Van lower control arm fitment.

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Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby Horus » Sat Mar 24, 2018 11:16 am

Hey guys! I am getting set to rebuild my front suspension in my 93 D250. The problem I have is the passenger lower control arm is shorter than the driver side. Significantly too, like we're talking more than an inch. The truck seems aligned well and goes straight down the road but the passenger front tire is always tipped out. Major positive camber. That lower arm is not the original one as it looks like it came from a junkyard.

For a year I've been watching craigslist for someone parting a D250 or D350 with the "4400 pound" front lower arms that only came in our trucks. Months back I found one and contacted him. Two more guys put up ads parting out bodies. One a 91 D350 and the other an LE version of my truck. All three of these folks started blowing me off and making excuses as soon as I asked for the lower arms. Seriously. " Oh, I don't want the truck on the ground..." Dude, the scrapper is just going to drag it up onto his bed. Very frustrating.

So I need an arm. I'd like to get a matching pair. Then I read a few places that some people have made Dodge van arms work. That is what I need to know. There is an 01 Dodge van at pick n pull right now with 8 lugs and lower control arms that appear very similar to mine, massive balljoint and all.

I remember there are a couple mods I need to do to them and my truck. They are...

Cut off the van steering stops.
Drill two new holes where needed for the strut rod to bolt to.
Drill the holes in the truck's crossmember a size larger to accommodate the larger Van bolts.
Profit

Am I correct in this? Thanks for any help. Cheers!
91.5 W250 Dodge 4X4 CTD. Getrag. DD Power pin removed, stock fuel cone back in. 366 spring. Power screw at stock depth. Stock turbo. Stock lift pump. Straight piped and Intercooled.

93 D250 Dodge club cab 2wd. All stock for now. Automatic.
Hard KOR Wheeler.
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Horus
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Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby Horus » Sun Mar 25, 2018 8:35 am

Well, they both use the same lower ball joint. ACDelco 46D2008 fits both a 2001 Van with the 4000 lb front suspension as well as 89-93 2wd truck equipped witht eh diesel front suspension. For $50 a pair I gonna go pull them and give it a shot. I'll post up here once I've got them.
91.5 W250 Dodge 4X4 CTD. Getrag. DD Power pin removed, stock fuel cone back in. 366 spring. Power screw at stock depth. Stock turbo. Stock lift pump. Straight piped and Intercooled.

93 D250 Dodge club cab 2wd. All stock for now. Automatic.
Hard KOR Wheeler.
PNWJeep club member.
Horus
fuel screw!!!!
 
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:21 am
Location: Washington state

Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby thrashingcows » Fri Apr 13, 2018 1:53 pm

That is some very interesting information, and would be great if those work out for you. And please post up your findings when you do. :D
1984/93 Dodge Crewcab, W350, 1 Ton SRW, long box, 330K Km's, M&H spacer, 366 spring, fuel pin to deep side, 14cm housing, Piston LP, PS IC, Isspro Boost, Pyro and tach, NV4500, 29 spline NP205, 3.54's.


Check out the build....http://www.dieseltruckresource.com/dev/ ... 05923.html
thrashingcows
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Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby Rob_O » Wed May 02, 2018 10:32 pm

Have any luck at the yard? Are the van lowers shorter than the truck lowers? I heard they were the same stamping but yeah it's the internet
Rob_O
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Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby Horus » Thu May 03, 2018 7:01 pm

I did get these arms guys. Took two trips though. Second trip with a hacksaw and a few fresh blades to cut the shocks in half and liberate the arms from the van. They are on the garage floor waiting to be cleaned up and rebuilt. I'll check the length as best as I can once I get the D back in the driveway.

Lately I've been concentrating on the W readying it for truck camper duty. Once it's ready to haul a camper and the rig I can turn my attention to the D again. I will update this thread when I get to pulling apart the suspension. One thought I've had concerning the lower control arm bushing is it's OD. If the OD is the same between the truck arm and the van one I could use the truck bushing and not need to drill out my cross member for the larger van control arm bolt. Won't know until I pull the arms off the truck though.
91.5 W250 Dodge 4X4 CTD. Getrag. DD Power pin removed, stock fuel cone back in. 366 spring. Power screw at stock depth. Stock turbo. Stock lift pump. Straight piped and Intercooled.

93 D250 Dodge club cab 2wd. All stock for now. Automatic.
Hard KOR Wheeler.
PNWJeep club member.
Horus
fuel screw!!!!
 
Posts: 125
Joined: Wed Feb 18, 2009 10:21 am
Location: Washington state
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Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby Rob_O » Fri May 04, 2018 9:39 pm

I've been looking at the parts books for alternate springs to lower the front of my D a bit. Some of the van springs are a couple inches shorter than the truck springs it might be possible the van control arms are shorter to keep camber correct. You should probably take some measurements before you start turning bolts, please let us know what you find out.
Rob_O
fuel screw!!!!
 
Posts: 80
Joined: Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:03 am
Location: Louisville, KY
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Re: Van lower control arm fitment.

Postby boomer » Wed Jul 15, 2020 10:46 pm

Yes..this is a super important thread because we all struggle to find the special reinforced lower control arms which used to be available but no longer. If this van lca works in super excited. Love to see them side by side with originals thanks for this info
boomer
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