harness for it either. All companies exclude the 85 model year.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Northstar 1 3/4 Deg. Ford Caster/Camber Bushing

Adjust Ford Caster Camber with Northstar 1 3/4 Deg. Bushings. Easy-to-adjust Hex-Head design. Fits 2WD and 4WD.

www.alltiresupply.com

MOOG Auto Part Finder | Vehicle Part Results

After entering your car's information, here are the MOOG® parts available for your vehicle.

www.moogparts.com

sniff around there....

That Northstar bushing doesn't seem to fit the 85 model year according to their chart. 89+

 

[bobbywalter]

what joints do you have....threaded or pin?


the northstars fit 1985.

42-104 Northstar Suspension Alignment Caster Chamber Bushing 1 Degree | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 42-104 Northstar Suspension Alignment Caster Chamber Bushing 1 Degree at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

call them.

i dont remember a problem with the inline trailer connector. but maybe. iirc i used a 150 unit on my truck at one point. but that might have been when i jumped in the brake controller.

1985 Ford Ranger Trailer Wiring Kit

42-104 Northstar Suspension Alignment Caster Chamber Bushing 1 Degree
Camber adjustment for Ford two wheel drive vehicles 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 F-100 F-250 & Ranger 2WD

 

[bobbywalter]

Ford Ranger Trailer Wiring Kits

 

[bobbywalter]

i cant get the links to work either....



this one

Amazon.com

 

[Bird76Mojo]

I had found the Hopkins 40115 wiring kit but some sites list that it doesn't fit the 85 model for some reason. Crap shoot I guess..

I'm not sure of which joints I have as far as threaded or pinned. I haven't gotten it apart yet, but the alignment is out by several degrees. I think the previous owner put new coil springs in which raised the height just a tiny bit, throwing it out of alignment. I've got half a mind to cut a tiny bit off the coil springs instead of messing with all of this bushing nonsense.

 

[JoshT]

Why is this truck such a bastard?

Well I can probably answer this one, at least partially, but you might not like it. It's your fault. For some dumb reason you decided that you liked and wanted a 40+ year old truck. Welcome to the club!

Aside from what was installed from the factory, Plug-n-play trailer harness weren't really a thing back in the 80s. No one really questioned cutting splicing together some wires on a truck to add a trailer connector. As time went on and truck (vehicle) prices rose people became more interested in having plug and play things like this that can be easily reversed. So year they weren't really common 30 years ago when the truck was new, and the demand for them hasn't really increased a lot since.

As for the bushing availability. Again, you're working on a 30 year old truck. The bushings that you used have a relatively narrow range of use, 83-88 on the Ranger and BII, not sure on others. The later busings were used for almost 10 years from 89-97 int he Rangers, and the 4wd bushgings were mostly the same from 83-97 with the change Bobby noted. Generally unless you are are modifying (lifting/lowering) the truck a large degree camber bushing is not needed, even then it's mostly if you use springs.

Can I ask why you need camber bushings? Maybe it's actually something else that needs to be repaired or replaced to get your camber back in specification.

Something else to think about. If you need a suspension rebuild and considering that your profile says V8, it might be worth while collecting parts to swap to the 95-97 beams, knuckles, and brakes. That style should have more/larger camber bushings available.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Well I can probably answer this one, at least partially, but you might not like it. It's your fault. For some dumb reason you decided that you liked and wanted a 40+ year old truck. Welcome to the club!

Aside from what was installed from the factory, Plug-n-play trailer harness weren't really a thing back in the 80s. No one really questioned cutting splicing together some wires on a truck to add a trailer connector. As time went on and truck (vehicle) prices rose people became more interested in having plug and play things like this that can be easily reversed. So year they weren't really common 30 years ago when the truck was new, and the demand for them hasn't really increased a lot since.

As for the bushing availability. Again, you're working on a 30 year old truck. The bushings that you used have a relatively narrow range of use, 83-88 on the Ranger and BII, not sure on others. The later busings were used for almost 10 years from 89-97 int he Rangers, and the 4wd bushgings were mostly the same from 83-97 with the change Bobby noted. Generally unless you are are modifying (lifting/lowering) the truck a large degree camber bushing is not needed, even then it's mostly if you use springs.

Can I ask why you need camber bushings? Maybe it's actually something else that needs to be repaired or replaced to get your camber back in specification.

Something else to think about. If you need a suspension rebuild and considering that your profile says V8, it might be worth while collecting parts to swap to the 95-97 beams, knuckles, and brakes. That style should have more/larger camber bushings available.

The V8 truck is one of my other Rangers. I have several on the road. The V8 truck has already been swapped to 97 beams with Sport Trac rotors to gain the dual piston caliper, etc.

This whole truck has already been gone through and everything replaced before I bought it. It's very minty except for this alignment issue. Nothing is damaged or broken in the suspension. In fact, it's all new. The new springs just pushed the beams down more since they're not damn near 50 years old, which affected the alignment. I have my own alignment tools from Longacre but just looking at it with the eyes, from past experience, I'd say it's out by 3-4 degrees.

The trailer harness is because I'm looking at a shallow water boat by St. Louis and need to get it back home.

I've been part of the Ranger club since 1989 with my first 1986 Ranger. Then my 89. Then my BII's. Then my 2001. Then my 86 V8 truck. Now my 85 longbed.

 

[JoshT]

I've been part of the Ranger club since 1989 with my first 1986 Ranger. Then my 89. Then my BII's. Then my 2001. Then my 86 V8 truck. Now my 85 longbed.

Dad bought my first Ranger, an 84 long bed, in the mid-late 80s. I was probably still in diapers at the time and it didn't become mine until the early 2000s, but can I still claim the time? I haven't been through as many myself, but between us we've had a few.

I try not to assume that anyone knows anything regardless of how long they've been involved with it, and I'm damn sure not going to try to remember everyone's background/history. (I'd be lost before I started.) You wouldn't have been the first person to be around these trucks since the '80s, these forums since the '00s, and still not known about the possible swaps and upgrades. FWIW, I've got parts for the ST swap and the Cobra swap waiting in the wings for the 85, so you're in good company there. I just not entirely sure what I'm doing with the truck yet to know which setup I'm going to use.

I understand on the trailer harness, I much prefer plug and play when it's available. Just saying it's kind of understandable why those, and many other parts, don't have much availability these days. I have been known to buy pigtails from the junkyard, or buy connectors online, and make my own plug-n-play harness. For trailer harness on one of these old trucks, I'd probably just cut and splice. I figure those connectors and wires aren;t in the best of shape anyway, so something would probably break int he process of disconnecting the plug. If that happens I'm fixing wires anyway.

I doubt they would have the alignment bushing, but have you checked LMC to see if they might have the harness?

Not suggesting that you change anything, but I wonder if they might have used the wrong springs? Knowing that they have replaced everything, it really shouldn't be that far out with the original bushings.

 

[Bird76Mojo]

Well, I confirmed one thing at least. The Hopkins 40115 is plug and play on my 1985 Ranger. Tested and works perfectly. Now, if this online auction goes well then I'll be testing this A4LD towing a 16ft jon boat from St. Louis. 2hr trip. Fingers crossed and tow company phone number in hand. lol

Now to solve the bushing problem...