4 link pics Please

[Supersoaker]

Hi guys ... I have my 77 c10 swb step set up with the springs in side of frame .
Thinking hard about doing a 4 link setup . but never ran or built one .
most of my driving is on back country roads (25-30 miles to town )

Truck will be a street truck and a tow vehicle for my boat . boat is 3100lbs on duel axle trailer , truck Is tubbed with 33x19.5x15 tires , front has CPP 2.5 drop spindles , 3/4 ton springs w/1coil cut off . rear at this point has flip kit and 2in drop hanger , and 3+1 spring pack .
Thinking of doing an adjustable 4 link
Not trying to lay on ground
just playing around I have the rear mocked up with bed on and no floor , motor and trans in and 700lbs in back of bed . not sure how much more it will drop with cab and front end on .
would like to drop it about 2" more ( use 2" shackle )

Looking for advice on . Best setup for my application
And pics of your 4 link setup and ride height would be great PLEASE.

Thanks in advance and is appreciated

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I know @Old77 was bouncing this idea or at least a similar one around last year. Maybe he could help.

 

[Supersoaker]

I just found this thread by Tank6x2

Parallel or Triangulated 4 Link With a PanHard Bar

if I do it I'm thinking .. adjustable Parallel w/watts link

thinking ride should be as good or better then the leafs










i

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

I'm not sure. A lot of people in the literature I've read suggest sticking with the leaves, and that in good shape, they have good ride quality. I don't know enough about it to offer a solid conjecture, though.

 

[Supersoaker]

Thanks ...Jimmy. that's me I just don't know enough about it either

 

[smoothandlow84]

Hi guys ... I have my 77 c10 swb step set up with the springs in side of frame .
Thinking hard about doing a 4 link setup . but never ran or built one .
most of my driving is on back country roads (25-30 miles to town )

Truck will be a street truck and a tow vehicle for my boat . boat is 3100lbs on duel axle trailer , truck Is tubbed with 33x19.5x15 tires , front has CPP 2.5 drop spindles , 3/4 ton springs w/1coil cut off . rear at this point has flip kit and 2in drop hanger , and 3+1 spring pack .
Thinking of doing an adjustable 4 link
Not trying to lay on ground
just playing around I have the rear mocked up with bed on and no floor , motor and trans in and 700lbs in back of bed . not sure how much more it will drop with cab and front end on .
would like to drop it about 2" more ( use 2" shackle )

Looking for advice on . Best setup for my application
And pics of your 4 link setup and ride height would be great PLEASE.

Thanks in advance and is appreciated

For your application...keeping the leaf springs would be the simplest way to go. For my application (working towards road coursing my square)...a four link, with adjustable air assisted suspension and a watts link) is in the works. Since you stated that you will be driving off road while at a lower than stock stance a four link while cool, will certainly not be worth the investment. Imo four links and a lower stance with adjustable riide height will perform much better for road coursing than off road.

Therefore....I would suggest keeping your leaf springs, flip kit, shackles and looking into air assisted load controller bags for the occaisional boat towing. With the air assist bag out back, you can maintain the lower than stock stance, and also when needed increase the load capacity without squatting the rear so much than the ride is compromised. You could also ditch the coils up front and replace them with double convoluted bags. Adjustable bags in front on the dually will allow you to gain clearance if needed for off road obstacles while allowing you to set the ride height lower when on the roads.

Four links (like the setup I had built on my rock crawler Toyota) make for great articulation off road if you want to have clearance AND a taller ride height. Four link on a lowered vehicle is more along the lines of a rigid, lower center of gravity and less body roll than leaf springs. Clearance isnt an issue on road or at the track for that matter. I hope my rambling helps you.

 

[smoothandlow84]

Hi guys ... I have my 77 c10 swb step set up with the springs in side of frame .
Thinking hard about doing a 4 link setup . but never ran or built one .
most of my driving is on back country roads (25-30 miles to town )

Truck will be a street truck and a tow vehicle for my boat . boat is 3100lbs on duel axle trailer , truck Is tubbed with 33x19.5x15 tires , front has CPP 2.5 drop spindles , 3/4 ton springs w/1coil cut off . rear at this point has flip kit and 2in drop hanger , and 3+1 spring pack .
Thinking of doing an adjustable 4 link
Not trying to lay on ground
just playing around I have the rear mocked up with bed on and no floor , motor and trans in and 700lbs in back of bed . not sure how much more it will drop with cab and front end on .
would like to drop it about 2" more ( use 2" shackle )

Looking for advice on . Best setup for my application
And pics of your 4 link setup and ride height would be great PLEASE.

Thanks in advance and is appreciated

Put the cab and bed on first to see what the ride height will be....

For your application...keeping the leaf springs would be the simplest way to go. For my application (working towards road coursing my square)...a four link, with adjustable air assisted suspension and a watts link) is in the works. Since you stated that you will be driving off road while at a lower than stock stance a four link while cool, will certainly not be worth the investment. Imo four links and a lower stance with adjustable ride height will perform much better for road coursing than off road.

Therefore....I would suggest keeping your leaf springs, flip kit, shackles and looking into air assisted load controller bags for the occaisional boat towing. If with the cab and bed on...the added weight may lower the ride height to your liking. If yiu want to go a bit lower...try a leaf spring with a softer rate, such as those from a 1/2 ton pack.With the air assist bag out back, you can maintain the lower than stock stance, and also when needed increase the load capacity without squatting the rear so much than the ride is compromised. You could also ditch the coils up front and replace them with double convoluted bags. Adjustable bags in front on your truck will allow you to gain clearance if needed for off road obstacles while allowing you to set the ride height lower when on the roads.

Four links (like the setup I had built on my rock crawler Toyota) make for great articulation off road if you want to have clearance AND a taller ride height. Four link on a lowered vehicle is more along the lines of a rigid, lower center of gravity and less body roll than leaf springs. Clearance isnt an issue on road or at the track for that matter. I hope my rambling helps you.

 

[Supersoaker]

Put the cab and bed on first to see what the ride height will be....

For your application...keeping the leaf springs would be the simplest way to go. For my application (working towards road coursing my square)...a four link, with adjustable air assisted suspension and a watts link) is in the works. Since you stated that you will be driving off road while at a lower than stock stance a four link while cool, will certainly not be worth the investment. Imo four links and a lower stance with adjustable ride height will perform much better for road coursing than off road.

Therefore....I would suggest keeping your leaf springs, flip kit, shackles and looking into air assisted load controller bags for the occaisional boat towing. If with the cab and bed on...the added weight may lower the ride height to your liking. If yiu want to go a bit lower...try a leaf spring with a softer rate, such as those from a 1/2 ton pack.With the air assist bag out back, you can maintain the lower than stock stance, and also when needed increase the load capacity without squatting the rear so much than the ride is compromised. You could also ditch the coils up front and replace them with double convoluted bags. Adjustable bags in front on your truck will allow you to gain clearance if needed for off road obstacles while allowing you to set the ride height lower when on the roads.

Four links (like the setup I had built on my rock crawler Toyota) make for great articulation off road if you want to have clearance AND a taller ride height. Four link on a lowered vehicle is more along the lines of a rigid, lower center of gravity and less body roll than leaf springs. Clearance isnt an issue on road or at the track for that matter. I hope my rambling helps you.

Thanks and for rambling only one thing it will never be off road ,,,

most of the roads are back country roads paved but no lines in them
would like to do something to help with body roll maybe do a custom sway bar . It's a Pro Street truck
leaf springs w/ caltracks

 

[smoothandlow84]

Four links and adjustable coilovers....Jegs, Summit should be a good reference. The correct measurements, and geometry are key.

 

[Supersoaker]

got any pics ??

how is ride quality vs springs ??

 

[smoothandlow84]

When set up correctly and adjusted. Imo it rides better than any leaf spring setup. Less bodyroll when cornering and better launch control as well. Google Jegs or Summit or even ebay search "four link". Plenty of pics pre-fab and weld on universal kits. Prices from $300 on up


I couldn't attach any links for some reason to the jegs website

 

[Supersoaker]

I have looked at all kinds of kit .
I plan on building it myself, rods and front brackets

from what I understand for my app.
equal length parallel bars set parallel to ground at ride height
watts link
air bags or coil over
will have rear builder add on the adj. brackets on rear

front will be set up so upper and lower bars will be 1 1/2 above and below axle .

Dose this sound about right ??
or is there a better height for bars on rear ???


Thanks for your time

 

[smoothandlow84]

That sounds about right for the setup. I would double check the length at full compression and extention of the rear suspension cycling (taking into the account of the compression and extension of the airbags or coilovers). With both links parallel at ride height your axle will still want to pivot depending on the wheel travel you want...the more travel....the more forward pivoting. Have you considered installing adjustable spherical rod ends on both ends of the four link bars? With the heim joints it will allow you to fine tune the length as needed for handing/driveability.

 

[Supersoaker]

yep it will have heim joints

 

[smoothandlow84]

I just installed a parallel four link with airbags on my square . The four link setup that I purchased was a universal kit that utilizes a panhard bar. The key item to setting up a parallel four link is to suspend the rear axle at the ride height you want as a baseline. I used a pair of old u bolts to hold up the axle and tack weld the threaded end of the bolts to the frame. By tack welding the u bolts under the axle, the axle stays centered and the pinion angle is basically set (most pinion angles are 3 degrees). Some others have tack welded steel blocks that are the same length between the axle tube and the frame.

All four link bars MUST be the same length and the space between the upper and lower four link bars must also be the same distance. My brackets have two sets of holes on each end to fine tune along with the heim joints. I also backed out the threads in the heim joints to about half of the adjustment in order to have adjustability just in case some fine tuning was needed.

tack weld the frame mounted bracket and the axle mounted brackets with the four link bars PARALLEL to the ground. This is key.

once the four link bars are installed, and the brackets in place the next critical step is to attach the panhard bar.

one end of the panhard bar attaches to the frame, the other to the axle...the panhard bar MUST also be parallel to the axle AND the ground at ride height.

Now that the four links and panhard bar are set, thats pretty much it other than installing bags at the ride height. When I was done with my setup, I installed thee bags when the axle was closest to the frame in order to determine the lowest ride height when the bags were deflated.



The most important part from what I have determined is to double and even triple check the measurements before final welding. Also, the linger the panhard bar, the less side to side variance with the suspension cycling. If you opt to install a watts link, they reduce the amount of sided to side movement better from what I have been told.