Torque Links

[Ace]

Not sure if this is under the right heading here.

[TWorline]

Ace, I for one am very impressed!!! I know just the guy to try these out, Bill you need a set on the Drag Queen!

[GO OVRIT]

Very nice. After looking at it and picturing how well it should work, I'm surprised that its the first design like it that I've seen.... other than the huge amount of time you obviously have in them. How well do you think the copper will hold up? If it wears out maybe this would work. http://www.mcmaster.com/ type UHMW in the search. Nice work.

[Ace]

Yeah, I wondered about that and actually did not know exactly how that was going to be addressed at first. There's really not alot going on there. Most of the time they are just riding along not doing anything. So I got a sheet of .1" thick copper, cut out and attched those strips with tiny brass screws and JB weld. It's fairly trivial to replace them if/when necessary. Just grind off whatever's left when they wear out, re-drill/tap and put new ones on. So guess I'll just wait and see how it goes.

[mhuppertz]

Hey Ace,
How are the traction bars holding up?
Are they working like you thought they would?

[Ace]

No problems noted, rear seems solid and compliant under all conditions, even backing the trailer. I added some shock boots for dust covers to keep the sliders clean:

http://stuff.is-a-geek.net/PhotoAlbum/C ... TD_169.jpg

Plan on taking them apart in the spring after they've been on there for a year to check for wear.

[mhuppertz]

Did it completely stop the hop?
Do you have a side shot? I want to see how much ground clearence there is.
The geometry for the slider boggles my mind!!!

[Ace]

This pic shows the ground clearance better:

http://stuff.is-a-geek.net/PhotoAlbum/C ... TD_151.jpg

I think that is going to be an issue with any type add-on bar. But they are out near the wheel, so not a big deal, especially if you don't offroad much.

I don't know if I was experiencing wheel "hop." Probably so in a race launch situation, but I don't beat on it too much. I just noticed it as some clutch grabbiness. It would shudder and lurch if I wasn't real careful letting out the clutch, especially in reverse. I guess it would be hopping if the clutch was just dumped like at the starting line, but not anymore.

[Richie O]

I have never had any wheel hop with my 89 w250. I think it is because the lift blocks in the rear are shorter then the later trucks.

[redneckroot]

Do you have any pic's of the bars connected to the rear axle?

[Ace]

How's this:

http://stuff.is-a-geek.net/PhotoAlbum/C ... DT_160.jpg

[redneckroot]

Did you just washer space it down?

[Ace]

Nope. Pics 127 and 129 show how the Torque Link bar mounting plate was contoured to fit the bottom of the shock plate like I mentioned in the initial post.

It snugs down on there for a tight fit and solid mount that would not be possible if it was spaced out like you asked. You'd need some pretty long u-bolts to do that and would make it weak and crappy - from an engineering standpoint.