Jeep What exactly is Radius Arm Unloading?

[AX10TOY]

This is good info as I have no experience with these .

 

[TJDukit]

we were talking terminology of links, plain and simple

not who has swapped what into what, its jeeper rules "i call it ______, wait Ford disagrees?......naw they're wrong"

Except with the TTB setup the axle has a different role in the way the suspension works, which is I it should be excluded from this conversation, this is one instance where there is a "radius arm" with not track bar. Sure it is a radius arm setup but for the purposes of the question asked it's best to just exclude Fords craziness and as I can see from your avatar you were smart enough to ditch so you must at least understand why it adds no value to the OP by including tech about it.

 

[Team1k]

My .02

Not sure if this helps at all, and feel free to tell me to delete this post if its not, but since there is some debate on the subject i thought i would post my understanding of the different setups.

3Link


4 Link

Radius arms

 

[skiboarder]

I do have a question about all of this. First off I have a ford TTB. Don't think bad of me. It does work fairly well but, a solid axel is were it's at.
My question. Why do you need bushing at the connection point on the axel. Let alone bushings anywere in the radius arm setup. I have see setups that have one radius arm per side, like the old bronco's. They have hard linked them to the axel and put hiem joints for the pivot at the frame The only other connection to the frame was the springs and a track rod. With this set up the pinion would always point towards the transfer case and not maintain the same angle.
I know this would possible cause issues at the u joint. If you run a double cardon that should help. Just a thought. Beside when I go solid axle up front i'm going with leafs.

 

[EB101]

The pivots at the axle are there because the radius arm angles don't stay the same under articulation. Also, Like ILean said, I'd say unloading and wheel hop are two different animals.. My EB with long arms, unloads on steep inclines by letting the spring decompress to its natural height, shifting weight way back. The fix is a suck down winch. I also have wheel hop issues presumably because I run a single fairly soft shock, everyone I know that dual shocked their front doesn't have that issue. Also, wheel hop goes away of course with a suck down but that's just not practical for most trail situations.

-Steve

 

[skiboarder]

You know as i visualised this in my head I didnthink of articulation. I was moving the whole thing in my head. I can see that now. Thanks EB

 

[thenag]

4 Link
View attachment 77530

That is technically a Triangulated 4 link. You can have a non-triangulated 4 link with a track bar (pan hard bar) like stock tj's jk's etc


Nathan

 

[YotaDaniel]

Wow, I love the discussion that has evolved. Thanks for all of the responses and indepth explainations. I had to read several of them two or three times to visualize them in my head, but I think I better understand the difference between unloading and wheel hoping. I was imagining wheel hop prior to my question.

Daniel

 

[Team1k]

True. I guess i could have included all the variation of each kind. Such as only upper triagulation, only lower triagulation, etc... I just wanted to post up a basic picture of each since it seemed people were having trouble visualizing them.

That is technically a Triangulated 4 link. You can have a non-triangulated 4 link with a track bar (pan hard bar) like stock tj's jk's etc


Nathan

 

[Raleigh]

Here is a shot of my radius arms, Carl halped me with the upper link connections:

Now if I remove the upper link from either side I have a 3 link.
I have bushings on the upper and lower axle side mounts, mostly to improve on road ride quality.

 

[airforceret]

ok... so if i have a history of bending trac bars aka panhards (2 front / 1 rear), i should be considering a lift system that does away with the panhard bar? (triangulated 4 links do not need a panhard/trac bar)

Roger

 

[I Lean]

What vehicle? If it's the TJ in your signature pic, then I'd recommend a triangulated 4-link in the rear for sure. Front, figure out why you're bending them and fix the issues. (but keep the panhard)

 

[skippy]

ok... so if i have a history of bending trac bars aka panhards (2 front / 1 rear), i should be considering a lift system that does away with the panhard bar? (triangulated 4 links do not need a panhard/trac bar)

Roger

Are you bending factory track bars??? I have never seen a Heavy duty aftermarket one bend. If I side loaded my JK hard enough to bend my Terafex adjustable track bar I think the track bar would be the least of my worries.

 

[Raleigh]

A triangulated 4-link on a steering axle is a bad idea if you have a steering box and you drive it on the road.
the bump steer would be horrible, you would have to go full hydro and that is not legal for on highway driving...