The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop 4 link rear suspension kit

Does anybody know of any more good 4 link kits for the 1st series AD trucks? The rear end will be a 9inch f***, . That word is forbidden word in a Chevy forum correct? LOL I found one on Heidt's Website for $1,085 and one on Brother's Website for $1,296. The one on brother's includes the panhard bar and coil over shocks that will be replaced with air bags so I feel it's the better deal. Has anybody used either one of these kits?

I went for the Fatbar from No Limit Engineering. A bit beefier than the regular hot-rod and "designed for trucks". Their price is right in there--kit with coilovers at $1,069, I think.

I haven't welded it on yet, but the kit looks good, very nice welding on the link mounts and they cut their metal with either a water jet or laser, no kerf, nice cuts.

Nice adjustable shocks with the coilovers as well. (My experience with Brother's is they sell really cheap shocks.)

I want to be be able to pull a 16' steel car trailer and my race car with my old truck, so I wasn't sold on the "car" 4-links.

Just my .02, good luck with it. If I had more time on my hands I would have asked No Limit if they would sell their frame link mounts seperately and I would have bought those and fabbed the links myself out of better end-links, weld-in threaded bungs, from the off-road people.

I'm also putting in F*rd rear end, --a $250 8.8 31 spline limited slip 3.73 from Explorer, with disc brakes. 90 percent of a 9 inch at only 10 percent of the cost...

You can get a complete TCI kit on Ebay for $875 shipped.

R-Bo,

Thanks for letting me know about that Kit. I do like it is built for a truck so like you said it's a bit beefier. Since i plan on going with on air bag system I like how they offer a kit with no coil overs at all just the 4 link brackets and bars about $400 cheaper.

Thankfully I got a free 9in ford rear coming out of a 73 grand torino my brother in law has that's a junk car for another car he has.

When you get some pictures of the kit welded in please let me know as I would love to see them.

Carson

Robert,

Thanks for the ebay post. When I eventually get to buying a kit, down the road a few months, I'll check out the their actual website and see what they are offering at the time.

I purchased that 4 link kit from e-bay on Thursday, should be here in about 10 days.

OK finally got a day off to work on the chevy. first attempt at mocking up the TCI 4 link, the rear support bar is 44" long and the frame is 43" long ??? i thought the bar fits inside the frame rails ?? Well can someone measure the frame right where the rear end is ???

think i got it figured out

Hey how is the mock up coming along? Curious if you have any pictures yet?

Mock up was fairly simple, the front of the kit mounts in the stock holes.but i'm going to move it back 2". I ran into 2 issues and hope they are relatively small. 1) the kit fits 3" rear ends and I have a f--d 8.8 which is 3.25. should not be that big of an issue. 2) the 4link and the rear mount 19 gallon tk. made for a tight fit especially wanting to move it back 2". so i loosened the rear crossmember and moved it back. i'll get some picks up this weekend maybe?

Sweet thanks for the update. Looking foward to the pictures.

update on the 4 link issues the rear end being 3.25" is not a problem. contacted experts and was advised to just notch out to fit.The rear end being off center will require new axles and the housing being centered. About $550. in rear end work.

Is this going to be a problem on the 9in or is it mainly a 8.8 in problem?

or you talking about the off center issue or the housing size? I'm pretty sure the 9 inch is just as wide or wider.As for the off center issue i would only be guessing of course since i don't have one but think it would be the same, someone with more experience in the area may chime in and help out here?

Can anyone tell an ignorant old fart what's so great about the 4-link? Is it better all-around handling, or is it just better for drag racing or what?

tia

CanyonAg77
"what's so great about the 4-link?"
I'd take a guess but I was looking for a good answer too.
It's not only used in drag racing. It's used big time in the 4X4 world.

when you have a rainy day, look at this build thread:
try asking Greg "Greg72" <@coloradok5.com RefHispost#931
He might have that answer for you.
Or at least look at it the way you hope your project doesn't turn into.

I'm not a 4 link expert and I'm sure someone with greater knowledge than I can chime in.I was told that it helps in traction with my ls-1 set up and also since the truck is lowered it keeps the pinion angle in tact, allowing the frame to "float' while keeping the drive angle constant. In my case the complete spring set up was in need of replacing or go with the 4 link. The 4 link was a couple hundred more than the complete spring / leaf set up. the 4 link has built in adjustments that allows 2 inch of adjustments up or down without blocks.

Here is the 4-link kit that I am looking at:

http://store.gaugemagazine.com/triangulated4-linkrearsuspension.aspx
http://www.ridetech.com/store/weld-in-air4link-triangulated.html

then again, I may simply design my own and sell along with my Crossmembers

Here are some more things I didn't see already mentioned:

One big reason I went with a 4-link was packaging. With Hotchkiss rear, GM put in two crossmembers in the frame--one to support front spring mounts and one for rear spring mounts, mounted at the front and back of the leaf springs.

With a 4-link, you can retain the front crossmember, but the back one you can move forward on the frame (it becomes your shock mount crossmember). This gives you room to mount a rear under the bed gas tank. :-)

Also, another reason to do this is that a 4-link doesn't wheel hop like leaf springs (that warp) under hard acceleration or braking.

Disadvantage for 4-link is you must have a positioning link to maintain side-to-side axle movement. This is a Watts link or Panhard bar that a Hotchkiss doesn't need.

triangulated 4-link solves the need for a watts link or panhard

Triangulated systems that work need to consider several things. Wheelbase, roll center, Center of Gravity, loaded and unloaded weight.

Effective systems can be designed to force the weight down or to neutral load at the launch, or anti squat.

A poorly designed system will raise the frame up and try to drive under itself...
I've been looking at all the kits out there and I just don't see them working the way they should. They'll probably work ok, but not great... I'll look at their instruction and see what is needed for setup.

The 4 links work fantastic, but take up a stupid amount of room and their a nightmare to adjust. It took me 2 months to design one for my rock crawler. different sport, but the principal is the same. Keep traction on the ground with a low roll center. Still needed a sway bar, however I was running 32" coilovers.

The 3 link with panhard is much easier to build, much more forgiving if your mount is off by a degree or two.


Here are few programs to punch numbers into and see what it'll take.

http://juhuj.com/open-file-xls-convert-xls-download-4+bar+linkage+calculator.htm

-Jerry

That 8.8, are you leaving it offset or going for centering it. Added cost there. Nice unit and Chevys are getting hard to find.
I went with a 98 ZR2 bolt that has beefier axles and disc brakes. Problem way to wide.
I am in the process of getting custom axles at
$550. to bring in the track width and match the
M2 in the front better. I will have about $1400. into it. Could have bought a good 02 8.8 for around $800. Life goes on. cheers

I have the 4Link from TCI and welded on the brackets. Be careful
welding a little at a time. Line up is real important. Use
damp rag and a little air to keep from warping. cheers