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Those are great. I've been looking at either the weld-on OUO or the Fabtech FTS62003BK which is similar to above. Leaning more towards the OUO because there are no heim joints which don't tend to fare very well exposed to grit and grime.
Those are great. I've been looking at either the weld-on OUO or the Fabtech FTS62003BK which is similar to above. Leaning more towards the OUO because there are no heim joints which don't tend to fare very well exposed to grit and grime.
Grit and grime will kill a bushing just the same, however because bushing are sloppy by design it isn't as critical as in a precision part. You would probably never wear out a quality heim in that application but bushing will get the job done and they are cheap, or I suppose less expensive is a better term.
Fwiw..... In that pic it look like they are using a Johhny joint from Currie enterprise on the shackle end. This allows the rear axle to articulate with out binding. A standard rubber bushing is only going to allow the axle to articulate as much as the bushing has slop in it or the bushing compresses. On a street truck your axle does not articulate much so you can get away with the bushing.
If you articulated the axle the beyond the bushings give something is going to twist off and break.
I have a set of their traction bar/lift block combination bars on my lifted F250.
I run 37's on 18's with a 6" lift. The truck gets hitched to a 10k lb dump trailer and a 10k lb 31' travel-trailer and it pulls both without any suspension problems.
I also race my truck at NHRDA events and I off-road with it at Pismo Beach, again with zero suspension problems.
Given the application where I am not depending on the TB to locate the axle just control rotation and provide fore/aft movement with spring arc, I don't see the need for Heim connections. JMO. They are cool and all but I can't imagine the OUO design is lacking for the task. Good info regardless.
When my truck was on a stock suspension I used to get axle wrap. Anyone who has been in loose sand can relate this. After I did a 6" suspension lift w traction bars, I've never had to deal with axle wrap again. I went with the Procomp traction bars. Very strong as well, but not to heavy..
Given the application where I am not depending on the TB to locate the axle just control rotation and provide fore/aft movement with spring arc, I don't see the need for Heim connections. JMO. They are cool and all but I can't imagine the OUO design is lacking for the task. Good info regardless.
You don't see the need for heim joints because there isn't one. Bushing work just fine in a traction bar application. You do need to allow for misalignment at the frame end and the OUO accomplishes this with a nod to the old Ford TTB style radius arm bushing.
Pirate, do you happen to have a pic of the axle mount for the shackle style bars you posted?
No I do not. It isn't mine. I just grabbed it off the internet because it was a good example of a shakle mount.
If i was building one I would use a weld on mount on the axle like this pic.
I would also build it so the shakle wasn't hanging below the frame and the bar wasn't hanging below the springs . If your Excursion is strictly a pavement pounder and ground clearance isn't a issue then this probably isn't a concern other then cosmetics.
That's the exact style I made for my first set of bars. I also prefer welded on. My most recent set I only put one bracket at the bottom of the axle. One attachment point at the axle and the frame.
One thing worth mentioning is your bars should be as close to the angle of the drive shaft as possible.
After re-reading this thread, the most important things seem to be....
-solid non-pivot mount to rear axle to control pinion rise/fall
-traction bar length and angle matching driveshaft
-shackle between forward traction bar mount and frame to allow suspension articulation
A single traction bar located close to rear differential would allow the best left/right rear wheel articulation.
One traction bar on each side of rear axle, located as close as possible to tire as opposed to near the differential should provide best control of axle movement at the expense of suspension articulation.
...and while you're answering - drawings, YouTube videos, and pictures will help.
I have carefully review my traction bars - something I should have done myself two years ago, instead of counting on "the experts". I believe the mechanic that installed them tightened everything up on the rack, then letting the truck down pre-loaded the traction bars into a bind. The bars are pushing the back axle backward right now, straining against the spring alignment pin and slightly twisting the pinion angle down. This would give the driveline the same angle to contend with as a lift would provide.
That would explain some vibration and weird bounce. I tried many variations of carrier bearing shims last year, with no luck.
Since my compression test came out OK and I'm not in the market for a new block, I have all these Buck$Zooka rounds I've been stockpiling....
