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Isn't there a certain amount of engineering know-how involved in making traction bars? (Advanced apologies if this applies to a member here)
I was walking out of a convenience store in Fort Wayne and naturally noticed as an Excursion rolled in. I think I would have noticed it even if it wasn't an Ex due to all the clanking and popping coming from the suspension going over the slightest bumps. This poor thing was rode hard and put away wet. Anyway, I was checking it out after he parked it and the thing that caught my eye even more than the obscene amount of block height in the rear was the home-brewed traction bars.
The bars themselves looked like they were just lengths of 2x3 box steel, but they were connected at each end with tabs that pretty much just made a hinge joint- just a hole drilled through the tabs and bars with a huge bolt running through them to make the connection- no bushings or anything, certainly no hiem or johnny joints. The other thing that stood out was the angle- where it mounted to the frame- it was just forward of the front mount for the rear spring. I asked him how he came up with the bar length, and he said "that's all I had lying around."
Now I will admit- I know absolutely nothing about ladder bars for Excursions (other than what the purpose of a ladder bar is), but I do know that the simple non-bushed hinge joint isn't a good idea here. But aren't there angles or measurements or something involved with figuring out the length of the bars? Surely "land them wherever" can't be correct.
If the guy is a member here, I am sorry, but I didn't feel safe next to this thing while it was parked, much less going down the road...
Last edited by Psyclopse; Oct 16, 2018 at 01:26 PM.
Reason: grammar
He didn't read Sec. 571 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.
clearly, otherwise he would have know that the axle moves rearward as the springs compress and he needed a way for the bar to to change length. Fwiw.... the Landyot radius rods have this same flaw.
Anyhow one of the better designs is to use a shackle at the frame end. Look close and you can see this design allows for articulation and length change and limits radial movement.
I figured there would be a slew of geometric formulas that would compute to tell you bar length, placement, and stuff like that. But yeah, this thing was a disaster waiting to happen. The welds looked like he just threw molten metal at it from across the room.
He did lay down a nice neon green paint job on them though...
I wish I had gotten some pics. Phone was in the truck on the charger. I was kinda worried posting this due to the possibility of him being a member, but then I figured what the heck- his ride is unsafe, and if he's here, people could steer him in the right direction to get things taken care of. Better to be mad, but know!
I've been reading all the different things you've been directing me to read over the past few weeks. Would I be semi-correct to assume that, with only a modest amount of lift, if you need a ladder bar to control your pinion angle, then you probably don't have the most ideal suspension setup?
Ford installed the traction bar because in 4 low the rear wheels will get axle hop in soft sand without it.
if you use the vehicle in 4 low or low traction high torque situations like drag race starts, off roading or full throttle launches while towing then a traction bar or anti wrap bar is helpful. But if you are getting so much axle wrap that it is snapping ujoints or causing axle hop during normal driving then yes, something is wrong with your rear suspension. ( more likely to be a busted spring or loose U bolts )
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otherwise he would have know that the axle moves rearward as the springs compress and he needed a way for the bar to to change length. Fwiw.... the Landyot radius rods have this same flaw. 
