Radius arm bracket location - FW SAS

[Tony Raine]

swapping a 78-79 FW dana 44 into my '84 Bronco II

I am needing some advice on how to make sure the holes i drill for the radius arm brackets are in the right place.

on the driver's side, i found this hole that puts the axle right under the coil bucket (as measured with a homemade "plumb bob"). its about a 1/4 of a inch too low, and there is not an identical hole on the passenger side

i took some measurements of the frame, body mount holes, and that hole. i made a "life sized" drawing on paper with a new hole 2" forward, and 1/4" up. if i transfer that to a piece of steel, and use it as a template for both sides, will that work? yeah, i know i will have to cut up the body mount, that's ok.

 

[spdcrazy]

ya that should work. or just measure from the body mount bolt's. over and across using 90 degree angles.

 

[Tony Raine]

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Not sure if it applies, I just installed '87 stx drop brackets in my '91 ranger. The rad arm, pass. side hole was broke so I had to adapt the '87 brackets to the '91. To make a long story longer, the basic idea that ford had was to put a solid 1 1/2' block between the frame and rad arm bracket. Can you do the same thing with the 1/4" space between your frame and bracket?
Richard

 

[Tony Raine]

Not sure if it applies, I just installed '87 stx drop brackets in my '91 ranger. The rad arm, pass. side hole was broke so I had to adapt the '87 brackets to the '91. To make a long story longer, the basic idea that ford had was to put a solid 1 1/2' block between the frame and rad arm bracket. Can you do the same thing with the 1/4" space between your frame and bracket?
Richard

yes, i could. it would be like a "mini drop bracket." but since i am moving the axle forward from this position anyway, i'll just "engineer" the new hole in the right place

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

Ahhh, I see now that I reread your post what you're up to.
I think the idea you have will work just fine as long as the frame at that part are mirror images. Also, I'm finding that holes are never exact from frame to frame.
Good luck,
Richard

 

[spdcrazy]

Ahhh, I see now that I reread your post what you're up to.
I think the idea you have will work just fine as long as the frame at that part are mirror images. Also, I'm finding that holes are never exact from frame to frame.
Good luck,
Richard

very much so! i was speaking to a guy a few days ago and he claims that factory ford specs aren't as accurate as we would hope. I.E. 1/8in of play either way. (on certain things)

so assuming the body mounts are in the same place, and i would assume that. you should be just fine!

 

[Tony Raine]

Thanks ya'll!

 

[spdcrazy]

Thanks ya'll!

NP. hope it all works out well for ya!

 

[gwaii]

the ranger radius arm brackets will work,but if you can get the brackets from the 78/9 they will be much easier to use.they have a 90 deg angle on the bottom so they can be clamped to the frame bottom and set in place easilly,and the holes drilled using the bracket itself as a template.they are also much stronger.i will see if i can dig up a pic or two to show you.

 

[gwaii]

heres the diff before installing,note the radius arm brackets.

 

[gwaii]

note how cleanly the attatch to the frame-in some cases i build the trans mount as a crossmember that ties them together like on the 70's truck.

 

[Tony Raine]

the ranger radius arm brackets will work,but if you can get the brackets from the 78/9 they will be much easier to use.they have a 90 deg angle on the bottom so they can be clamped to the frame bottom and set in place easilly,and the holes drilled using the bracket itself as a template.they are also much stronger.i will see if i can dig up a pic or two to show you.

thanks for the info gwaii

i'm actually not using rbv brackets. i found that TTB brackets from a full size stick out from the frame, unlike the others that are directly beneath it. i dont think stock radius arms on a full-width axle can be pulled in under the frame without a lot of bind in the "c" bushings

 

[ThatGuy]

You are gonna have bind in the bushings anyway. You will get tons more flex by going with a heim or joint.

What we done with mine was bolt it all together, roll it under, square everything up, and drill holes wherever they landed. Best to have 2 or 3 people to keep re-checking and make sure nothing moves while getting the holes punched. Good luck!



Edit: nevermind, I see you were talking about bind in the C bushings---kill my remark. Be sure to swap to 7 degree C bushings to keep the caster correct.

 

[gwaii]

TTB brackets from a full size stick out from the frame, unlike the others that are directly beneath it. i dont think stock radius arms on a full-width axle can be pulled in under the frame without a lot of bind in the "c" bushings

this is a good point.for the b2 in the pics i narrowed the diffs and built custom arms,so everything lined up good.also,i should have recognised those brackets in the pic as fullsize,they don't have the built in crossmember.oh,well....it was late.