Time to take my front end up another notch. I am not a fan of the radius arm drop brackets (will have a set for sale soon!) I'm looking forward to better articulation and handling characteristics for sure.

https://www.dufftuff.com/Long_Travel...nco_p/5351.htm

It lightened my wallet some, but it should be a good upgrade. I'm running a 5" Deaver lift.

I'll post pics when I get the parts in and start turning wrenches.

 

You have been working on that truck building,modding and wheeling. It's looking good for sure!

For those of you coming late to the game. https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...the-build.html

 

Ah, thanks for digging up that old thread. I'll update that one with the pics once I get my parts and start wrenching again.

 

Gonna install Duff's rear anti-hop bars too??

 

Standing by.

 

No. They rob too much ground clearance. wheel hop isn't a big issue with the truck, especially since most wheeling is done with a pretty good load in the bed (camping gear, etc)

Looks like my parts are about 2-3 weeks out so it'll be a bit.

 

Do you have dual shocks? You might find that handy with the longer arms. They're a sweet addition, and do improve the caster characteristics, both static and dynamic (through the articulation range) and will give you more easy travel.
But that same characteristic does also have the potential to make the truck feel a little "leanier" it corners on the road. Hence the recommendation for either dual shocks, or really good singles.

It's not as pronounced on your rig as on the smaller Broncos I'm sure, but it's still there. At least in part to the full-size trucks often having anti-swaybars to make up the difference.
The longer arms (these are torsion bars in effect after all) resist the movement less than the shorter stock arms do.

Can't wait to see them installed and hear the results.

Paul

 

No duals. I have single Bilsteins 5165s with remote reservoirs. It's enough shock, but they may not be long enough to accommodate the additional travel. I'm not worried about sway....I've been driving soft sprung rock crawlers for years. The trick is to not drive them like they are sports cars. The truck doesn't have sway bars. Those limit articulation on a crawler.

Not following your comment about longer arms being torsion bars in effect. They're not. Torsion bars are springs.....unless you were referring to a swaybar, which is like a torsion bar.

 

Just different types of torsion bars. There are trailer towing "torsion bars" as well. Load leveler types. But they're still torsion bars trying to transfer a load from one end mount down their length and along the frame rails at their other mounting point..
And radius arms by their design impart some of the loads they're experiencing directly into the frame rails. The rear mounts are not just pivoting points but anchors to the frame (even though semi-isolated by flexible bushings) and as I'm sure you've found out as a crawler, the radius arms and trackbar are travel limiters themselves. Which is I'm guessing why you got longer ones anyway. More leverage against the resistance, but also less change in angle for a given inch of travel up front.

But because the C-bushings are literally clamping the axle in there pretty tightly, and allowing only so much twist, some of that force is being transferred back down the arm/beam and into the frame. Just try making the arms crooked sometime, then mounting them into the frame brackets. The rear of the truck will lift on one side due to the arm's pressure against the frame rail back at that rearward point. Hence a torsion bar.

Maybe there's a more appropriate name for that effect? I know torsion bars are springs, and radius arms are springs in a way too. Resisting twisting motions too, but not as tightly held in their position as a torsion bar you might see for an anti-sway bar, or torsion bar suspension setup like a GM truck or Dodge car for example. But the function is the same. Remove the coil springs and try to twist the front axle on it's center axis. It's hard to do because as one side goes up, the other wants to go down.
The bushings flex a little, but after the limit of the bushing's motion is reached, the radius arms try to fight that twist at their anchor points. They actually try to act as an anti-swaybar all by themselves. The longer the arm, the lower the anti-sway effect.

Paul

 

Arms are not springs. They don't flex. Any movement is absorbed in the bushings as you say. Guys who get super flex out of a 3 link like these setups run a wristed arm. I've seen those done where you cut the arm and put in a pivot point that allows the arm to "Twist" if you pull out a pin.