3 / 4 link suspention (1 Viewer)

[lanechurch920]

Can people plz post posts of 3 and 4 link suspension and explain what are easy and cheap ways to do it thank you

 

[jynx]

If you can fab and are good at designing the links then you may make it cheaper, but I'm not sure links and cheap are going go together. I have read of guys swapping in an 80 arm setup with coils and that is going to be your best bet if you want to stay on a budget. A decent set of coil-overs will be close to a grand themselves. There are a couple of guys that make link and bracket kits. Check out 4wheelunderground for a kit that will work with hi steer. Trail gear makes one also.

What is your endgame? Be interested to see your project.

 

[lanechurch920]

That's my project my rear springs are shot rough ride but there 46" and the only replacements I can find say fronts so idk were to find some. I can't afford custom spings

 

[Richmondo]

There are a s*** ton of 3 & 4 link builds on the interwebs as well as a few complete kits, as Jynx said, but if you're just looking to replace rear springs on the cheap then hit the junkyards.

Here's a couple links for various spring specifications from different vehicles:

Misc. Spring Information

http://littlekeylime.com/MrN/mrnimages/leaf_springs.png

If you're up to the task of linking the ass end, regardless of which route you go, then swapping in some F150's or 63's should be child's play.

 

[lanechurch920]

I would change length doing if my frame wasn't cut right behind my shackles in the rear

 

[ridgerunner]

Add in a cross member/bumper and hang the shackles off the back of it. Should give you enough length to move the shackle mount 6" back for 63" springs. Cheaper than links and custom springs.

 

[GRM]

Are you sure those are 46" springs (measured along the leaf, not straight eye-to-eye). They look a lot like a 79-88 rear lift springs. Do you know your missing your rear shocks?

Also: what is going on with the front suspension on that truck? Something looks very goofy & wrong.

 

[lanechurch920]

I keep breaking my shock mounts so I decided to deal with it and take them off

 

[GreenYoda]

Running a 4 link is a lot of work, especially in the front. Mine is getting close to done, (maybe this weekend if all goes well) I have about $1500 or so into steel and suspension parts. I lost count

this is my first attempt at anything like this, so im probably gonna find out I didnt build some stuff strong enough.

and I think im going to have issues with my upper control arms being to close to my driveshaft with the high pinion diff (should be here wednesday)

 

[bryan89]

That's my project my rear springs are shot rough ride

what makes you think they are shot? looks like they have plenty of arch left to me. probably rides rough because of whoever setup the rear like that. its hard to tell cause the trucks not at relaxed ride height on even gorund, but it appears as though the shackle angle way wrong. and looks like you might have a couple extra leafs in there.

 

[lanechurch920]

Off my head I think there's 7 on each side it's just really rough ride

 

[4WheelUnderground]

Can people plz post posts of 3 and 4 link suspension and explain what are easy and cheap ways to do it thank you

Easy and cheap. The easy way would be to have someone else do it for you. The cheap way would be to do it your self.

Ok, I had to be a little bit of a dik. Sorry. In all honesty the easy and cheap usually get you poor quality. Either design suffers and it doesn’t perform they way it should or short cuts were taken and the parts aren't as tuff as they should be.

You can buy builder components from a ton of various companies but in the end you still have to figure out were to put it. You still need to do the reading and research to figure out how much of this and that you will need. In the end you will most likely still have to purchase additional materials so once you've figured out were to put all the stuff you can do so, since the build components are only designed to hold the Heim or Johnny Joint they dont help if you have to move it away from the frame at all. If you use some used coils from a junk yard and some off the shelf shocks you get it to run down the road. But there are no guarantees that your ride quality will go up.

I really didn't say that to scare you away of doing it, after all tons of people have done it. But be smart about it. Read and ask questions. Trust me I know. I learned the hardway. A couple of times. But unless you have steel laying around, find some joints for next to nothing or use bushings, go with junkyard springs and some cheap"o" rancho shocks, link just arent cheap.

I do have some usefull information on my site regarding the dynamics of suspension, its a little lengthy but worth the read. Well I did write it so maybe Im biased.

 

[mudmaster]

And you have some NICE brackets!!

 

[Bogo]

I would change length doing if my frame wasn't cut right behind my shackles in the rear

Adding the frame tips back is no big deal. They do it for accident damage all the time.

 

[Bogo]

Off my head I think there's 7 on each side it's just really rough ride

With 7 leafs and no real weight back there the ride is bound to be harsh. Heck in a stock mini truck with no load the ride is often considered harsh. I never felt it was right until there was around 600 to 800 lbs in the bed so I carried around a couple slabs of marble. The weight made it so I rarely ever had to go into 4WD in winter, and this was in Minnesota.

Shock mounts breaking is a sign they are being subjected to shock loads. That is they are stopping suspension travel at either full compression or full extension. A different length shock needs to be used, the shock mounting place needs to be moved, or bump stops need to be lowered, or some combination. Typically when a suspension is modified for greater travel, as has been done with yours, the shock frame mount needs to be raised because the length of the shock needs to be longer, but full up travel position is still at the same height. What this means is if you add 2" of suspension travel, then you need to use a 4" longer shock, and the frame mounting points need to be raised 2". Now this assumes you are keeping the top of the range of motion the same as stock. Reasons you may not wish this include wanting to use larger tires or general ride height increase. If that is so, then the bump stops need to be lowered by the appropriate amount, and the mounting point for the shock may still need be adjusted, but it won't be as much or even could be still at the stock height. There are some good writeups on suspension tuning and shock sizing out of the web. I just don't know where a good one is off the top of my head.

You really do want rear shocks as they make the handling of the truck on bumpy roads much safer. Without shocks the rear would be prone to hopping which may cause it to slide out from behind you in corners or under hard braking.

 

[4WheelUnderground]

And you have some NICE brackets!!

Thank you very much.