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ATL ZJ
02-28-2005, 01:16 AM
I am planning on extending Kevin's trilink 3-4". I ran out of thread on the upper A-arm/ trilink assembly after I extended the lowers 3", because of some vagueness in the directions and I ended up welding the brackets to teh frame rail too far forward of where they should have been. Now, my pinion angle is way off, and I need to correct the situation by lengthening the A-arm. Here's what I've got in mind-


Kevin's Trilink as it is now:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/atlzj/Jeep/trilink1.jpg

Possible modified trilink:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/atlzj/Jeep/trilink2.jpg


Please critique my design or post up some pics of stuff that might work better. I want to keep Kevin's setup and just modify what I have.

Nordic1
02-28-2005, 02:57 AM
IMO don't do it... my Trilink is extended and it wanders like a mother

ATL ZJ
02-28-2005, 03:02 AM
IMO don't do it... my Trilink is extended and it wanders like a mother

I HAVE to... my pinion angle is awful.

Nordic1
02-28-2005, 03:05 AM
lol ok... any way to shorten the lowers? Of is extending your trilink the only option?

ATL ZJ
02-28-2005, 03:14 AM
lol ok... any way to shorten the lowers? Of is extending your trilink the only option?
Ideally, I would extend the trilink about 2", and make the lowers adjustable. But that's a lot of work. I guess all I would need though would be a nut to weld inside the arm, threaded rod and johnny joints...

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
02-28-2005, 03:24 AM
why not cut off the mount on the frame rail and move it back 3-4"?

ATL ZJ
02-28-2005, 03:35 AM
why not cut off the mount on the frame rail and move it back 3-4"?

The 3/16" brackets are welded to the 1/8" thick framerail. That means it would be impossible to remove them without cutting out that section of the framerail. Then I'd be stuck with replacing the chunks missing from my framerails. Also, it would further change the geometry of the rear suspension since instead of changing the length of the link itself, you are just moving the mounting point forward in relation to the range of motion of the upper link(s).

ELLLLLIOTTTTT
02-28-2005, 03:43 AM
why not cut off the mount on the frame rail and move it back 3-4"?

The 3/16" brackets are welded to the 1/8" thick framerail. That means it would be impossible to remove them without cutting out that section of the framerail. Then I'd be stuck with replacing the chunks missing from my framerails. Also, it would further change the geometry of the rear suspension since instead of changing the length of the link itself, you are just moving the mounting point forward in relation to the range of motion of the upper link(s).

ah, i knew that seemed to easy. Anyway of extending the mount on the axle to better reach it? If its off 4" I doubt this would work but if its just a couple inches seems like you could nigrig something up w/out sacrificing the structural integrity of the actual mount.

JeepinHank
02-28-2005, 10:17 AM
How much are you going to have to extend it?

It looks like if you extended the straight sections too much (instead of the angled sections) you're going to be reducing the effectiveness of the triangulation. That will also be increasing the stresses on the bushings and mounts. If you cut off the bushings and extend the angled sections, you're going to have to change the angles at the pinion, and pretty much have to start from scratch in building a new tri-link.

Have you considered just making new frame-side brackets? Yeah, you'd have those brackets there, but you wouldn't have to worry about removing them and scabbing in patches in the unibody. If there's a clearance issue, you could always cut them down without removing them.

Just my initial feelings from quickly glancing at what you have sketched out.

nathaniel
02-28-2005, 08:43 PM
You could also consider bringing the axle mount forward over the pinion to give you the 3-4" you need. just cutoff the bracket order a new one from kevin and weld a couple pieces of box together to give you 4". This will help keep away from the wandering that is possible with not having enough triangulation. Not sure what the angle would be if they are extended but they need to be at least 40 degrees apart.

ATL ZJ
03-01-2005, 02:19 AM
I added a poll, so you can vote if you're so inclined.

Right now I'm liking the extending the bracket on the truss forward option best. Making the lowers adjustable would also be pretty cool, but then I would run into the same clearance issues with the front of the rear fender that I had before.

tmhb16
03-21-2005, 07:57 PM
Ive ran into the same problem you have. I think the easiest solution is to build a new crossmember and weld it behind the old one.

ATL ZJ
03-21-2005, 08:51 PM
Update: I ended up cutting the bracket off the truss and building a little "mini truss" behind it to move it 3" farther forward, which proved to be more than enough. Cutting the bracket off the truss with the rearend still under the Jeep was a huge PITA and took over 3 hours. But once that was done, it turned out to be relatively smooth sailing. The rear end feels so much tighter and under control, and my pinion angle is finally set correctly. I suspect that the firmness is the result of the increased relative triangulation that results from having almost all the thread in on the trilink.

I'll post some pics of it this coming weekend.

Cam

ATL ZJ
03-28-2005, 09:14 PM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/atlzj/Jeep/242_0099.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v125/atlzj/Jeep/242_0101.jpg

tmhb16
04-05-2005, 08:38 PM
How did you grind the bottom weld off the bracket? There isnt enough room between the axle and the truss to use an angle grinder.

ATL ZJ
04-05-2005, 09:16 PM
Shhhhhh. I put on very thick welding gloves, face protection, and put an 8" metal cutting blade for a Skil saw on my angle grinder... And then I pried from the top. Cutting it off took 3-4 hours of very tedious, careful work.