Family Wagon 1996 ZJ BUILD Cantilever Rear Suspension

[Kraqa]

track bar done..1.5 x 0.25 wall DOM. i will have it heat treated.





just need to make the frame side mount.



only 4`of up travel. i`m a little disappointed but that literally all i could get out of it before it hits the oil pan.








the track bar is 37.5 long same length as the drag link same angle as well. should drive nice.

[egg]

Great stuff, why use poly bushings over heims in the track bar?

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[Kraqa]

The poly bushing is designed for a track bar application. We use them in mining trucks. It's not a regular poly bushing.

[LSRGreg]

Since your going to heat treat it, throw some more bends in it to clear the oil pan so you can get more up travel!

[Kraqa]

i'm not really worried about the up travel. it bottoms out at the same point as the stock suspension. Anymore will be basically unusable because the tires will start to hit things.

I have been building everything to be super low. I should reasonably end up with about 5" of up travel at ride height.

[Kraqa]

track bar frame mount sandblasted ready to be TIG'd.

[Kraqa]

i got the bracket tacked in. i move it around a bit and got my 5`of up travel.


it will sit low enough for the lower control arms to rest on the frame.








full bump








ride height

[CRJEeP_wj]

Fab work looks great man, as usual.

[Ken L]

Looks good@

I don't remember reading it in your write up, but it looks like you're putting coilovers in the front. Is that the plan?

[Kraqa]

Ya. I have 14" coil overs for the front. I'm going to have trouble mounting them with the Ford F350 master and brake booster in there.

[UTChavok]

I know you said you are fine with the up travel, but in theory could you have moved the track bar in front more of the axle and lowered the frame side mount? I guess that would put more leverage on the unibody which is never a good thing.

[Kraqa]

i could have but i wanted room on the axle side for coil overs.

i will be supporting the frame bracket to a structure in the fender well.

I also didn't want to move the frame mount up closer the the underside of the frame because then i would have to match the height movement up pn the axle end and the track bar would contact the frame rail. I price my self on making suspension that drives exceptionally well. It will take more work the way i am doing it now but in the end it will drive better than stock.

the drag link and track bar will be the exact same length and the exact same angle.

[ELLLLLIOTTTTT]

I'm really looking forward to when you sell this thing to me in a few years.

[Grand_Vulcan]

Wow! talk about truly built not bought! I normally just lurk in the shadows. Had to give props on this one. I'll be fallowing.

[Kraqa]

Wow! talk about truly built not bought! I normally just lurk in the shadows. Had to give props on this one. I'll be fallowing.

THANKS. much appreciated. I'm hoping to get some more progress done tonight.

[JohnBoulderCO]

Nice! It's time for you to come to GSW again! 😃

[Kraqa]

shocks are in on the front.


14" of droop




i had to move the brakes over 1.5" to the driver side to clear the shock. I could have saved alot of trouble if i went with 12" Coil Overs





i started on the ram mount. made these clamps on the waterjet.

[Ken L]

Is it going to be full hydro or hydro assist? I have no experience with hydro, but I've heard that full hydro can be squirrelly on the street at speed. Just wondering what route you're going and what your logic is. I learn something every time I read your posts on your builds.

[Kraqa]

i am doing hydro assist. the kicker is that i am using a double ended ram as the tie rod. it will look like full hydro but will have a drag link.

the ram i am using is only a 2" bore so it wont be slow and sluggish. It should work well. i guess only time will tell. lol.

[dubj]

i am using a double ended ram as the tie rod.

Explain this? I'm having a hard time picturing this. does the drag link only connect to one knuckle and the ram completely controls the other?

[Kraqa]

The drag link goes front the steering box to the knuckle like normal. The ram replaces the tie rod. So it connects the knuckles together.


Drivers idea knuckle goes to a small tie rod that connects to the ram. Then from the other side of the ram a small tie rod connects to the knuckle. It looks just like full hydro but with a drag link. The ram is powered just my a hydro assist ram is from the steering box instead of an orbital valve.

This set up doesn't have the negative affects of a single ended ram where one direction has more power that the other. Or have one side move faster than the other because the ram volumes are equal or both sides of the piston.

[egg]

If you loose hydraulic power, does the ram lock up?

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[Kraqa]

No more or no less that hydro assist.

The basic way to explain this. Regular hydro assist uses a tie rod with a hydraulic ram mounted to it. My set up will use the rod of the ram as the drag link. The hydraulics are identical between my setup or the regular way.

[egg]

I'm just confused in that you said you're replacing the tie rod with the double ended ram. So if you loose your power steering, you won't be able to drive, which is, imo, the biggest advantage of hydro assist over full hydro.

The advantage of maintaining a fully mechanical steering setup as backup in the event of failure is lost, might as well just do full hydro. Just my .02


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[dubj]

If I understand correctly, the ram could still cycle, but it would provide quite a bit of resistance. So it would still be possible to limp home, just a PITA. I also believe that you could disconnect the lines and eliminate that resistance?