bushbasher Posted July 1, 2004 Share Posted July 1, 2004 How possible would it be to put the ea81 crossmember, suspension arms, and control arms under an ea82 body? I am building a lift so if there is some difference in alignment that would be okay, I can work that into my design. I would also need to put my power steering rack into the ea81 crossmember. This is so that I can mount my front diff forward enough to keep the axles straight, without interfering with the ea82 suspension arms that go straight out sideways instead of angled back like ea81. Another possibility is modifying the ea82 crossmember with new suspension points mounted in front of the old ones, with ea81 suspension arms. Possibility 3: use the lift to move the ea82 crossmember forward, then mount ea81 arms in the crossmember to return wheelbase to stock while clearing the axles. I've never been under an ea81 but I have seen many undercarriage pics of them and have heard of ea82 stuff on ea81s. What are your thoughts guys? Your help would be great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted July 2, 2004 Author Share Posted July 2, 2004 bump Id really like some help on this... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 4, 2004 Share Posted July 4, 2004 the crossmember/lower control would be the only thing modded, the ea82 radius rods mounts will work, but you may have to lengthen the rods themselves i would vote for option 2, this would be the OPPOSITE of trashwagon, you would have to lengthen the radius rods. if yo are handy at frabrication enough to do so you could *possibly* adapt the ea82 swaybar mounts. that or make mounts for an ea81 swaybar. this option would be ideal for an existing lift kit. if you are handy at fabrication to build your own lift with offset, then i would vote option 3. less overall fabrication, and your discretion to how things line up! if you offset an ea82 crossmember using the ea82 lower control arm, the ball joint hole will have to be enlarged. ea81 knuckles are too big for ea81 tierods, but you can swap inner/outer tierods with ea81/ea81 if they are BOTH power steering (mine was manual rack, lengthened ea81[was ea82 originally] tierod) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted July 4, 2004 Author Share Posted July 4, 2004 Okay, I think I'll need a bit more clarification. Lets say I want to use an ea82 crossmember with suspension mounts moved forward, and ea82 rack. I would use ea81 suspension arms with lengthened ea82 radius rods. Then use the existing ea82 hub/strut. So I would have to modify the crossmember, modify the ea82 radius rods, and since I am using the ea82 rack with the ea82 hub, the steering would be no problem. Will the lower balljoint from the ea82 hub fit in the ea81 suspension arm? And will my track width be the same? BTW, the swaybar left a long, long time ago Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 yep you got it. the you can chop off some ends of some other radius rods, and weld them to the existing. i think it will space out one hole. just need the flat part, bolt it on, and then weld i think the hole on the ea81 will be bigger than the ea82 ball joint. it will still work, but may not draw tight, maybe some kind of sleeve will help that. or weld some in and drill out to reduce the hole and make it tight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted July 5, 2004 Author Share Posted July 5, 2004 Or I could cut out the tapered sleeve from the ea82 suspension arm, and replace the one in the ea81 suspension arm Actually what I will do is move the whole crossmember forward 2" then bolt the ea81 arms in. I might even move the crossmember forward 4" to extend my wheelbase, reducing the overhang, giving me more firewall clearance against the 31s, better steering shaft angle, and allow me to pack the front diff up a little closer to the tranny Hmmm, back to the shop to figure out how that'll work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted July 5, 2004 Share Posted July 5, 2004 Or I could cut out the tapered sleeve from the ea82 suspension arm, and replace the one in the ea81 suspension arm Actually what I will do is move the whole crossmember forward 2" then bolt the ea81 arms in. I might even move the crossmember forward 4" to extend my wheelbase, reducing the overhang, giving me more firewall clearance against the 31s, better steering shaft angle, and allow me to pack the front diff up a little closer to the tranny Hmmm, back to the shop to figure out how that'll work ok, if you are using the ea82 rack, here is your list ea81 control arms ea82 radius rods chopped and lengthened i am assuming ea82 struts, that is what i recommend. but that may bring you to use the ea81 axle. maybe go with the ea82 lower control arm ea82 inner outer tierods on ea81 power rack, but if ea82 rack swaps, youre good the crossmember for the ea81 maybe narrower than the ea82 body, such as is so with gen 1 and gen 2 crossmembers thinking of this, explore these possibilities: putting ea82 crossmembers on the wrong side, to get clearance. chop and move swaybar mounts to front, or use ea82 swaybar(or both) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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