New front suspension

[Shawns Fords]

Thats an awesome system. I am going to share this build with my ford truck club fellers. A lot of Ranger builders on there. I hope you all dont mind.

its not just for Broncos. like I said, we have them on alot of rigs. Im working on a system for a jeep XJ right now. Would love to put a set on a ranger!

http://www.rmftc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7252
RMFTC is a great club and even if its a Ford fan club the members welcome all.
I do a lot of short arm kits on new Rubicons up here. If I hear anything about a more extreme lift for one a customer wants ill let you all know.

[Jesus_man]

Done! Got my freshly lengthened driveshaft installed and tightened down shock bolts. Even with the hiccups, I am done and very pleased. The new links seem to work great. For my improvised RTI ramp, I couldn't get anything to hit or rub. Well, the drivers side shock just touches the upper link at full compression, but I don't think it'll be a huge problem. I will need to watch when I stuff the passenger front that my drag link doesn't hit the engine cross-member I had about 1/4" in the pictures below, which equates to probably 2-3" more up-travel. And it's there. My shocks will clearly limit my flex.

I want to go thru and replace all the bolts with shorter ones so they stay out of the rocks and all the nuts with center-lock as opposed to Nyloc. (Clint - I'll let you know what lengths I end up with) I also need to do something for limit straps.

Started up the ramp to see how everything was going to clear






Looked good so I went to the top






Tried to get the rear up on the ramp, but it was too steep and my bumper hit.

So put the drivers side up


Good clearances












Road manners; well the jury is still out on that. Drove it home last night on a crowned and rutted highway with some nasty wind gusts. It didn't handle great there, but maybe it's just a learning curve. I have a lot more body roll, which makes sense, just not something I expected. I need a few more miles on a good highway to see what the road manners are like.

J.D.

[Clint]

Its going to be softer for sure. Eliminating the c bushing on the axle frees everything up quite a bit.

Couple things to check, alignment, just to be sure.

Bump steer, it looks like the angle of your trac bar and drag link are close in some pics, and different in others, something to check. The other option when you free up a suspension and keep a traditional steering link is try to make the drag link as long as you can, which it looks like you could on the frame side by 2-3 inches.

Last thing to look at when you look to change out shocks one of these days is go with a 5150 bilstein style shock that has some good valving to it. Shock location is another thing. I know you made the mounts to fit your current location. Shocks become more important when the suspension is free from bind, and the closer they are to the axle, the better they will behave.

Radius arms bind, a bunch. For anyone who has jacked their rig up by the frame, the front doesnt fall much. Flex ends up with the same result. So, it makes the rig ride very nice down the road, and remain stiff in corners. So, when that is all removed, and the front end travels, you will get more body roll, as well as more feedback from the suspension.

Let me know how it does after a couple days. Im sure you will love the result, as it looks like the flex has gotten quite a bit better, and on the trail it will only make things better :D

[crawlercreations]

Looks like you will be needing a drop pitman arm before you really start flexing it out! Bump steer should be minimal with your ram assist. Should really come alive with the right shocks!

[Clint]

Looks like you will be needing a drop pitman arm before you really start flexing it out! Bump steer should be minimal with your ram assist. Should really come alive with the right shocks!

Ive thought that as well, but had an eb in the shop that had it, came through as a weird wander at medium speeds. Changing the length and the angle a bit of the drag link lined it right out.

[Clint]

A quick note about the bolts. The bolts sent with the kit are all the proper length. This means the shoulders are the right length. If you use shorter bolts, the threads will tear up the insides of the joints/bushings. If you are worried about them, cut them off to shorten them up.

[Jesus_man]

Clint - I did a quick alignment from the grease zirk in the bottom of the knuckle to a hole in the frame at a diagonal. Then checked the other side. Will check again, but I think they are pretty close. That is what I was thinking was the culprit as well. Also, drag link and track bar are nearly in the same plane. I made sure of that when I built the riser bracket. I will get a straight on pic to show you. I have a drop pitman, but I don't think I need it. The straight on pic will show you. Here's a picture of how I did my track bar. Notice the drop pitman there and how far off it is from the drag link.


My shocks are procomps and have an adjuster to make them stiffer. Maybe I'll bump them up a notch or two and see how it handles. If I ever need to change out shocks, it's time to consider coilovers, but I don't see that happening for quite a while.

That's a good point about the bolts Clint. I hadn't thought of that. Plus cutting them off is cheaper... I wonder if you could find some with the same shoulders, but shorter threads from Mcmaster or Fastenal. I will see what I can find.

J.D.

[crawlercreations]

My comment about needing a drop pitman arm was due to the clearance issue you may have with the cross member. As for street driveability, front suspensions that are soft are something to get used to. I have not gotten used to my front suspension being so soft on the street so I leave the pin in my radius arm. With the pin in it it is much more street friendly. With the pin out it flexes nicely. It is kind of like a quick disconnect sway bar for me! As Clint said, A longer drag link will help but if you just lengthen it without a drop pitman arm it is more likely to hit your cross member when the right side tucks.

[Clint]

My comment about needing a drop pitman arm was due to the clearance issue you may have with the cross member. As for street driveability, front suspensions that are soft are something to get used to. I have not gotten used to my front suspension being so soft on the street so I leave the pin in my radius arm. With the pin in it it is much more street friendly. With the pin out it flexes nicely. It is kind of like a quick disconnect sway bar for me! As Clint said, A longer drag link will help but if you just lengthen it without a drop pitman arm it is more likely to kit your cross member when the right side tucks.

I should have been a little more clear on that as well :D

When we set up a trac bar, we do it after the radius arms are installed, which is done with the rig at ride height. Once thats done, we lift the front axle until the front end is at full compression. For coil springs, it just takes a few measurements, then pull the coils and lift front axle.

With the rig at full compression, we build a trac bar and new mounts. The goal at full compression is to make the trac bar as tight as it can be, and even uphill toward the axle end if possible. Now that it is as long as flat as it can be, we make any compromises to match steering geometry, and do what we have to on the steering as well. This results in a long flat trac bar, which usually requires a drop pitman arm.


Just more food for thought as to what happens here when we do a set.

[Jesus_man]

Got a little more highway time and it's way smoother on a flat surface and not so much wind. Had her up to 75 and she felt good.

Here's a front shot at ride height:


Shock Mounts:




Gusset:

[akaFrankCastle]

I saw you have a little bit of body roll on cornering. That last neighborhood before my house really showed it off.

Install looked great this morning.

[ZOSO]

Looks great. I'd like to see what it is capable of with a soft coil.

[Shawns Fords]

I keep coming back to look at your doors now. LOL did you make them yourself?

I really dig the project. How is the rear suspension going to manage when you get into some serious maneuvering? Does anyone here attend the Rocky Mountain truck fest at Bandimere speedway? They have a rock crawling segment.

[Jesus_man]

Yep a fair bit more body roll than stock arms, but I am sure it'll be worth it once I get to really stretch it's legs. I need to trim some fender tho as even a sharp corner at a fair speed causes the tire to rub.

I think I may like the stiffer coil do I don't have to run bump stops, but I won't know until I can see what she does.

69 Bronco - Yeah, I built them myself. The lowers turned out pretty good. The uppers turned out fine too, but how they connect did not. I think I have that problem solved, but just can't bring myself to rebuilding them again. Just don't have the time.

J.D.

[sbolt19]

J.D. - You and I need to get together on those doors. I have a frame I made up about 8 years ago that is collecting dust right now, but I would like to take a close look at yours, you can look at mine and maybe we can come up with something "knock your socks off" good and maybe make a few sets to earn us some extra spending money.

[Jesus_man]

Totally interested in that. I have a good contact for upholstery. I have kept a good list of issues to correct on the next set. And extra bronco money is always good.

J.D.

[Jesus_man]

Here's the best flex pic I have from my first trail run


There's more flex there, just couldn't get it on this obstacle. Plus I need limiting straps before I get too carried away.

J.D.