ok guys here goes. im buying up parts to bag my 90 yota in the spring and one thing im most confused with is the 4-link. im looking for reliability and i want my truck to track straight down the highway, i have a 4-link with bag on bar, i pretty much understand how im running my lowers but the uppers is where i need info. think triangle with me on this, 1-put the two wide points on the axle or on the crossmember that will have to be made. 2-is there a certain height the crossmember should be! i kinda want to keep the stock gas tank in its stock location,but if it has to go it just has to go. keep in mind im just looking for a simple triangulated 4 link nothing to complex. thanks for any help.
You have to do some research on this! Forward mounted is the correct way to do this . Tri 4-link will have little side movement of the rear axle without the use of a pan hard bar.(What I run)! A Watts set up will do the same. A lot of people install a reverse set up ,so as not to have to relocate the fuel tank. Or a 50%-%50 set up ,bars forward & bars reverse.These set ups will case lift of the axle,& wheel hop,not what you want to happen! Like I said ,read as much info as you can find!
thanks for the input the reverse 4-link makes your truck swerve is that correct if not that would be the easiest way i would think but like i said my main concern is tracking straight down the road and good side to side action
Um, no. The reverse will not create swerving, and if designed correctly, wheel hop or lift. Contrary to popular belief, a reverse 4 link is tunable, although not as tunable as a forward setup. Do some research, search 4 link design and read up. Just be sure to read pages on reputable sites though, as there is a lot of "hear say" out there. Minitruckin has some good articles in their tech section. The links have been posted by me before on this site in another suspension thread (not sure where though).
On mine I have a tri 4 link with bag on bar. I have the wide part on my axle. I moved my gas tank to the rear in between the frame rails then a piece of 2x3 behind tht. If you run a tri 4link you won't need a panhard bar or watts link.
thanks for the reply theres a few things that i notice on your reverse setup 1-your lower bars are slightly narrower than the widest point of your uppers is that the way they should be or just the way you wanted them. 2-the lower rear bar mounts drop down 3-4'' the reason i ask is because the lower bar mounts that i have weld to the inside of the frame which would make them a little wider than the uppers and they probably wont drop down as far as yours. thanks again
alright ive spent about 10 hours researching the 4-link this weekend and from what ive read a reverse 4 will make the rear of the truck rise instead of squat when i get on the gas and during breaking so i think im just going to do a foward 4 link, that seems to be what the majority of people use with no complaints so if you have any ideas to keep my gas tank in stock location with the link foward i would like to hear or see them thanks
Yes. It is your decision, so think it out. It won't hurt my feelings either way, I'm just trying to alleviate some of the bad stigma associated with the reverse (and not just because I went that way). Like I said, I've done a lot of research and even a scale model to make sure that I wouldn't run into any issues. 1. The width of the lower parallel bars doesn't matter to some extent, I put them where the bag mount happened to be. The wider the triangulation on other set, the less stress you place on the uppers from lateral forces. 2. My upper and lower links are almost parallel to each other. In a reverse setup, this keeps the pinion angle stationary through the entire length of travel (15 1/2" in my case). In a forward setup, you would have to go with a three link to retain the location of the fuel tank. If you go this route, use only the best hardware and joints, especially on the wishbone. The design of the wish bone provides for only one joint (on one end) which will see tremendous stresses laterally. Most rod ends and joint assemblies are not designed for this type of side load, so do your research. A triangulated 4 link's joints will only ever see linear loading and will stay within the design parameters of most joints and rod ends (because of 4 link design). Also, reverse setups are supposed to see "squat" during acceleration and lift during braking. While this may be possible, it is somewhat subjective to other details of the design. I have noticed a very slight squat if I am very low to the ground, but none at all at ride height. During braking, there is no abnormal lift detectable at any height.
yes i read the article and theres a lot of good info on there, one reason i was worried about the reverse is i drove a nissan with that setup and it would dart left when accelerating and then right when you let off the gas to shift that thing was just dangerous, so i searched the reverse link and someone said that it will cause poor handleing i thought they were right because it just happend to me i never thought of poor alignment or worn bushings which was probably the case. now that i have looked at the info i think im going back to my original plan of doing the reverse link it just looks easier.
on that article it says that a parallel 4 link will have to much side to side stress but isnt the lower bars going to have just as much stress. also this is my daily driver so ill be doing it in steps. any tips, tricks or info is always appreciated
Well, you can go any way you are comfortable with, but be aware that ANY four link setup can be engineered incorrectly. There are a lot of variables involved with both forward and reverse designs, if you just slap it on without doing ALL of the calculations, chances are you will end up with a setup that handles mediocre at best (if not scary bad). As far as the nissan you drove, it was either designed wrong or it was caused by another problem altogether. A reverse 4 link does not inherently cause this problem, if it did, I would never put the kids or myself in the truck.
Do a parallel with a watts link they sell a kit tht you just weld on the side mount and an axle mount the. You could build or buy a watts link or even a panhard bar.
