1986 ranger rusted out radius arm bracket?

[lost86broncoii]

Hey guys, just got an 86 extended cab 4x4 ranger for cheap but its passanger side radius arm bracket is almost rusted though.... I got a new one ordered from ebay, only 32 bucks can't complain there. My question is can i just unbolt the bracket from the frame and other side, it looks to be two seperate brackets on each side with a middle connector piece bolted between them? Will I have to take off the arm to change this? Should I go rent the coil spring compresser and unbolt the arm from the axel, or just unbolt the bracket from the frame and swap brackets and bushings? Any one had to do this before? Need it done easy as possible, I got crap for tools right now and no garage, my best bet in the tool chest is a huge cresent wrench... Not looking forward to that radius arm nut, any tips? Thanks in advance

 

[4x4junkie]

I think you can replace just the bracket without disassembling the whole suspension.
Unless someone's already done it, you will have to grind or drill out a couple of rivets that hold the bracket to the side of the frame though, which can be a PITA. The radius arm bracket rivets can be replaced using 7/16" grade-8 bolts & locknuts.

 

[lost86broncoii]

Yeah gonnna have to grind them out, good thing i just picked up an angle grinder last month. The bracket i got off ebay came with some boths and nuts, they're marked 10.9 BY, i'm guessing they're grade 8. Thanks for the help Junkie.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

^^^10.9 would be metric and should be fine.

 

[4x4junkie]

Yep, metric grade 10.9 is about equivalent to SAE grade-8. No problem.

 

[lost86broncoii]

Sweet then I'm good to go, got the bracket changed out, no problems with the help of my angle grinder lol. Thanks all for the help.