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Rear Triangulated 4-link..... worth doing?

uncc civilengineer

NAXJA Forum User
Ok.. I'm trying to decide whether to do a triangulated 4-link on the rear of my XJ...

It's to the point that all I would have to do is purchase some Airshocks... put some tabs on the axle and build the links... well a little more but you get the point..

I'm not hung between doing the work... what's hanging me up is will I see "noticable" improvements?

For those that are linked... are you glad you did it? Noticable gains wheeling? Would you do it again or just stay w/ leafs...

Thanks,
 
Just the shit I'm doing to help my buddy up here on his ZJ is making me stick with leafs.. Of course he has the programs to do the right angles and measurements.. http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34720

But your to the level I say go for it.. Thats the logical next step..
 
I would say hell no. On a full bodied rig, why? Nothing a good set of leaves cant do. Call Deaver. Let them tell you what to do to order some springs.

Be happy!
 
scrappy again said:
I would say hell no. On a full bodied rig, why? Nothing a good set of leaves cant do. Call Deaver. Let them tell you what to do to order some springs.

Be happy!

:rolleyes:


Everyone knows links work better on the internet. :D
 
I like leafs however I honestly dont see myself spending $700.00 on leaf springs...

Dont get me wrong the RE 3.5" leafs I have are completely broken in and flex well.. I guess I just get bored. I've just about talked myself out of it... and into buying a chassis from Jim's Garage to build over Winter 08-09'...

My XJ does well on everything except steep steps (almost vertical 5' + ledges)... Short of a ton of work out back stretching it (or bobbing it) does anyone have any better ideas to overcome hanging up on the rear bumper (and not removing it)?
 
I know you just said you don't wanna do a ton of work stretching the rear, but something that "should be" simple is just to flip the leaves around... trim a little more out back and good to go...
 
Jimbo_1321 said:
I know you just said you don't wanna do a ton of work stretching the rear, but something that "should be" simple is just to flip the leaves around... trim a little more out back and good to go...

You're right that would be easy.. but the problem is I'm running 37's and only 6" of lift.... I pretty much would have to comp cut it and if I go through that trouble I my as well link/stretch it.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
You're right that would be easy.. but the problem is I'm running 37's and only 6" of lift.... I pretty much would have to comp cut it and if I go through that trouble I my as well link/stretch it.

have you seen the orange exo'd xj on pirate? I know the guy sold it but if you can find some pics of his rear, he stretched his by flipping the rear springs and cutting a little of the rear fender, his departure angle was pretty amazing.
 
uncc civilengineer said:
You're right that would be easy.. but the problem is I'm running 37's and only 6" of lift.... I pretty much would have to comp cut it and if I go through that trouble I my as well link/stretch it.

Classic jeeper thinking.

"If I'm gonna comp cut the rear quarters, I might as well just throw a triangulated four-link in the back and stretch the wheelbase"

Kinda like when I "accidentally" ordered an adj trackbar/bracket from RE that was too tall at its shortest for my lift height at the time (3"). Send it back? Nah...
 
I completely disagree with that whole, "not worth it on a full bodied rig", line.
A suspension design is either better or not. Whether you have body panels on it or not means nothing other than adding a little weight to be designed for.

Think about it. Are you saying that your four linked buggy's suspension would cease to work well if you hung body panels on it?

You can do a search under my user and find tons of threads about my four link.
I went with 16" travel x 2.5" Fox AirShox. (I'd definitely go coilovers if doing it again)
It took a lot of work and trial and error (link locations, shock location & settings, building custom rear (anti-roc style) swaybar, etc) but, when finally done, the results were pretty damn good.

uncc civilengineer said:
if I go through that trouble I my as well link/stretch it.
That, however, is a very stupid statement and indicates that this job would be way over your head.
Linking the rear of a full bodied XJ, if done even remotely well, will probably be the toughest project you ever do on your rig.
It isn't a, "may as well" type of job.
 
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DrMoab said:
Heh, just did that today.

$700.00 later and three weeks build time and I should have a nice set of leafs.

Or you can go Alcan out of CO. for half the price for the same performance and quicker turn around
 
rockwerks said:
Or you can go Alcan out of CO. for half the price for the same performance and quicker turn around

Uhm.. don't really think so.


But Brad... how can you correctly say that your large amount of time invested into your linked full bodied rig was worth it? I don't know if outside the one BOTW that you ever saw really well tuned leaf springs. 3 and 4 years later leafs jumped even more into a super competitive arena as far as performance goes.

Linked suspensions are superior. No doubt. But only if you are will to sacrafice EVERYTHING a full bodied rig has to offer. To me, it's a simple decision. Run a well built leaf spring setup with all the right shocks and mounts on a rig that already has previsions for it. Don't go leafs in the front. Don't go linked in the back.

Go to the Juggy or Buggy world, different story.


My $.02
 
Whether it's worth it?
That's a question to ask about any mod.
For the amount of use I ended up getting out of it, buying the wheels wasn't worth it. (However, it did get me into my current ride)
newpics002.jpg

Did it work? Better than leaves?
Oh yea, not even close.

You said it yourself, "Linked suspensions are superior." They are; whether it's a buggy, full bodied XJ or '69 Camaro. I don't really understand what you feel you have to "sacrifice" to get it.

If it works better on a buggy, it'll work on a bodied rig.
It's kind of silly to say having body panels will affect how the suspension works.
 
Roxtar said:
It's kind of silly to say having body panels will affect how the suspension works.

Thats not what I said... nor anyone is saying.

A link suspension compromises a full bodied rigs point.

Most people in the XJ world dont want this for the back of their rig. I would much rather have all my gear and stuff.

Click Here


Plus, on a full bodied rig, getting your shocks mounted in the most optimal place is super hard, maybe impossible. Just my slightly more experienced opinion.
:kissyou:
 
scrappy again said:
Thats not what I said... nor anyone is saying.

A link suspension compromises a full bodied rigs point.

Most people in the XJ world dont want this for the back of their rig. I would much rather have all my gear and stuff.

Click Here


Plus, on a full bodied rig, getting your shocks mounted in the most optimal place is super hard, maybe impossible. Just my slightly more experienced opinion.
:kissyou:
Take a good look at the pic. The shock mounts are exactly in line with the rear seat (the seat actually just touches the mounts).
I lost maybe 6" of storage space.
I'll agree it's difficult to get everything in the optimal spot. Hell, it's more difficult to do anything on a full bodied rig, but it is possible.
It comes down to whether it's worth the extra work to you.
That all depends on what you want and what you're willing to do to get it.
I wanted close to buggy performance with heat, AC, power seats & windows, rear seat and 90% of the cargo area.
Part of me also wanted to prove it could be done.
All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results.
 
Roxtar... if the XJ pictured above is yours...well i see why you had so much trouble..

Why 16" 2.5's... I mean you may as well run the shock body through the roof.. The XJ looks completely unbalanced and I see why you had so much difficulty in the setup..

In any event.. I may or may not link the back... All dependent on when my name comes up for a Chassis from Jim's Garage...

But for right now... I'm more concerned w/ cutting weight/flat belly w/ UHMW and the freaking rear depature angle...

But again I give your XJ :clap: for flopability...
 
uncc civilengineer said:
Roxtar... if the XJ pictured above is yours...well i see why you had so much trouble..

Why 16" 2.5's... I mean you may as well run the shock body through the roof.. The XJ looks completely unbalanced and I see why you had so much difficulty in the setup..

In any event.. I may or may not link the back... All dependent on when my name comes up for a Chassis from Jim's Garage...

But for right now... I'm more concerned w/ cutting weight/flat belly w/ UHMW and the freaking rear depature angle...

But again I give your XJ :clap: for flopability...
2.5s because the limit for 2" is 1200lbs.
16" because it worked. Yes, 14" would have been plenty but I've never heard of anyone complaining about too much travel.
If one picture here tells you it's unbalanced I can see why you're a civil engineer.
I did have some initial problems with the rear being too loose (typical of air shocked rigs) which was completely fixed with the installation of the swaybar:
http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=93596
Anyway, if you think the difficulty of this project was due to my choice of shocks that's further indication that this project is way over your head.
Even 12" travel shocks are about 30" long. Where do you think they'll mount?
Underneath the body?
Got ladders?
BTW "engineer", having the upper shock mounts higher on the body (hence lowering the truck) makes things more stable, not less.

Hey, hows that UHMW workin for ya?
Why don't you just install hooks to grab the rocks.

Edit:
I just looked at your rig and then reread your post above and the "Jim's Garage" thing stood out.
It's a nice looking rig but everything on it was bought by you.
I have nothing against deep pockets but have you ever actually designed or built anything yourself?
And you're going to comment on other designs/builds?!
Now THAT'S a true civil engineer.
 
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