Also think about the legalities of the suspension mods. Have an accident on the road and kill someone you will be REAMED. I agree with Nay's comments, flex isn't everything
More Flex Up Front
- Thread starter 12fishy
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I built an upper link on my 80 and removed the rear bolts at the axle connection of the radius arms. The inherent binding of the radius arm design is gone, freeing up a marked amount of flex. It is completely streetable and quite comfortable at freeway speed. I dont fawk around, i drive with my family in the rig. If it were even remotely quirky or unsafe feeling i wouldnt even be making this post. . Obviously it works even better now offroad...
Its just an upper link thrown together in zbout an hour w spare parts around the shop... If it were pretty and not just a quick experiment id gladly post some pics. Its going to be for ssle soon thru binksfab.com(a well thought out version w new parts) and there will be plenty of pics. If u can weld and buy some brackets from a vendor u could easily copy it and possibly save a few bux...
PM me a cell number and ill text a couple pics. Its nothing special, just works really good. Ur welcome to copy it of course. Glad to help if i can
Dammit Paul you're such a tease. Post up a pic so I can understand what you're talking about. What's the specs on your rig so far? I know you'd keep the CoG nice and low so whatever mods you do to the suspension are of HUGE interest to the rest of us. I'm trying to keep er low on 35" tires.
Cheers
Brian
Cheers
Brian
Has anyone ever built castor corrected radius arms with spherical bearings? Might be a easier option to modify the original linkage concept than to design a one off mechanism. Sick 105 btw, makes me want to move out of the united states.
Yea tools did something along those lines. It had some adjustment in them but i don't think they were the cure all.
You can't use spherical bearings in any four link at the axle mounts, radius arm or not. The flex you get in any four link has to be accomplished with bushing deflection, not just rotation of the axle on its link axis.
The main reason the 80 front end is so restrictive is the small size of the bushings and their mount locations. The mount location requires a great deal of deflection and the small bushings cannot allow it (or better said, are designed not to allow it).
If you install spherical ends, then you have zero deflection and your mounts will rip off.
That's the reason people do 3-links - you pull one upper arm and you have unrestricted motion at the axle end mounts (to the limit of whatever bushing/bearing you install), i.e. what a 3-link accomplishes is one simple thing: elimination of the four link design requirement to deflect the bushing fore/aft under articulation. It has no other purpose.
Yes, 4-link with a panhard vs. 3-link with a panhard. You take a 4-link and remove one upper arm without changing anything else for geometry reasons and you are eliminating the mount bind that has to be accommodated by the bushings in the 4-link.
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Let me let you in on a little secret. The bad info on MUD has been running rampant for a lot longer than two weeks, so you'd might as well calm down about it
MJ80 said:
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a properly designed and installed front three link with a panhard. You don't have to 'over-engineer' anything, you just have to do it properly.
I can potentially see not being able to use spherical bushings on axle mount now that I think about it a little. I still see no reason you couldn't use them on the frame end of the radius arm. That probably won't matter because the axle to radius arm connection is what's limiting the flex. If you have urethane caster bushings in the arms try replacing them with oem rubber with caster plates? A few degrees more flex at that joint would buy gains at the wheels. Just thinking out loud.
Post up your pics and dimensions - a lot of guys are pretty interested in getting beyond the "does it need more flex" discussion into the actual specs and geometry.
Nobody really questions that are more hardcore oriented suspension can be designed, but we usually just hear "I know what I am doing and I did it, stop questioning me."
Now if you have something for sale you might not want to share everything, but this is a discussion that needs to get a lot more technical in how your setup was designed all the way down to how it interacts with the stock rear suspension in all on and offroad conditions.
Flex is not an independent variable, so get on with it
Nobody really questions that are more hardcore oriented suspension can be designed, but we usually just hear "I know what I am doing and I did it, stop questioning me."
Now if you have something for sale you might not want to share everything, but this is a discussion that needs to get a lot more technical in how your setup was designed all the way down to how it interacts with the stock rear suspension in all on and offroad conditions.
Flex is not an independent variable, so get on with it
Nay, i threw together an upper link last night w random parts in binks shop(32" link w old johnny joints), he burnt out some brackets on the table so i ended up w 8" verticle seperation at the axle and 3.5" at the frame. Then we unbolted the rear bolts from the stock arms making them "normal" links. Try this on ur rig and let me know. I have slees 4" coils up front, but the links are long enough if u have a bit more or less lift, it will be fine and the geometry will be close enough that we can compare notes...
I feel flex is overated to a certain extent when u have lockers as well, but if the wheels are planted on the ground and the suspension isnt at full droop and "limp" its providing a sense of stabilty to the driver and if u like the wheeling challenge, ur doing stuff u couldnt w the front locker not yet engaged
Try that three link as i described and let me know how it works. Worse case scenario, u can bolt the radius arms back together and remove the upper link and cut off the brackets...that was my intentions initially, but it ended up working out and is staying until i have time to make it "pretty" and build some beefier lower links for the entire truck. Front and rear
Try that three link as i described and let me know how it works. Worse case scenario, u can bolt the radius arms back together and remove the upper link and cut off the brackets...that was my intentions initially, but it ended up working out and is staying until i have time to make it "pretty" and build some beefier lower links for the entire truck. Front and rear