4 Link Front Suspension

BOSS450 · Jul 9, 2013

m j said:
that is a very crappy design.
as the joints or bushings wear out you will get unplanned variable caster change under braking as the lower twists the upper link.

Bold statement

Zmann · Jul 9, 2013

m j said:
that is a very crappy design.
as the joints or bushings wear out you will get unplanned variable caster change under braking as the lower twists the upper link.

the axle bushings are same as OEM

the top is a Heim I don't think it will have any faster demise than an OEM bushing plus they do pivot much better

i could barley pivot my stock radius arm in it's mount after I disconnected it from the axle

Dieselboy · Jul 10, 2013

Zmann said:
the axle bushings are same as OEM

the top is a Heim I don't think it will have any faster demise than an OEM bushing plus they do pivot much better

i could barley pivot my stock radius arm in it's mount after I disconnected it from the axle

True but the longer arm needs to be on the bottom. When you're braking the force will flex the huge soft bushings and cause the lower short arm to push up and want to twist the upper. Best way to solve that is together rid of the heim on the lower link where it ties into the upper. Don't get me wrong radius arms work good but you have to have 1 bushing somewhere if you want it to articulate without binding.

White_monster · Jul 10, 2013

The joint where the lower arm meets the upper arm is not a heim. It's a solid none pivoting joint so it's not going to wear like was said. The heim in the ouo arms is at the frame. If your going to actually flex the suspension out then yes build a different system but for 99% of ppl ouo's arms are great. Also who really offroads the crap out of a $50k truck, answer: a very select few.

SAK · Jul 10, 2013

m j said:
that is a very crappy design.
as the joints or bushings wear out you will get unplanned variable caster change under braking as the lower twists the upper link.

LOL

amarillo250 · Jul 10, 2013

SAK your Avatar gets me cracking all the time and it disturbes me in the same time LOL

Zmann · Jul 10, 2013

Dieselboy said:
True but the longer arm needs to be on the bottom. When you're braking the force will flex the huge soft bushings and cause the lower short arm to push up and want to twist the upper. Best way to solve that is together rid of the heim on the lower link where it ties into the upper. Don't get me wrong radius arms work good but you have to have 1 bushing somewhere if you want it to articulate without binding.

Binding ? Heims pivot within themselves but the lower heim should just be a caster adjustment and never move after its adjusted and the jamb nut tightened

or if the above is true it's not even a heim just a fixed adjuster ?

Dana 60 has 2 bushings on each side but those aren't going to allow much twist that is all on the upper mount ()can't see it but Heim?

all in all I don't see this behaving differently than a solid radius arm other than the adjustability and top mount possibly having better articulation (assuming the materials are strong enough to not flex)

comments above are IMHO

SAK · Jul 10, 2013

Zmann said:
Binding ? Heims pivot within themselves but the lower heim should just be a caster adjustment and never move after its adjusted and the jamb nut tightened

or if the above is true it's not even a heim just a fixed adjuster ?

Dana 60 has 2 bushings on each side but those aren't going to allow much twist that is all on the upper mount ()can't see it but Heim?

all in all I don't see this behaving differently than a solid radius arm other than the adjustability and top mount possibly having better articulation (assuming the materials are strong enough to not flex)

comments above are IMHO

On the OUO ALA's the the bottom link is a solid adjuster. If it weren't then there would be no way the jam nut would stay tight and would cause all sorts of driving issues.

The Johnny joint will rotate before the tubing will start to flex.

The OUO ALA was designed to have caster adjustnent along with adding articulation, wheel hop control and add clearance for wide/low offset wheels so they will not rub the arms.

bkingsoda · Jul 30, 2013

Thought about attempting this same project... Realized there is far more to it than originally considered. Pmf makes their short arm kit for $900. Going to have to go that route unless I find some revelation about fabbing up the bracket for the arms to mount at the frame. Measurements are vital for alignment. Also... The off road shop near me that a couple friends work at says they normally would charge $300 to try and align a 4 link system. If you get it figured out, I'd love to pick your brain.

ford rules · Jul 31, 2013

Why would they charge more to align a 4 l,inked truck, this is the same 4 link setup that dodge has ran for years now...

Layson · Jul 31, 2013

ford rules said:
Why would they charge more to align a 4 l,inked truck, this is the same 4 link setup that dodge has ran for years now...

Probably because somebody made a 4-link with messed up geometry and came back over and over to get it to drive and steer correctly.

ford rules · Aug 1, 2013

Ya, didnt think about a home brew kit that someone maybe tried to have aligned.

Layson · Aug 1, 2013

Zmann · Aug 2, 2013

OOOOOMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

Dzchey21 · Aug 2, 2013

Tractor links for the win lol

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Powerstroked162 · Aug 2, 2013

Dzchey21 said:
Tractor links for the win lol

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Lol from PTO attachments to 4 link front ends, they do it all!

.

Coxey Diesel · Aug 2, 2013

Powerstroked162 said:
Lol from PTO attachments to 4 link front ends, they do it all!

.

And they're adjustable! Doesn't get any better than that.

bad12jr · Aug 2, 2013

I hope that's a joke someone did. It looks like there are maybe two threads left holding them in.

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m j · Aug 2, 2013

Zmann said:
the axle bushings are same as OEM

the top is a Heim I don't think it will have any faster demise than an OEM bushing plus they do pivot much better

i could barley pivot my stock radius arm in it's mount after I disconnected it from the axle

7000# of truck has a bit more force then a man trying to twist something

frame side looks like a johnny joint. so no (lets say 'relatively little' as they are tight when they come outa the box ) resistance to twist there.
lower link looks to run a hiem style joint on the connection to the upper which will allow the upper to twist (kind of the point of the part)
the 'but' is now the only thing holding the upper in the correct orientation is the single axle side bushing on the upper.
this wouldnt be too bad if the connection where the lower link met the upper link was along the line drawn between the two upper pivot points, but it isnt.
so now the lower link has leverage to twist the upper and change caster.
under acceleration it will be pulling the link to where you want it, under braking it will be compressing and twisting the upper arm which shortens the effective length. which equals a nice variable caster under braking crappy design as the lone bushing in the upper wears and allows rotation.

Layson · Aug 2, 2013

bad12jr said:
I hope that's a joke someone did. It looks like there are maybe two threads left holding them in.

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No joke. You would be surprised what people do.... LOL.