95 spindles,89-up drop deams on a 83 ranger

[rab]

ok i have a 83 2wd 4 cyl 4 speed ford ranger.

i bought a set of belltech drop beams with what i think are 93 or 95 spindles and brakes already on them perfect for my 83, iirc the guy i bought them from said they came off a 93 or 95 (they do have the dual piston calipers).

also my 83 has manual steering, well i installed them today and it made both of my tires extremely toed in.

So now to my questions.

1. Are there any differences in radius arms 83-97?
2. Are there any differences in the drag link,adjusting sleeve or tierods ends 83-97 power or manual steering?
3. if nothing is different, im assuming the 95 spindle steering arm are different than the 83's so i could just adjust it to be toed correctly?

 

[JoshT]

Radius arms should be interchangeable, there are some minor differences between the years, but dimension wise they are the same. Did you happen to replace any bushings? That could make a difference in steering geometry.

TREs and adjusters are the same according to part number cross reference. There might be a little difference in the inner tie rods (drag link and center link), but never heard of them needing to be swapped with the beams. Those parts will be the same for manual or power steering, the difference there is in the steering box.

Regardless of parts differences between the years, past experiences shared on these boards suggests that you should be able to align them with the components you have now.

 

[rab]

No i reused all the bushing, but ok great thats what i wanted to know, so now later today i will be adjust the toe

 

[rab]

Are the outer tierod ends different 83 manual steering vs. 95 power or manual steering?

 

[rab]

The lmc truck catalog states that all the tie rod ends are the same 83-97.
if anyone can help with this also it would be much appreciated.....
http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155314

 

[rab]

just a bit of a update, i was searching around and found a guy on the turboranger forums that had a similar issue with major toe in after installing the 89-up drop beams and the 95-97 spindles on a 83-88.

It also looks like i will need a set of 95-97 brake hoses from a 4 wheel abs 95-97 ranger to make this all work on my 83.

 

[AllanD]

While the radius arms are different '88-up from the 1982-1/2 to 1987
you want to use the EARLY radius arms whenever possible..

The reason for this is that the late (1988-up) radius arems use a welded peg with a threaded tip as the lower shock-mount. the threads commonly rust and subsequently snap off when you attempt to remove the lower shock nut.

When that happens you are basically screwed.

The earlier radius arm has through bolt and a triangular brace.
If the early lower mount fails it can all be easily replaced.
(literally in a few minutes)

because all there is in the radius arm is three unthreaded holes.