Radius Rod (arm) Question
Senior User
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 494
Likes: 0
From: Mountville PA
I think there is no difference but if you have access to the 79 take mesurments and compare them to your 70 I did this with a 72 using parts from a 77 I used the 77 radius arms these are stamped steel and the 72's were cast. that would be the difference and the part that holds the lower part of your shock is diff too.
Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,760
Likes: 8
From: Gadsden Purchase
x2
If it were mine... I'd replace them as a pair.
But just how straight and squared up is your pickup to start with tho? :)
I moved a radius arm bracket forward ~1/4" to "square things up".
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm1.jpg
Seems to me everything that usually counts on such things would measure
the same but, see the how nice and square the shoulder is where the sheet
metal one meets the bolt? Stuff like that could make a difference if you are
as picky as I am about making every thing straight 'n' true 'n' square so it'll
steer nice.
YMMV
Alvin in AZ
If it were mine... I'd replace them as a pair.
But just how straight and squared up is your pickup to start with tho? :)
I moved a radius arm bracket forward ~1/4" to "square things up".
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm1.jpg
Seems to me everything that usually counts on such things would measure
the same but, see the how nice and square the shoulder is where the sheet
metal one meets the bolt? Stuff like that could make a difference if you are
as picky as I am about making every thing straight 'n' true 'n' square so it'll
steer nice.
YMMV
Alvin in AZ
Thread Starter
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New User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
So i guess 67-72 shocks are different than 73-79? Also i hear that the 73-79's have a notch in them for a sway bar.. does that mean i cant buy an aftermarket sway bar if i use the 67-72 radius arm? One more thing lol.. does anyone have a good set of radius arms i could buy? Mine are rusted out where the bushings go, the rod is thinner there than the actual threads itself.
Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2002
Posts: 18,488
Likes: 22
From: The Big, Oregon
The 67-72 arms are cast, the 73+ ones are stamped steel. I used my 72 arms, but could have used the 75 arms, the important dimensions are the same. The shock mounts are the same, the shock difference is that the 73-79 shocks are longer. Those trucks have taller spring buckets and longer springs.
It is easier to put a swaybar on the later arms, though.
It is easier to put a swaybar on the later arms, though.
Thread Starter
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New User
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 20
Likes: 0
Thanks to everyone that replied.. I'm thinking good condition arms would be easier to find from the 73-79 model trucks than they will be from the 67-72's.. So say i use 79 arms on my 70 f100, I will need to buy springs and shocks for a 70 and bushings for a 79 correct?
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 1,996
Likes: 9
From: Pittsburgh,Pa.
Thanks to everyone that replied.. I'm thinking good condition arms would be easier to find from the 73-79 model trucks than they will be from the 67-72's.. So say i use 79 arms on my 70 f100, I will need to buy springs and shocks for a 70 and bushings for a 79 correct?
I used 76 arms in my 72 so that I could mount the sway bar brackets. They had rust damage like all the others I have or could find. I built the damaged areas up with weld, ground them back to size. After that I dropped them off at a fab shop to be x-rayed for any stress cracks. They passed.
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Postmaster
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 2,760
Likes: 8
From: Gadsden Purchase
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/radiusarm.jpg
is that a steering stabilizer i see?
how do you like it for driving over rough surfaces?
does it have any cons such as making the steering
wheel harder to turn and put stress on the pump?
is that a steering stabilizer i see?
how do you like it for driving over rough surfaces?
does it have any cons such as making the steering
wheel harder to turn and put stress on the pump?
Maybe it'd make a difference if I wasn't running 235/85-16E "truck tires"?
Maybe only "Big Foot wanna-be" tires need a steering stabilizer? {shrug}
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/damper&shock.jpg
http://www.panix.com/~alvinj/file12/damper.jpg
Alvin in AZ