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Comanche axle questions

D

drcomanche

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Lusby, MD
So, I have just gotten my newest comanche, and have a few questions for the knowledgeable community here.

This comanche has a completely custom suspension build underneath of it. It was built with, I believe, a set of 5.10 ford half ton axles from 1979 with a 4 link suspension, I think, a six inch lift on a set of 15's and some 36 inch super swamper iroks. The front tires are pretty worn, the backs are brand new.

It is, however, an unfortunate victim of the dreaded death wobble. Now, I will need help with diagnosis, and also a few other customization questions. So, to start, because it is a completely custom axle, the front sits about six inches further out on the passengers side because the placement of the transfer case would cause the driveshaft to contact where the 4 link meets up. I would like to know if there is any way to fix this, or even customize the axle so it doesnt stick out so far?

Im a sucker for symmetry, and I also feel like this might have something to do with the death wobble.

Another reason may be that the tires were never really balanced or aligned.

Thanks for the help, and I will try to post a pic later.
 
New%20Comanche


Heres the pic. It doesn't really focus on the suspension, but it gives a general look.
 
lol, that front end looks way jacked out of wack! something else I would do, tie that front truss into the diff cover to keep from ripping it off.

Center that axle up, see where it is hitting (probably the upper arm on the radius arme setup) and start modifyiing it from there.
 
actually, after looking at it some more, that truss looks like its for a completely different axle. it just doesnt fit the diff housing profile at all! depending on what that upper arm mount on the truss is intended for, it may have come prewelded for a different axle and the PO just slapped whatever on. it may be in the wrong spot completely.
 
After looking a little bit closer at it, I think I realize the problem, but not how to fix it. It looks like the "y link", not 4 link, my mistake, wouldnt have been able to be mounted up to fit correctly unless they mounted the bracket just a bit further over. And as a result, thats what they did. So it seems to be the y link thats holding it over some because it just wouldnt fit with the placement of the tc on this axle.

Is there any way to fix this and keep the y link? Or is it pretty much a start from scratch situation?
 
I think that is a 14bolt truss from the shape of it.

the truss does not need to be tied into the Diff cover, that won't make it any stronger and it will only make servicing the diff a pain in the ass. in fact you could probably ditch that truss and run something like the Clayton offroad "bridge" or a homebrew piece

I say ditch that whole Y link BS off and start over.

the Axle is probably fine...
 
A "bridge" is exactly that, it bridges the tubes on either side of the Diff and is most often used as a link mount. and no, it does not need to be tied into the Diff cover. it will only make servicing the diff more of a PITA if it is.

however, the truss does need some form of 90* bend in it to provide lateral structure as well as fore and aft structure, just using a flat piece of stock bent around the cover will not be strong enough.

that said, you can tie it into the diff itself by welding it on to the housing, but you don't gain any real strength by just bolting it to the cover bolts. if you are relying on the cover bolts to "keep it from ripping off" then its not going to be strong enough anyways.

here are a few examples of trusses and bridges that do not tie into the cover.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/AxleTrusses.html

http://claytonoffroad.com/product_info.php/cPath/18_127/products_id/303

http://artecindustries.3dcartstores.com/Axle-Trusses_c_143.html
 
measure suspension and make sure the y links are squared up unde the chassis.

Cut passenger side tube, move knuckle in 6", weld it back on.


or just start over and build a proper 3 link.
 
rockclimber said:
here are a few examples of trusses and bridges that do not tie into the cover.

http://www.ruffstuffspecialties.com/catalog/AxleTrusses.html

http://claytonoffroad.com/product_info.php/cPath/18_127/products_id/303

http://artecindustries.3dcartstores.com/Axle-Trusses_c_143.html
Click to expand...


The ONLY one of those that would use is the artec truss. its the amount weld surface that counts on that one to keep the truss from twisting front to back, full length of the axle tube. The other two, I wouldnt trust for anything with out tieing into the diffcover to prevent it from twisting off the axle. Its more of a PITA to try and limp home without upper arm mounts (and busted shocks, driveshaft, yoke) than it is to simple tie into a diff cover to prevent rotational forces.
 
Exxon Valdez Jeep said:
The ONLY one of those that would use is the artec truss. its the amount weld surface that counts on that one to keep the truss from twisting front to back, full length of the axle tube. The other two, I wouldnt trust for anything with out tieing into the diffcover to prevent it from twisting off the axle. Its more of a PITA to try and limp home without upper arm mounts (and busted shocks, driveshaft, yoke) than it is to simple tie into a diff cover to prevent rotational forces.
Click to expand...

first of all, plenty of people with rigs much bigger and badder than ours have trusted their link mounts to Ruffstuff Trusses, and according to Clayton they have not had a single failure of their 3link system using that bridge, even in racing applications.

second of all, tying the truss into the cover does not prevent rotational forces at all, the forces are still there. tying the truss into the cover only transfers the forces to the cover bolts, which are not strong enough nor designed to handle that kind of force.

if you are really concerned about the "amount of weld surface" maybe you should take a closer look at the trusses, there is not much more weld surface to be had.

and while I agree that tying the bridge or truss into the housing will strengthen it, the cover bolts are not the place to do that. In fact, I know more than one person who has trimmed (or is planning to) his ruffstuff truss to fit snugly on top of the diff and then welded it to the diff.
 
to 87manche: Thats all well and good, but the springs are still angled on it. I guess I will try to make a custom linkup for it, although, I have been seriously throwing around the idea of just taking it off completely and selling it.

After that, I might work on a 4 link.

DSC_7931.jpg


You can see it in this picture.
 
Even the springs are at an angle.Couldnt he adjust the trackbar to get the axle closer to center?Then cut the 4 link mounts and whatever else off and reweld them where they need to be.
 
Actually, with all the money the po must have spent on this, I'm surprised he didn't invest in an adjustable track bar. As for the brackets, they seem to be in the correct position, albeit terribly welded in the correct position.
 
My non-professional opinion:
- The spring perches appear to be centered on the axle housing, but too close together. They seem to be the same distance from each knuckle, but the right spring is almost vertical, and the left spring is tilted in. To center the springs properly, both spring perches need to be moved.
- I looks like the upper control arm mounts are different heights. Passenger side is much lower. This may not cause problems at low speed, but may cause handling quirks at higher speed(As it's a Y-link, it may make no difference at all, but it's still wrong)
-Either the track bar is too long, or the lower track bar mount is mounted in the wrong location.
- Odds are when you get everything else straightened out, the drag link is going to be too long.

If it was me, and I wanted to save the setup, I'd put the truck on jack stands and strip the front end. set the axle on stands under the front of the truck, centered at the ride height position, then start measuring. It kind of looks like all the brackets are going to have to be cut/repositioned.
 
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