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Homemade Adjustable Upper Links


Rick13
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So, I've got a couple friends who like to fab/weld on 3rd Gen T4R's and I really liked what some had done with their upper links. Their point was to allow the upper link to pivot/rotate and stop binding (and in some cases snapping) while doing some fairly moderate/hard core wheeling. My thought when seeing their creation was to copy the idea but allow for lengthening of the upper link to the point of better aligning the driveshaft/rear diff (pinion angle).

 

Just know that I'm well aware of some of the arguements against what I have done, so please don't lecture me on driveshaft/angular mechanics and physics, I just wanted to reduce some stress on my rear/lower U-joint and see if my deceleration vibration (which was very slight) would go away and potentially get slightly more rear flex.

 

Well, so far I'm very happy...I will post pics and soon as I get on a real computer:

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I had seen that, but I didn't have the $ to invest that much in upper links. I think they look great and bet they function better than mine though.

 

Here we go...

 

I spent some quality time under an R50 at my favorite pick n pull and got these for $11/each (was that too much?):

IMG_20140308_164827_314.jpg

 

Then cleaned them up for modification:

IMG_20140413_174830_889.jpg

 

I love my $12 Hazard Frought grinder. A quality wire wheel does quick work:

IMG_20140413_195203_135.jpg

 

Then off to my friend's garage where I went to town cutting/grinding to get ready for him to weld (new bolt/nut) while I drilled/tapped for the zerk fitting:

IMG_20140421_190342_176.jpg

 

All welded and assembled with a little anti-seize on the threads until I could grease them up:

IMG_20140422_121408_352.jpg

 

I ended up purchasing some new bushings and having them pressed in at my friends shop. He did it for free cause he said it was a "fun challenge" - what? Apparently these are harder to remove than I thought they'd be, even after reading horror stories on here. Once I got them back I rattle-canned some flat black paint on them.

 

A big thanks to Rob (Alkorahil) for catching an ordering mistake and getting the right number of bushings to me. And thanks for the coffee mug!

 

I pulled the old ones off (the bushings didn't look so good on either side), measure/estimated length for realigning my driveshaft, and voila (aka "wa la"):

IMG_20140517_140828_877.jpg

 

I originally thought about putting the end with the zerk on the lower/axle side for ease of servicing, but I think I like the "gravity feed" of the greased end being higher. After driving just 1 day there is visible grease on the threads, almost no "play" in the nut/bolt interface, and I'm really happy.

 

After looking at receipts and paying my friend $20 for his hour of TIG welding, I think these were just about $95 (not counting time at the JY or time prepping with the wire wheel).

 

So the best part is the vibration is now non-existent.

Edited by Rick13
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Oh yeah, and these have been on since April (as a daily driver) and have wheeled Moab's Metal Masher and Moab Rim with amazing success last month.

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Looks good! Never would've thought to use bolts like that, but it seems like the loading on them is pretty close to what they were made for. I'll bet the rubber bushings last longer with the swivel links in there.

 

One question, what are the big nubs on the axle ends of the links for?

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I think the lower links would bind also with full compression/extension on each side. That would be another project that I'd like to make more like CNAM's.

 

I always figured the "nubs" were bump stomps...that none of us lifted folks had to worry about.

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Yeah the nubs look like bump stops to limit how far the axle could droop- perhaps so the springs wouldn't pop out?

 

Oh and I just remembered Fluery made some adjustable links at one point, I can't remember if they were upper or lower or if he still offers them.

 

 

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I actually contacted Fluery a while back but he said he was no long making them...so there I went. I figured all vibrations/rattles/noises needed to go away before I put her up for sale in August.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hope no one gets angry with me, but after 11 years of ownership, 7 years of 4-wheeling with it, I've found myself wanting something different. I think it's just time for me.

 

It also doesn't hurt that my nephew is the one who wants to buy it. I'll be meeting him in Casper, WY in August and he'll home-base it from Billings, MT.

 

Please don't press me on the subject, my wife already said she'll be watching me closely to see if I cry like a little girl when I hand over the keys and see it driving away.

 

The cool thing is I just took it over Red Cone Pass (my favorite trail around here) and I have another trip with my popup trailer and some mild wheeling scheduled in a couple weeks... so I'm stil enjoying it just the way it is.

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No issues here Rick, just that it's a very well put together Pathy. You did a great job with it so always tough to see it go but sounds like it'll stay in the family.

 

What are you getting next?? ;)

Edited by stioc
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  • 2 weeks later...

No issues here Rick, just that it's a very well put together Pathy. You did a great job with it so always tough to see it go but sounds like it'll stay in the family.

 

What are you getting next?? ;)

Thanks, it's been a blast building this and I think it has plenty of life in it.

 

I ended up buying a 2006 Toyota 4Runner V8 4WD Limited. I'll post pics if anyone cares.

Edited by Rick13
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