This?

 

Or maybe it's 8-link.

 

I don't recall that they did a linked suspension upgrade, but rather an SOA. An SOA they say costs only $50. What a crock!!! What they forgot to tell you was about:

extended Brakelines
shocks
shock mounts
spring plates
u bolts
steering
so on and so forth....

I thought that the buildup was a complete misrepresentation and does nothing but promote unsafe modifications without all the info provided. Granted, I did not expect them to spend all their time on this, but at least they could have been realistic.

 

i must be missing something with this 6 and 8 link.....doesnt it become redundant at that point?

 

Hmm.. maybe it wasn't on that CJ then. I TiVo'd a whole bunch of them so I watched about 5 episodes in a 1.5 hour period. It might have been on the Dodge they were working on..

What function do the "links" perform?

Sean

 

[ QUOTE ]
What a crock!!! What they forgot to tell you was about:

extended Brakelines
shocks
shock mounts
spring plates
u bolts
steering
so on and so forth....

[/ QUOTE ]

Matt I totally agree, I was waiting for the talk about placement of the spring pads when he started welding them on with out a word about drive line angle.

[ QUOTE ]
What function do the "links" perform?

[/ QUOTE ]
Sean
They hold the axles on, instead of leaves. they keep radial and lateral action with out letting the axle move from track.

 

5 link is the common factory setup for tj's, xj's, zj's, wj's and full size dodges.

The links locate the axle, in a 5 link setup the 4 links that are perpindicular to the axle locate it front to back and the track bar which is paralell to the axle mounted infront of it keeps the axle located side to side. Take a peak under your jeep (same suspension even though it's 2wd) and it should make more sense.

The number of links is usually counted by how many places the links (things that located the axle, not things that control it like shocks or springs) mount to the axle. A 3 link usually mounts to the axle 2 times under it and once on top, then either mounts to the frame in 3 or 4 places depending on design. There are some suspensions like the 1 link that really mount in several spots but a rule of thumb is # of times it mounts to the axle.

There are tons of link suspension designs out there and you can read for years on them and how to set them up.

 

OH ok, I understand now -- the top picture of the crawler makes a lot more sense as well. I dont see any leaf springs there. I am going to have to check out my Jeep tonight.

Cripes, so what I saw on that show is NOTHING like what is in real life? Damn, I was kind of hoping to learn something from that show so that when I can finally work on my own CJ or Wrangler, I'd have some sort of an idea as to what I'm doing. So much for that idea.

Thanks for the input guys, makes more sense now.


Sean

 

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[/ QUOTE ]

Now that's my kind of frame! Where'd the "crumple zones" go? Ya gotta love American ingenuity!

 

a few more from the rear....

im really not convinced this is a useful set up, though it does look neat.
i imagine a normal 4 link long arm would work just as well without the fancy extra links

 

The fancy extra links on the one pictured here is to keep the air bag mounting surfaces parallel throughout travel/articulation.

 

Leve- the "crumple zones" are in whatever you hit!

 

aaah that makes sense about the air bags...i somehow missed those before.

cool idea then for airbags

 

Do those air bags really hold up?

I know I see them under trailers, but I worked in a factory where they were used to raise and lower people, we used water instead of air and they would burst never giving any warning.

We suspected chlorine in the water but couldn't modify the machine.

Would they hold up under a Jeep for a long time?

Clint

 

they seem to work under Semi's

though i dont dont maintanance life on them