ranger refit/build thread

[gwaii]

wow, that's some flex there. the only other thing i've seen flex like that is my RC rock crawler, lol


i guess i missed this, but from looking at the last several pics, did you turn a ttb into a solid axle?

yup...that was a few pages back.

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

What kinda front coils where you running Tom?

 

[gwaii]

i think they were 8" f 150 coils,might have been 6" though.the upper mount was raised.

 

[Boggin]

might be just a bit of an exageration.

but i appreciate it

looks like i need a wider axle to get further up the ramp.

by now i had ditched the coils in the front and leafs in the rear for a transverse leaf setup in both ends.i built some massive lower arms and a triangulated link for the rear.this allowed full articulation,but gave it a stable-even stiff ride on the street and off road.
one of the best things i did with it.edit-just noticed it still has the coils in the front-they were changed out soon after.

 

[multiranger]

helped big time-found the jumper and the key-still have to try it,but i'm heading in the right direction.

thank you,sir!

You are welcome. Dude that is an awesome truck you have there. Let me know if you need any help or advice with recovering the pics.. I'll help out as much as I can.

 

[gwaii]

You are welcome. Dude that is an awesome truck you have there. Let me know if you need any help or advice with recovering the pics.. I'll help out as much as I can.

not having too much luck with that.when i plugged in the hd on the pc it would come up that it found the master,searching for slave-hit esc to cancel.hitting any key(including esc)wouldn't do anything.the hd is running,you can hear the disk spinning.i'm starting to think i'm beating a dead horse here.
now the pc won't work properly,even with the hd removed.good thing it's an old one i don't use anymore.

 

[multiranger]

not having too much luck with that.when i plugged in the hd on the pc it would come up that it found the master,searching for slave-hit esc to cancel.hitting any key(including esc)wouldn't do anything.the hd is running,you can hear the disk spinning.i'm starting to think i'm beating a dead horse here.
now the pc won't work properly,even with the hd removed.good thing it's an old one i don't use anymore.

You may have to set the master back to CS without a slave... what kind of hard drives are they? Also what kind of PC are you working with?

 

[cammeddrz]

transverse leaf setup in both ends

please explain the dynaics of this and as many pics detailing it would be appreciated so that i can wrap my head around the concept

 

[gwaii]

concept is fairly simple-consider a basic three link suspension,where the spring does nothing but support the weight-not locate the axle.it's easy to see how this works when a coil is used.now,instead of the coils,put a leaf pack across the truck mounted to the frame in the center,so the ends of the spring are where the coils would have been mounted.
each end of the leaf acts as a quarter eliptical on each side of the diff.
you've seen coil setups where the coil unloads completely for full droop,usually with some extended tube or something to keep it from falling out of the truck.the pedestals on the diff are not attatched to the spring,so at droop the diff can fall away,and the geometry is set so that no matter how the diff is twisted the other pedestal is still sitting on the spring.

this allows a solid ride,but also gives the potential for unlimited flex without unhooking or changing anything.
at the top center of the diff can be seen the bracket where the a-arm pivots(a radius arm bushing is used to allow unimpeded rotation)and at the outer ends of the diff tubes are the lower arms.these also use radius arm bushings.at the other end they are bushed perpendicular to the arm to allow unimpeded up/down travel.
the front,while different in the details,works on the same concept.
after 6 years i have had no need to make any design changes on this system except for the strength of the crossmembers the springs are bolted to.these needed to be designed to take a very high torque load.

 

[cammeddrz]

good lord those trailing arms are huuuuuge. correct me if i am wrong, its "trailing arm" when on the rear diff, and "radius arm" when on the front diff? either way those are beeeeeeefy

 

[gwaii]

good lord those trailing arms are huuuuuge. correct me if i am wrong, its "trailing arm" when on the rear diff, and "radius arm" when on the front diff? either way those are beeeeeeefy

yup,trailing arms is a correct term.
i was expecting a certain level of abuse with this thing,and wanted something that i would never have to worry about banging into stuff.they are 3/16 ar plate fully boxed and overlapped top and bottom,for 3/8 thickness there(same as the front ones)
they were crowned in case i ever wanted to spring it on the arms,then they would need to take the weight of the truck too....and it's not light(6800 lbs+-)

 

[cammeddrz]

that looks every bit as complicated as a link setup but the advantage is massive articulation?

 

[gwaii]

it's actually a simple link setup,in that it is a three link-so the upper is an a arm that pivots on the frame on the wide end,and has a single pivot on the center of the diff.these are used in a variety of suspensions.the key advantage is that it locates the diff in a very controlled manner with the fewest parts.while they seem simple,leafs run into problems when getting into longer travel applicatios,as the device which is used to locate the diff by design needs to bend and flex as it is also the spring.
another thing that simplifies this is the spring itself,as only one piece is needed for both sides.
so i have 4 working parts in the system(three arms,one spring),the same as you would find in a typical leaf setup(2 springs,two shackles).the only part more complex is the math used in the design.
with a bit of thought any link system(two link as i have in the front,three link,triangulated 4 link,5 link-4 with panhard)can flex like this.the links simply allow a level of control that would not be feasible in a semi-eliptical leaf that allowed this amount of travel.

 

[cammeddrz]

well what i meant was that it looks to be every bit as complicated to add to an existing vehicle that would not be any simpler than doing a 3-link. because it has its own ramifications, and 4 links to boot. i really like the concept to achieve maximum flex with huge tires, and do you have limiting straps of any kind?

 

[gwaii]

oh,building it to add to a vehicle that has a leaf system would be as big a job as any link setup-that's for sure.

the fact that i'm using a leaf as the spring does not mean that it has anything at all in common with the typical leaf set.i think this is where some confusion comes in when describing it to people-you say leaf and there's one thing that comes to mind.
on the other hand,i did use the stock forward leaf mounts as the pivots for the a arm.they were already there,so i figured why build them again.

edit-nope,no limiting straps.the shocks do that.