The KidWagon

[Doug118]

Agreed. I've done it once and hated every minute of it. Too many fully-assemble-then-torques just to measure and find you gotta disassemble and add, remove or relocate shims. Granted this was on a Jeep (Chrysler era axle) and I was installing an aftermarket locker. Still, we have a few shops in the area that specialize in all things driveline. Mine has 3.73 gears but I want a Detroit Truetrac diff. It'd 100% be worth it to me to pay a pro for this.




With the oil and chemical industries here, there are an abundance of fab shops. It's easy to "get someone that knows someone" to make something so simple. I've outsourced small precision projects before, but this was years ago. Of course, this is only when necessary. The part I'm working with can have slop when being assembled cuz, once it's bolted down, it doesn't move. The bushing rotates around the sleeve. I could wrap some shim stock around the bolt and it'd be good. I haven't compared the factory bolt sizes and the sleeve IDs yet. It might be as simple as drilling the sleeve slightly bigger to fit the bolt. I'll invest in a specific size of drill bit (12mm, 14mm, etc.) for that.




The adjustable ones are expensive and I can make my arms for about $70 at most. That's with me buying the forged rod ends (~$25 each). I could make 'em for as little as ~$25 if I make the rod ends and only have to buy the tube adapters (~$12 each). I have the steel and poly bushings on hand already- leftovers from other projects. Also, the adjustable ones are designed so that you leave them installed and turn the centers or adjusting nuts. While convenient, it's extra specialized parts (left- and right-hand threaded stuff, etc.) that aren't necessary, IMO. I'm not gonna be adjusting these things all the time. My idea is simple bushed ends with one end being adjustable. I'll remove the bolt, swing the end out of the tabs, twist the end in or out to shorten or lengthen the arm, lock the jamb nut then slip it back in the tabs and reinstall the bolt. A half turn is plenty fine enough adjustment. Once it's set, I'll never mess with it again. Paying for the extra parts to make adjusting them a little easier is a waste. I also don't want or need rebuildable Delrin ends. I wanna minimize the things I do that degrade the ride quality. When I make the lowers, they'll be new factory arms with their factory rubber bushings, cut in half, lengthened, spliced and boxed. Also, bcuz kustom.




Behave yo self. @pwtr02ss and @randeez are jealous types.




I'm pretty sure. I know the shock extender has a single vertical bolt.



...Shit. Now I gotta go check. Which means I gotta go out to the shop. Which means I gotta get dressed. Which means you read a lot of words that I typed while almost naked. And your pants got tight. You're welcome.

I would LOVE a simple set of fixed length extended upper and lowers with poly bushings at each end. I had spherical bushings in my mustang and absolutely hated every second of driving that car because of them

 

[iamdub]

REAMER!? I hardly KNOW'ER!

Makes the dismount that much easier.

Not gonna lie...I laughed out loud pretty damn hard at that

"Grinder and paint make me the trigonometry prodigy I ain't"

Ball is definitely a tiny lil town. My favorite place there is the liquor store, Ball Liquor (say it out loud). My uncle Michael still lives there. The other 3 Lynch boys moved to STL when they were younger. Funny enough, Michael was born here, then moved back to Loozyanna. We call him Joe Dirt. Looks like him AND sounds like him, but with more loozyanna twang. If I ever get back down that way any time soon, I'll look you up. Be cool to have a couple beers and a crayfish boil!

Fo sho! But don't say "crayfish" here.

Damn, you're ON IT. For some reason the GIF didn't work the first time. Couldn't have been but a minute between me posting and editing it!

All that matters is it worked and the sentiments were conveyed.

 

[KidWgn]

sho! But don't say "crayfish" here. View attachment 411902

Crawdaddy? Crawfish? WTF you want me to call them?

 

[KidWgn]

I would LOVE a simple set of fixed length extended upper and lowers with poly bushings at each end. I had spherical bushings in my mustang and absolutely hated every second of driving that car because of them

Unfortunately, there would have to be fixed lengths for each drop length, and even then they wouldn't be accurate because some company's 5" drop isn't a 5" drop, etc.

And for you, there would be no premade option available because nobody else had the balls to drop a NNBS 8" static

 

[Doug118]

Unfortunately, there would have to be fixed lengths for each drop length, and even then they wouldn't be accurate because some company's 5" drop isn't a 5" drop, etc.

And for you, there would be no premade option available because nobody else had the balls to drop a NNBS 8" static

Anything is better than the situation I have going on right now. I have ~1” between the tire and front of the quarter panel with the 22’s. The 28’s are about 1/8” away

 

[iamdub]

I would LOVE a simple set of fixed length extended upper and lowers with poly bushings at each end. I had spherical bushings in my mustang and absolutely hated every second of driving that car because of them

This is also something I considered. If the factory arms with the lowering components maintained proper pinion angle, then, wouldn't just lengthening all four arms the same amount still maintain that angle while pushing the axle back? If so, this would eliminate the need for the adjustable aspect altogether. Arms could be made really easily and cheaply.

 

[iamdub]

Crawdaddy? Crawfish? WTF you want me to call them?

Gotta call 'em crawfish here!

 

[KidWgn]

Anything is better than the situation I have going on right now. I have ~1” between the tire and front of the quarter panel with the 22’s. The 28’s are about 1/8” away

You, sir, are a madman.

This is also something I considered. If the factory arms with the lowering components maintained proper pinion angle, then, wouldn't just lengthening all four arms the same amount still maintain that angle while pushing the axle back? If so, this would eliminate the need for the adjustable aspect altogether. Arms could be made really easily and cheaply.

I don't believe that they DO maintain the proper pinion angle. I actually don't think that's possible. I'll let you know Saturday whether my angle is <3-degrees or not.

Gotta call 'em crawfish here!

That's wild...I was raised calling them crawdaddy's. What area are you in? Closer to nawlens?

 

[iamdub]

I don't believe that they DO maintain the proper pinion angle. I actually don't think that's possible.

Well, if mine hasn't roached the U-joints yet, theeeeennnn...

That's wild...I was raised calling them crawdaddy's. What area are you in? Closer to nawlens?

West Baton Rouge. About 1.5 hours west of NO. What about you- a/s/l?

 

[KidWgn]

Well, if mine hasn't roached the U-joints yet, theeeeennnn...

It won't roach the joints so much as it'll cause a vibration...hold on i just watched a really cool video about this.

West Baton Rouge. About 1.5 hours west of NO. What about you- a/s/l?

 

[KidWgn]

Well, if mine hasn't roached the U-joints yet, theeeeennnn...

and that one

 

[pwtr02ss]

Hey @iamdub I don't mind sharing. As long as, well, you know....

He does this special thing @KidWgn

You have to experience it to believe it, and who are we (@randeez) to keep that all to ourselves

 

[Doug118]

This is also something I considered. If the factory arms with the lowering components maintained proper pinion angle, then, wouldn't just lengthening all four arms the same amount still maintain that angle while pushing the axle back? If so, this would eliminate the need for the adjustable aspect altogether. Arms could be made really easily and cheaply.

That’s what I was thinking. I’ve had no vibration issues. Only thing that’s happened to my truck driveline wise is my trans has a slow drip now, probably from the driveshaft being stuffed into the trans and messing up the seal

 

[KidWgn]

Got myself a free claybar job today!

While at work, some idiot contractor decided to paint the light poles on a windy day, blowing overspray on 300+ cars.

A company called National Overspray Removal reached out to me, as they were contracted by Boeing to have the problem rectified! I figured, the worst that happens is I get a free car wash and I STILL need to buff it.

Turned out better than I expected, and be even laid 2 coats of wax on it. I told them not to touch the wheels.

 

[89Suburban]

Got myself a free claybar job today!

While at work, some idiot contractor decided to paint the light poles on a windy day, blowing overspray on 300+ cars.

A company called National Overspray Removal reached out to me, as they were contracted by Boeing to have the problem rectified! I figured, the worst that happens is I get a free car wash and I STILL need to buff it.

Turned out better than I expected, and be even laid 2 coats of wax on it. I told them not to touch the wheels.
View attachment 412016
View attachment 412017
View attachment 412018

Makes the rotors look like chit lol.

 

[randeez]

Hey @iamdub I don't mind sharing. As long as, well, you know....

He does this special thing @KidWgn

You have to experience it to believe it, and who are we (@randeez) to keep that all to ourselves

i thought we were keeping it to ourselves, wtf
also just found out this guy's got a wife he been cheatin on me with

 

[KidWgn]

Makes the rotors look like chit lol.

The 24's make them look like chit on their own
I'd like to do the ZR1 brake swap, but after spending all this money on the suspension, the wife may actually bury me if I spend $2k on brakes.

 

[pwtr02ss]

i thought we were keeping it to ourselves, wtf
also just found out this guy's got a wife he been cheatin on me with

Well, we can pretend. It makes it easier that way. Don't you worry, he'll be back...

 

[KidWgn]

You obviously drove the truck before you put the drop on it.. Any noticeable difference in the ride?

Looks good!

So, I'm one of the lucky few who had a fully functioning air setup. There's a MAJOR dip in the offramp to get to my house, probably 4-5" deep and about 4-foot from front to rear. With the factory suspension I could hit it at 80 and all you felt was a slight bump.

Without the air stuff, you definitely feel the bounce. I'll update again when I get the Viking stuff installed, as I'm sure it's going to make a WORLD of difference over the factory struts without the air.

Well, I promised you an update when I got the viking stuff installed.

I'm REALLY impressed with the ride quality of the fronts (the more important axle). They ride a lot like the OE air ride in that there is compression, but not an overstroke of rebound causing that bouncy feeling.

It's definitely stiffer, but it's not springy, nor bouncy. I'm very happy with the outcome.

 

[iamdub]

It won't roach the joints so much as it'll cause a vibration...hold on i just watched a really cool video about this.

Cool video! I've seen animated vids and them describing the varying speeds. But hearing it drives it home.

With the age of mine and all the hard throttle and high RPM they've experienced with 30K of that in it's current lowered status, my joints would be all kinds of clicky and hummy if the angles were bad. I'd say GM did a good job with the design of the 4-link and DJM did equally as well with the trailing arm relocator.