Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

i know my insurance company frowned upon any engine performance upgrades...i have additional $$ insurance for aftermarket parts and when listing through them, the agent said, "i'll pretend like i didn't hear those engine upgrades.."..more power=more likely to go faster and push the truck past it's limits..

and if they ask, all upgrades were installed by professionals..because everyone can be a (shade tree) mechanic with the help of the interwebz

 

Don't know for sure if beadlocks are legal or illegal, however, I asked my cop buddy about it (whitecloud on here) and he made a good point: Most cops don't know what real beadlocks look like, and the ones that do usually don't care and won't pull you over. He said that you're not supossed to run them on the street though. Not sure if it's because there's a law against it or only becasue they aren't DOT approved. :notsire:

 

So should I contact the insurance company or leave it be?

 

Run it, and don't look back, SERIOUSLY

 

Looks like the body sits pretty high.

Relentless or Elite front bumper, so are they part of TW?

 

saw the pics on TTORA....

 

x2..... That's a bit high for more tastes. Looks like a clean swap though.

I'm going to go with Elite.... but I'm not 100% sure.

 

Alrighty, SAS peeps, can someone please school me bit on the different 4-link triangulation set-ups?

What are the pros/cons, differences in axle movement (foward-back movement and "rear-steer" during flex), consistency of pinion angle (if any difference), and ease of setting up, between a dual triangulated 4-link vs semi-triangulated. And with semi-triangulated, what is different in the axle movement between triangulating the upper links vs the lower links? In my mind right now, it seems like a dual triangulated set-up would be best for keeping rear steer at bay during articulation, but an uppers triangulated 4-link would be easiest to set-up due to the less space it takes up?? Does consistancy in pinion angle differ between these set-ups at all, or is that mostly determined with the angles of the links?

Also, concernng rear 3 link set-ups... I know it's best to avoid a panhard due to side-to-side axle movement when the suspension cycles. I know this can be diminished if the panhard is long enough, but I also know that a watt's link is a lot better in this reagard. If I was building a hi-speed, desert romper, I would avoid panhards at all costs. (Probably wouldn't do a 3-link in the first place.......) But should someone building a strictly rock-crawling rig be worried about this type of axle movement from panhard? Watt links are a bit more complicated, and I really don't think it'd be worth the hassle on a crawling rig since it sees a lot slower speeds...

Thanks, guys. Thoughts or links appreciated.

 

I'm not around a computer right now and haven't been for awhile... I'd pm Wyatt about your questions, Silas!

 

Thanks, man, I shall....

 

Hey man, did you pm Wyatt? I can't help you too much as some of the questions I would be unsure of.

I can tell you for sure you NEED a panhard bar with a 3-link setup. Otherwise your shit wouldn't work. Where you want to avoid a panhard is on leafsprung rigs, but they are helpful if built right.

A watt's link would probably never work on a crawler rig. I have yet to see one in the offroad community (though that doesn't mean there isn't any.)

 

I did, but only like 30 min ago! lol

Now, I'm curious about this for my rig.... Since I'm considering those ballistic creeper joints, I'm a bit worries about stability on the highway. How the heck would someone go about building a leaf-sprung suspension with a panhard? Do you just have to make it as long as you can fit between the tires? haha Since the panhard moves the axles side to side during articulation, it seems like it would fight way to much with the leaf springs...

The original Rally Fighter used a Watt's link. It's not exactly a crawler though...




Here is a fun build for you to read: The good stuff with the watt's link starts on page 3...



I think a simple Watt's link (like in the pic above) would actually work extremly well for a crawling rig and practically eliminate any side movement in the axle while flexing. I guess the main question is, does the side-to-side axle movement from a panhard really pose any problems on a strictly crawling rig? And if so, is the higher complexity of the Watt's link worth it since more moving parts = more crap to break! I'm convinced a Watt's link is better than a panhard for a desert romper but does that side-to-side axle motion really affect slow moving crawlers?

 

Stick with a panhard for simplicity. If set-up properly the side to side movement is negligable.

 

\

and hes alive!!!!

do you know how wide a fucking 9" over kit is WOW

lol

so back to the drawing board hahahaha

 

Thanks. What is the difference between a well set-up panhard and a poorly set-up panhard? Is the main goal to keep the panhard as long and as low as possible to keep the angle pretty tame?

 

Its mainly in the location of the axle end bracket.

The longer the better...just think about it like this, take two length bars...then swing them thru the same angle...now which one's end moved less in the horizontal plane?

 

I've seen that 4runner... Pretty crazy. Too much work for me haha. I still don't have much info on the watts link system. IMO it's not for what we do... but IDK

9" Over is STUPID wide. Anything more than the 2" is absurd in crawling

Unless SAS

 

SA=solid axle

SAC=solid axle conversion...meaning something that wasn't but is now

SAS=swapping one solid axle for another...its mainly a Jeep thing

SA is so over-rated anyway.

Got SAC?