LUVTruck.com

Hello!

I recently purchased a 1980 4x4 Luv that I am starting to restore. Most of my front suspension needs attention.

I'd like to replace my upper and lower control arms and ball joints, but I'm having trouble identifying my options. I purchased lower control arms for a 1984 Isuzu Trooper (DORMAN 522931 and DORMAN 522932), but these arms seem to be drastically different than what my Luv has. I haven't started taking everything apart yet, but before I go fiddling with things I was curious if anyone knows for a fact if these lower control arms will work.

I also purchased lower ball joints (DELPHI TC517) that are also compatible with both the 1st gen Luv and the '84 Trooper, but it looks like the bolt pattern may be incorrect. The DELPHI ball joint's outermost bolt holes are closer together, but the Dorman control arm bolt holes do not taper and are more squared. I did some more research and it looks like this bolt pattern matches the 2wd ball joints for the Pup and 2nd gen Luv (moog k9551).

I am confused! I know my best bet is to start taking things apart and see what's what, but I'd appreciate any direction since I want to be sure that I'm buying the correct parts. New control arms seem fairly hard to dig up and I was excited to find some for an '84 trooper.

Any wisdom here is appreciated!

Thank you,

Patrick

I answered some of my own questions.

It looks like the dorman LCAs that get sold for '84-'86 troopers are not the correct part for the Luv (probably not the trooper either).

The arms don't have the 45 degree angle that my 4x4 luv's arms have. They also have an extra bushing hole. My best guess is that these LCAs are for newer 2x4 isuzu pickups.

It looks like LCAs for early troopers and luvs are hard to find, so I'll just hope that mine are OK when I take apart my front suspension.

I did find this on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/403382813948?h ... SwCFhhzKv~

That looks like the correct part.