Solid Axle Swap BS Thread

I don’t think it would affect your link mounts to need to change them but you never know. Only thing you’d really want to change probably would be your bump stop pads. Not sure how yours are set up though

 

Not sure either about the link mounts lol. Was just guessing on a worst-case-scenario basis in a situation in which the housing got rotated a significant amount haha.

I do not have bump stops or pads. Just been using the bump stops that came with the coilovers at the bottom of the shaft. So far I have not seen the need for adding other bumps or air bumps.

 

Well I’m now part of the SAS club. Still a lot to do but wanted to see it sitting on the ground by itself, minus the jack stand holding the trans up.

 

No bump stops could have been why your shaft came apart.

 

could be...dunno 'cause it did not separate went I went through the hard lines that twisted the axles pretty good. Go figure...

 

was looking at all pro off roads kit for a second gen, noticed its only comes with what appear to be lower control arms, how the f do you adjust caster

 

On that pic the upper link must obviously be on the driver's side.

 

10-4 so with a three link kit you adjust one side only for the caster ? background of wranglers im use to four links or radius arm setups

 

Yes. With a 3-link you can adjust for caster on both sides with the upper link. Upper link acts like pivot point of sorts, so it would affect both sides. Depending on its length in relation to the lower links it will change both caster and pinion angle as the suspension cycles during compression and droop. Probably not a big deal for crawling but definitely something to consider for high speed stuff.

BTW, a 3-link is really a 4-link, but configured differently. There's a total of four arms in a 3-link setup:

- 2 lowers links connecting the axle to the frame. They control the forward/backward movement of the axle.

- 1 upper link connecting the axle to the frame but at a higher point both on the frame and the axle end. This one controls the rotational movement of the axle.

- 1 link (called panhard or trac bar) that controls the side-to-side movement of the axle. It is mounted sideways in relation to the other 3 links.

There's a million variables and theories about how long should the links be in a 3-link set up. You can literally spend weeks and weeks just reading about it. The only consensus you will find is that a 3-link is easier to pack in the front of a vehicle than a 4-link, hence the reason why you see them under these trucks. There's a couple of guys that have done 4-link under tacomas successfuly though.

 

So the question now is which is better



Jk haha....I’d like to hear everyone’s opinion on which they prefer though and why.

Just see a lot of people arguing over this on IG all the time.

 

Also ordered my rear locker for the 10.5. Went with the Yukon grizzly. Got it for a steal

 

Which is better? Depends.

A 3link with Panhard is easier to build with a higher roll axis which can work better for off camber rock crawling. A 3link can be easier to package in a rear application where there is a gas tank. 3 link is best in the front where there is a steering box and the Panhard can be matched to the drag link for no bump steer. Downside to a 3 link is axle swing in straight droop/ compression (like when jumping the truck) due to the Panhard, this is minimized by maximizing the length of the Panhard but it will still have some level of swing.

Parallel 4 links with Panhard (5 link) are pretty much never ideal. The parallel links bind under articulation because the axle wants to rotate forward or backward depending on which side is compression, and the links fight each other like two wrenches on a pipe rotating in opposite directions. Parallel links also have bad roll steer unless they are completely flat.

Radius arms suck for the same reasons, plus they have high anti squat/ anti dive values and there is no way to tune those values, same thing with one links (grader ball suspensions).

4 links should be triangulated so they don’t bind (like a parallel 4 link) which means you don’t need a Panhard to prevent side to side movement. Since they don’t have a Panhard they don’t swing, so they don’t play well with steering box steering since they won’t match the drag link and therefore will have bumpsteer. Triangulated 4links are very difficult to package in a front suspension due to the engine being in the way. Front triangulated 4 links should only be used if you have full hydro steering and the ability to package the links.

TLDR: there are books written on this stuff, there are trade offs with different suspension designs, but for a front suspension 3link + Panhard is usually the way to go.

Download triaged’s 3 link calculator, put in your measurements and see what the resulting values are, research what those values mean and how to change them, and what will be optimal for your purposes.

 

I have a yukon grizzly in my rear axle. Super quiet locker, it almost never makes any of the noises associated with auto lockers and i never even notice is there.

In regards to how to set up your links...it boils down to fitting what you can with the space you have. You can play all you want with those link calculators to get an "ideal/perfect" setup. But the link calculators do not know the limitations you have under your rig.

I think some of the general preferable considerations are:

-make lower links as long as possible, and angle them /\ as much as possible.
-make lower links as flat as possible (parallel to the ground when seen from the side of the vehicle)
-make upper link shorter than lowers to account for pinion angles during suspension cycle.

Bunch of other things, but these seem to be common.

 

That’s true, it’s a lot tougher to package a front link suspension than a rear, I think it’s still good to see what the calculator spits out to make sure you don’t have any serious issues, and adjusting things an inch either direction can make your numbers better or worse. Your upper link is usually the one you have the least flexibility with.

Having the upper link shorter than the lowers tends to be a rule of thumb but there are a lot of suspensions that work well with equal length links, you can usually get the same results by playing with your vertical separation at the axle end vs frame end.

 

You're absolutely right! Better to have some ideas about numbers as opposed to going blindly at it.

I think if you are building a buggy from scratch starting with a tube chassis then you can design a virtually perfect suspension that you can transfer from the calculator to real life without issues.

In my case the upper link is both shorter than the lowers and it has a good amount of vertical separation at the axle end. I think it works well that way, but as you said the are many ways of achieving good results. My lowers could be more /\ but it still works well the way they are.

 

Why would teenage girls and attention whore lifestyle photographers be arguing over suspension design?

 

so how straight up and down should coil overs be angled ? l l or / \ ? years ago they seem to be straight up and down but lately ive seen them angled in at the top and out at the bottom, whos right and whos wrong

 

The further out they are the better control of the axle and body they have, so as far out as you can get them and still clear the tires under articulation, that usually means a little wider at the axle than at the frame.

 

Maybe someone in here can help me. Been doing some research and can't find any solid info. Looking for a semi float dana 60 rear axle 66-67" wms. What did the come in? Also. Any one have any experience with building ford 9"? Does and donts? Going to the junkyard Wednesday to see what I can find.

 

I've been told several times that semi-float d60 rear ends are not desirable.

No experience with the ford 9" but those are super popular. The 3rd member is one the strongest you can build. If the survive nascar they can survive anything.