My question: Has anyone done this before??? Can I swap my spindles in my 2006 2wd with coil setup to the same year but use a hollow 4x4 spindle, hub assy and rotor setup??? I want to run mustang rims and or 4x4 rims but I have the usual rotor hub area clearance issue. I was thinking of the most cost efficient way to do this and keep it somewhat stock. I realize there are upgrade kits and cobra kits out there but I want to still keep the capability to run my stock 15" rims or 16" for all that matters.

Ok, what I from my research I know that:
1: brake caliper and caliper brackets are the same
2: the lower ball joints are different So my guess is the lower ball joint diameter is different in mounting due to the different arm configuration or its the stud size.
3. the upper arms are different because the ball joint stud is a different size.

I'm sure I can bolt in the upper arms to my chassis, and maybe put the lower ball joints in my arms.. I have a one of each lower joint on order to measure them and compare. The other thing I am afraid of is that the 4x4 spindle will be taller than my spindle and mess up my plans of direct parts bolt in and then lowering via coils and a flip kit.

Any comments and or opinions are welcome.. ANY other solutions I'm all ears

THANKS

-Rich

 

mustang rims will bolt right up to your ranger as long as they are 15"+, no need to swap anything. many people have already done that.

and no you cant just bolt the parts in, they are slightly different in the weld locations

 

Dang well that's just dandy lol. And sure I can just boot up certain mustang rims but not all. I cannot bolt up the "Y" spoke FX4 rims either since they hit the rotor snout. Also using center caps is a no go out on the front.

I was also looking to the plus of hub and bearing knock off rotors and not servicing greased bearings

 

Where in Canada are you? I've got my stock knuckles if you're close enough and want to compare them.

 

I'm 15 mins from Niagara Falls. I think I found a truck close to measure. And maybe one at the junk yard as long as the front end is in it (parts source that started the ideas). No need for a 3 1/2 hour gas waste. It looks like I'm shot down here so far. But if it comes to it maybe I'll get you to run the tape measure across it in a few spots

 

No problem, PM me if you need any measurements... they're just sitting there lonely in the attic above my garage!

 

So you basically want an edge?

 

why dont you just be wheel spacers? it doesnt look like your gonna be going offroad any time soon.

by the way, join the Ontario ranger club's facebook page! tons of guys to help you in the area.

 

To clear it up I was just thinking of ditching the greased bearings along with the silly hub clearance issue that the 2wd have at the same time... but it would seem that all the stuff will not just interchange as I was hoping. Upper arms on the 4x4 are larger in ball joint stud and they are further from the from as in the "U" shape is longer. The lower ball joints are slightly different but should work seeing the difference is in the arm side not really the spindle side. If I could get a set of 2wd upper arms with the 4x4 ball joint in them I would make an attempt at this

Edge's would have the same issue since they are Torsion with standard 2wd rotors like mine.

Spacers might be the answer. I just didn't want to make the track wider for lowering and fender clearance. Judging by the spacer sizes I see guys using I don't want a 1 - 1 1/4" spacer

 

I have not tried this because my bushings and ball joints were shot so I replaced the hole arm but the upper control armed is supposed to have removable ball joints. Again I haven't tried it but I suppose you can swap the 4x2 ball joint for the greesable 4x4 ball joint on the same arme? If I had a 4x4 ball joint and an extra old upper control arm i would try it. See if it works.

 

The only thing I think wood be a problem. Is you camber and caster with the different knuckles. It mite be to different to be align able

 

upper ball joint is a different size as mentioned, but the main difference is the outer tie rod mount. it is in a different spot on the 4x4 truck since the rack mounts in a different spot than the coilsprung trucks.

 

I think that depends on the rack. It the inner tierod retracts into the housing when turning then that will be an issue. From what I remember thow I think it mite be ok as long as there close. I've seen a truck with a 1in coil boot on top and bottom of the coil completely maxed out the front suspension upper contrôlée arme was about a half inch away from bottoming on the frame and the tierods were at a prity good down angle. I think it should be ok. I just don't know about the "SAI angle" after the swap. That is going to have a major affect on turning and stability. I would try it and see. SAI on my truck is just over 13

 

it depends on the truck, not the rack. on the edge, the rack is mounted up higher inside the frame whereas on the XLT it's mounted in front of the frame down lower towards the lower control arm. because of that, where the tie rod mounts to the spindle/upright (the OUTER tie rod end) is in a different spot between the two. this is only for 2wd trucks, the 4wd all mount the rack in the same spot as the 2wd edge.

if he were to swap to a 4wd spindle, he would get some funky steering angles that can result in the truck being hard to align or have bad driving characteristics like wandering while it's driving, or having bump steer (tires move in or out and try to steer the truck every time he hits a bump)