I'm sure it's been thought of on here, but what are the upper and lower ball joint differences between 79-83 and 84-95? Upper / Lower control arms? Since they are the same basic design, what changed? The interchange thread kinda died, so just wondering. Looking at the pics of the parts, they don't seem that different. I'm wondering if a set of '84 ball joints could be swapped onto an '83 and drop spindles for an '84-'95 could be used? I'm sure someone has done the research on this, it's as easy as comparing the ball joints and the mounting face. If the bolt holes match up, then it's a piece of cake. I'm guessing they don't. Any idea?
You want to put 84+ spindles on your truck? Its possible Ive done it. (82) Need spindles, hubs, upper and lower control arms, brakes, BJ's, strut rods, and a stack of alignment shims. Use your torsion arm lever and bars. (gotta drill 1 hole and bolt each side once. Something is different about the two generations frame. The lower control arms end up being shorteror something. It tucks the wheel inboard somewhere between 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. The stack of alignment shims brings camber back into spec by shimming the crud outa the UCA. It isnt possible to just bolt on ball joints. They dont go the right direction and they are different sizes.
From everything I've looked at so far, easiest thing to do is lower ball joint flip and crank the torsions. I don't have the time or money to really go nuts on the front end, so I'll do a 2"-3" drop all around and enjoy it. Slap the bigger sway bar also. This is where I get in trouble, trying to re-engineer the vehicle before I've even drove it! Gets EXPENSIVE like my last project did. $10k isn't available this time!
Pfft. $150 bucks tops for the parts at a U-Pull it. $50 for bearings, seals and grease.About $100 for balljoints. The alignment might get you though. For your viewing pleasure.... Screw mag-chloride and snow. Darn stuffs only 3 months old. Never taking my truck to colorado again.
I'm rolling about a 4" drop now on my 80 longbed. I swapped everything over BUT the upper control arms and the torsion bars. I needed all the alignment shims too, but I thought it was due to the fact that the 79-83 stuff is 3/4" shorter than the later stuff, I ended up getting a 89 front drop set fro a guy-it came with 2" Belltech drop spindles. I have issues with the steering arms though being this low. to do it right, heims are needed for the extra angle produced when this low. Drivable, but the steering isn't totally smooth. The best part about this setup is that the torsion bars aren't that loose, so it handles well especially with the sway bar upgrade (the 89 bar is easily twice as thick). I am now thinking I want to go the other direction...at least 3 maybe 4 inch lift. Going stock spindles (89) 2: ball joint spacers, and if a torsion lift doesn't get me to my final height, a 2" body lift will fit stock 4x4 tires under the truck (27-28" diameter). Right now I am using Chrysler 17x8 rims with 225 45 17 tires. The rear is on 4" drop blocks, to lift I am considering a 4x4 housing or mount perches for spring over like the 4x4. Shawn
For easy comparison to hilux stuff, which is the same spindle as 79-83s...heres a pic. Yes, I always drive it this low
no, they won't swap. if you look at the first pic in the thread, thats a 84+ spindle. the upper balljoint points down, and the lower points up. on the 68-83 spindle, both balljoints point down. you could try to fit a 84+ lower balljoint to the 75-78 arm, but the spindles would have to flip left to right, which is the part that would scare me lol
