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4 link ttb


litlred

litlred

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
89
Age
39
Vehicle Year
1990
Engine
4.0 V6
Transmission
Manual
Total Lift
6
Tire Size
33x12.50x15
So I was thinking the other day that I really need extended radius arms, but had a thought on trying a 4 link type setup instead, has anyone done this, I havnt found anything on 4linking the ttb, so I was wondering if its even possible? thanks guys.
 
it is already 4 linked in a way. it is guided by the radius arms and the beams are bolted to the crossmember. you will do more work putting together than what it is worth. just put some bigazz heims on the ends of the radius arms and it will work just as well. You can also extend the beams for better articulation. either or both of these options will give more results than trying to 4link it. If you really want to experiment check out gwaii and his truck....if that doesnt give you ideas i dont know what will haha
 
i've built some 4 linked ttb setups...they worked very well.as the caster change problem is addressed.the only down side i had was reduced ground clearance because the bracket had to hang down morewith a bit more thought in the bracket design and link position,this should be adressable.


4link001_crop.jpg


not a very good pic,but you get the idea.

4link002_crop.jpg
 
Last edited:
gwaii said:
i've built some 4 linked ttb setups...they worked very well.as the caster change problem is addressed.the only down side i had was reduced ground clearance because the bracket had to hang down morewith a bit more thought in the bracket design and link position,this should be adressable.


4link001_crop.jpg


not a very good pic,but you get the idea.

4link002_crop.jpg
Click to expand...

very interesting!!! is that a 44 of 50 you used??? and how well did it work, ive never seen that type of set up before....what else have you tryed out there gwaii???
 
ok so am i looking at that right? the 4 links are a longitudal (instead of triangulated) like the links would be in the often used "4-link with a panhard (or trac) bar" ?? but rather than having a trac-bar you are using the beams themselves (and the means of which they attatch to the frame) in place of a trac-bar?

in essence you put 2 links where the individual rad arms were, accomplishing little more than solving the caster problem? were there any other benefits besides your ability to adjust the caster by the lengths of both links?
 
Last edited:
sweetsride said:
very interesting!!! is that a 44 of 50 you used??? and how well did it work, ive never seen that type of set up before....what else have you tryed out there gwaii???
Click to expand...


it's a 44 narrowed for a ranger...worked good,and like you i've never seen it done outside of the two i built.


cammeddrz said:
ok so am i looking at that right? the 4 links are a longitudal (instead of triangulated) like the links would be in the often used "4-link with a panhard (or trac) bar" ?? but rather than having a trac-bar you are using the beams themselves (and the means of which they attatch to the frame) in place of a trac-bar?

in essence you put 2 links where the individual rad arms were, accomplishing little more than solving the caster problem? were there any other benefits besides your ability to adjust the caster by the lengths of both links?
Click to expand...

the idea is not to be able to adjust the caster-though i built that feature into it.
when the ttb goes to full extension,as in jumps,the caster goes to a very large negative value.this can result in steering problems when landing,as the wheels naturally want to go to full lock rather than self centering.longer radius arms reduce this tendency,but do not by any means eliminate it.
this system allows caster change to be tuned,even allowing a positive caster at full extension,thus giving more control on landing from a jump,as well as any driving that will use up a lot of travel.
there is also a large camber change with the ttb,but i've found this to be less of an issue than the caster.
 
gwaii said:
the idea is not to be able to adjust the caster-though i built that feature into it.
when the ttb goes to full extension,as in jumps,the caster goes to a very large negative value.this can result in steering problems when landing,as the wheels naturally want to go to full lock rather than self centering.longer radius arms reduce this tendency,but do not by any means eliminate it.
this system allows caster change to be tuned,even allowing a positive caster at full extension,thus giving more control on landing from a jump,as well as any driving that will use up a lot of travel.
there is also a large camber change with the ttb,but i've found this to be less of an issue than the caster.
Click to expand...

exactly, either way the improvements are limited to caster alone right? caster and its on-the-fly changes that occur when jumping and landing? with a small improvement on camber changes at full extension?

ttb is pretty advanced as it is, it seems even 4-linking doesn't improve much for the guy who is crawling/wheeling. and as stated the ground clearance loss seems like it would work against crawling too

to answer the question of the op:
from what it seems i would guess that for a guy who is desert racing his truck it would be a good idea, but for the guy who isn't......its not worth it.

thats not saying you shouldn't have done yours gwaii. but like many of your choices this one is superfluous to say the least. so litlred once you have put 3 transmissions and 2 transfer cases and in a line on your truck with 4 driveshafts i say go ahead and 4 link your ttb
 
Last edited:
cammeddrz said:
exactly, either way the improvements are limited to caster alone right? caster and its on-the-fly changes that occur when jumping and landing? with a small improvement on camber changes at full extension?

ttb is pretty advanced as it is, it seems even 4-linking doesn't improve much for the guy who is crawling/wheeling. and as stated the ground clearance loss seems like it would work against crawling too

to answer the question of the op:
from what it seems i would guess that for a guy who is desert racing his truck it would be a good idea, but for the guy who isn't......its not worth it.

thats not saying you shouldn't have done yours gwaii. but like many of your choices this one is superfluous to say the least. so litlred once you have put 3 transmissions and 2 transfer cases and in a line on your truck with 4 driveshafts i say go ahead and 4 link your ttb
Click to expand...

valid points-i wasn't desert racing,but rather was taking on decommisioned logging roads,so it was the same requirements.control at speed was great,but for someone doing low speed crawling there would be little advantage,although street manners were improved as well.
i'm just the sort of person who has to experiment with things,and find out how they work.
 
Ok, thanks everyone, Gwaii, how long are your arms, im thinking about making mine 30"-34" i think that will make the rear of the links approx. where the transmission mount is, and i can fab a new mount, like what you would get with the skyjacker extended radius arm kit... the whole reason i wanna try this is to completly correct my caster for street purpose. Can i use heim joints without rubber bushings? will it make it a more bumpy ride?
 
those ones were 26"c/c,and with a little thought the mount can be made so you don't lose any clearance compared to the radius arm.i would stay away from heims-i don't know how it is in your region,but here heims are illegal on street vehicles,if the cops see them they'll pull the truck off the road.urethane bushings give a better ride,and last longer so i'd be inclined to use them.
 
Where did you get your bushings? Im not sure what the law is here in alabama, but i dont really ever hear about anybody getting pulled over for anything other than speeding. I like the idea of your bushings on the frame side. Im just concerned about the side on the axle, as the suspension travels up and down does it cause a bind? it just looks like it would twist into a bind, if that makes any sense.
 
it does at the extreme ends of travel-the poly deflects enough to allow quite a bit of movement before it binds,i intentionally made it this way to act as an extension bumpstop.bushings could also be oriented like radius arm bushings at the frame end to prevent this,or a narrower bushing would allow more deflection.i used 3" wide leaf spring bushings.
 
can you tell me about your material? im guessing you used 2" tubing, with possibly 3/8ths wall? thanks for all your info, im gonna try to start mine in the next couple weeks... just trying to see what i can find out first, thanks again.
 
1 3/4 .187wall.unless you intend on smashing it down onto sharp rocks,i don't see the need for more than this.even then,only the lower tube would be vulnerable.one of the sets i built is still going strong after 15 years or so(it was installed on a '94 splash when it was near new).the pics in this thread were taken in 1990,on my 1986 ranger diesel.
 
I can get some 1&1/2 with .250wall dom from a buddy, do you think that will be strong enough?
 
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