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Post by rsmith on Nov 17, 2004 10:21:36 GMT -5
The link above the chunk is a Wrangler YJ spring eye bushing. A heim joint may provide a little more flex, but my philosophy is strength over flex. I would rather have 1" less flex and have a ball hammering on my rig than flexing out of the wazoo and breaking down on the trail.
I have seen first hand where an upper link with heims broke and it resulted in the lower heims breaking and you know what the end result was. It would be hard to convince me that threaded heims are stronger than thick wall tubing with bushings for major suspension components. Personally, I would stick with hiem joints for steering components and track bars and such as that.
To build that rear suspension I used a formula that was in a past issue of Peterson's 4 Wheel. The upper links are usually shorter than the bottom links as this helps eliminate antisquat. I used the same formula on my Bronco and it does not move up or down when the throttle is applied. I am sure you have seen how some vehicles will raise up or hunker down when full throttle is applied.
A couple of months ago a guy came by to ask me if I could pull his 3/4 ton Dodge out of a mud hole. When I go there the doors could not even be opened is was buried so bad. 2 tractors had already been trying to pull him out. We tied about a 30' chain to the chunk on my rear axle and the only way I could budge him was to back up about 10' and lay the hammer down each time the chain tightened I imagined the links breaking and snatching my rear axle right out from under me. After about 15 pulls the truck comes out and my rear suspension is still intact. That just convinced me that bushings on the links arms are the way to go.
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Post by rsmith on Nov 17, 2004 10:47:46 GMT -5
Here is a pic from Peterson's that I was going by. It will show you the formula for the length of the upper and lower arms.  |
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Post by Busted Knuckle Racing on Nov 17, 2004 11:17:12 GMT -5
Stuck to the doors??  |
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Post by jeepchipjones on Nov 17, 2004 11:33:09 GMT -5
Ahhhhhhhh, now I see.
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Post by broncocraigellis on Nov 17, 2004 22:30:11 GMT -5
thanks for starting the thread chip. glad i found it 'cause i posted in the my rollover thread a minute ago.
chip pretty much laid out my criteria earlier.
HP60 front, 14 bolt rear-front detroit, rear lincoln locked
deifinitely dovetailed front and rear, probably all the
way in to the frame rails in the back and as much as
the rad. will allow in the front.
fab a stinger/ winch mount for the front
new cage that ties my seats in and allows me to
actually use the 4 point harnesses that i have but
cannot install now. plus it will provide a mount for
the propane tank(prob. a forklift tank) and a spot for
tools
tires will most definitely be larger than 36"
either 39.5 or 42 depending on $ and new or used
it needs to be street-able like rob said for driving to
and from trails. some of the stuff in moab is a pretty
good haul on pavement. ditto in gardendale.
suspension has to be cheap and effective.
i'd like to build a 3 link for the rear so i could get
around 105-110" wheelbase out of it.
and i'd like to move the front foward for better
weight distribution like jason was talking about
at cristy's last night if anyone was listening to us.
i do want AT LEAST 10" of vertical travel.
13-15" would be more like it. i think the allpro toy
leaves would come close to that.
steering will be a double ended cylinder controlled by a
steering unit prob. from char-lynn like rob has. if i
build enough caster in the front axle it should return
to center easily.
that's all i can think of for now. there are a bunch of small details floating around in my head. i just need to sell a bunch of stuff off of it and get started.
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Post by broncocraigellis on Nov 17, 2004 22:39:03 GMT -5
from what i've read(this is from a book called Chassis Engineering you can pick up at books a million), anti-squat is a good thing. the term, taken literally, explains this abstraction that is built into link suspensions. the purpose is to force the rear axle toward the ground upon acceleration thereby raising the body of the vehicle. this downward force on the rear axle gives the tires more traction whether the surface is a paved road or a muddy rock. when the rear suspension "squats" in a vehicle with little anti-squat built in,the rear of the body moves down and the tires don't have the same amount of downward force on them because it is lost in the suspension. just my .02  |
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Post by Busted Knuckle Racing on Nov 17, 2004 22:42:24 GMT -5
makes sense to me
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Post by Busted Knuckle Racing on Nov 17, 2004 23:10:47 GMT -5
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Post by Busted Knuckle Racing on Nov 18, 2004 16:10:24 GMT -5
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Post by broncocraigellis on Nov 20, 2004 13:02:59 GMT -5
yeah that is interesting. still can't decide what suspension to use. i think i'm selling my hardtop soon so i'll have the first installment of cash for the project. the guy in the red bronco above is a guy i know named brian from north carolina i believe. that thing is trick. he's got firestone airbags on all four corners. he's got crazy articulation. when he's on flat ground he can inflate one of the bags and articulate like 3 feet on flat ground. it's pretty cool to watch in action. i've even got some video of his bronco on lower 2 in tellico
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Post by broncocraigellis on Jan 3, 2005 23:58:02 GMT -5
project angry bronco lives again! the rear bodywork is complete and the quarters are now touching the frame rail in the rear. front and rear axles are out of it and the 44 will sell on Ebay tomorrow. already sold tailgate, hard top, rollcage, and tires/wheels. plan on picking up 14 bolt and 60 tomorrow along with tubing needed to extend radius arms. <p>i decided on running coils on the rear with extended radius arms and a wishbone upper link. this is the setup Pat Gremillion, owner of Premier Power Welder, uses on his bronco. i also scored a set of 5 Hummer wheels the other day for a ridiculously cheap amt. of cash.
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Post by jeepchipjones on Jan 4, 2005 18:23:07 GMT -5
I cant wait to see it, sounds awesome! |
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Post by broncocraigellis on Jan 5, 2005 2:05:28 GMT -5
the dana 60 and 14 bolt are in my garage lying under the bronco! threw them under there at about 10:30 tonight. never, ever atttempt to move one of these axles without someone else's help. my buddy paul helped me out and it was still tough. but i have 'em at least. also, the millermatic 185 welder and m-tech supply tubing bender are in my garage as well! front axle sold to a guy out in Tuscon. rear axle and some other stuff goes on the internet in the next couple of days. found out i can get CHROMOLY tubing here in T-town for $2.38/ft. that's about 1/5-1/6 times of the current market price. i don't think i'll get any because it has to be TIG welded, but if anyone wants some i can hook them up.
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Post by broncocraigellis on Jan 25, 2005 0:02:46 GMT -5
finished welding the 14-bolt up tonight. i put some 1/2" steel between the spider gears and side gears to fill up the space, then welded it all together. it's one big chunk of steel now. once i figure out how to post pics i'll do that.
i have the fenders temp. mounted on the front and i cut the inner fenders and part of the core support off the other day. the front is narrowed about 18" and the back is somewhre around 22"
got a propane set-up last weekend
my DOM comes in tomorrow for the ext. radius arms and tie rod and drag link.
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Post by broncocraigellis on Feb 24, 2005 0:58:27 GMT -5
well, the rearend is on the ground, and she's sitting a bit low. guess i'll level it out with some 2" blocks for now.
the 60 is mocked up in the front hanging off 5.5" coils. the extensions have been welded on the radius arms and i've made brackets to mount the huge 1" heims on the ends of the arms.
currently having clearance problems between the master cylinder and driver's side fender.
yesterday i hunted down a propane tank in red bay, al. it holds 24 gallons and has a remote filler. it even came with all hoses and propane in it for $75.
i'll try to post some pics this weekend.
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