Radius arm build ?

[Grandman]

Shaker is gearing up ( collecting parts ) for his s 10 blazer build . Any one know of problems with the ford radius arm set ups ?

As far as i know there strong , reliable and simple . Iv never run one off road but i cant think of any issues with them .

Road house , could we get a few photos of your Grand with radius arms ?

[Blackjackbender]

his is pretty trick. i know he replaced the bushing with a flex joint/johnny joint.

[Grandman]

Shaker is planing on 33" tires , wont need to be that trick .

[Tonka]

I would build my own arms, similar to the rubicon express long arm kits.

I deal with 1/2 of a fleet of Ford trucks and vans(roughly 50), and we are constantly replacing the arm to frame bushings. Moog bushings seem to last the longest.
If he wants to keep the stud style mount, I would (at the very least) extend the arm length to reduce wear, and increase travel. There are production arms available to do this on the Fords.

The s/t blazers and jimmy's had a pretty flat belly to begin with. I would do my best to keep that design trend in the build.

[Grandman]

Well every thing wears out . The radius arm bushing on the tail end is cheap and easy to swap out . Plus as a wheeler it wont see enough miles to go through them .

Im thinking of the older broncos , they seem to flex pretty well stock . Wonder if they used a longer factory arm then the new Ford trucks today ?

I see the newer stuff is not using the big C on the tube like they use too , Id guess that limits flex on the newer 80 - 96 models .

[Tonka]

ok, maybe I should simplify here. the basic radius arm design will be ok, just eliminate the stud mount, and go to a joint that has a mounting bolt parallel to the axle. You can buy bushing sleeves or flex joints all over the web... this will help reduce suspension bind.

the longer and more parallel to the frame his links are, the more linear the travel (less cutting sheetmetal & less driveshaft slip needed)

the newer radius arms ar similar in design principal, they just bolt directly to the axle eliminating the old c bushing design

[Grandman]

Tonka , any time your talking to me , simple is best :hehe:

Do you think the newer arm hook up at the axel is better then the old style with the C's an bushing ?

I am really not familar with the radius arm ( whats best ) stuff . Shaker and i are still kicking around ideas . I am more familar with 4 linking stuff but we wanted to do something different .

I was thinking the stock set up worked pretty well for a rig on 33" and not meant to be a rock crawler .

[sglide]

i think what tonka is saying is
on the frame side of the rad. arm on the old ford syle , the end of the arm was a stud that ran through a sandwiched bushing set up that would really limit flex and be under alot of stress at flex.
instead of using a stud that runs inline with the arm
run a jonny joint or bushing that is 90dig. to the arm

[Grandman]

ya i know what he is saying and im not arguing it . I just didnt know they were a problem in stock form .

[Tonka]

ya i know what he is saying and im not arguing it . I just didnt know they were a problem in stock form .

the stud eats through the bushing, then the mount. I dont think that the newer style is any better than the old. Radius arms bind at a given point similar to the way a 4 link does.

The bushings of the old design allowed for it, as do the arm designs of the newer style.

[Roadhouse]

Marv, just saw this thread. I have know idea how mine are offroad as my Heep just sits. But if you need pictures here is what the ones Pat built for me look like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Roadhouse66/ZJ%20Build/2007_01058-26-060004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Roadhouse66/ZJ%20Build/2007_01048-26-060009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Roadhouse66/ZJ%20Build/2007_02168-26-060001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Roadhouse66/ZJ%20Build/2007_02168-26-060010.jpg

Chopped the stock arms down and welded up some 1.5" tube with 1/4" wall on them. Used a Rubicon Express large flex joint on the end. I'm also using 7* poly bushings on the axle end. I don't know how long stock full size Bronco/F150 arms are...but mine are 40".
I know Ken is building a set just like mine for his new EB.

[Shaker]

Looks good roadhouse.

I am looking for a easy and effective means to put a solid axle in my s-10.
Just curious what made you decide to do the radius arms, and would you do it still if you had to start over?

[Roadhouse]

Looks good roadhouse.

I am looking for a easy and effective means to put a solid axle in my s-10.
Just curious what made you decide to do the radius arms, and would you do it still if you had to start over?

My D44 had the cast in c-bushing mounts...so I was kinda limited to using the ford radius arm setup.

If I had to do it over I would go the way of a Rubicon Express radius arm setup, or a full four link like Tims BDS setup. Mainly just for the extra adjustments to fine tune an alignment.

[Grandman]

Thanks Mike , i think im going to talk him into a 4 link . I have more knowledge in building them then any other set up .

Iv found these ( easy way out ) leaf spring set up to be a pain getting them dialed in compared to a 4 link too .

[sglide]

thats been my experience marv
when i did the 4 link rear and leaf over front on the old cj5 i said id never mess with leaves again

[Roadhouse]

Marv the ford radius arm setup is pretty easy to do....actually easier than setting up a four link. I just don't like the non adjustment for caster, except for changing the c-bushings.

also here is another shot with the lower shock mounts on the radius arm

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v654/Roadhouse66/ZJ%20Build/2007_03228-26-060060.jpg

[Grandman]

Well shaker will have to make up his mind , its his rig i just get to assit with screwing it up :hehe:

[Roadhouse]

Well shaker will have to make up his mind , its his rig i just get to assit with screwing it up :hehe:

:lol:

[Icebreaker88]

Here is basically what I built for my arms. I used the extensions with the stock style bushing at the end. They flex pretty good for using a stock style bushing

http://fullsizebronco.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21495