4-link tried to kill me

yes i read but i am tring to fix it without moving my gas tank, plus i am short on time, i have two days left to get ready for slamefest in tampa. but i know, whats the point if i can't drive it.

i've run reverse 4 links and never had a problem, even w/ a leverage style rear facing 4 link. my tacoma has over 108k miles on it and its been reversed since new. i see several things wrong w/ the set up myself.
1. the upper bars DO NOT have enuff angle
2. no shox in the pictures
3. upper and lower bars are to far center over the axle causeing it to bind when lifting
4. bars are not level at ride height. looks as if they are level when its layed out. im guessin to help save floor space. big no no, thats gonna screw your pinion all up.
5. it almost looks as if the pinion is off in the pix also. i always set mine @ 5 degrees down at ride height and have never had a problem.

There is no quick fixes. You need to go back to square 1. It can be fixed. But there is a few problems. Rushing to finish something is the worst thing you can do. There will always be another show.

3. upper and lower bars are to far center over the axle causeing it to bind when lifting

what do you mean about this?

the tabs on the rear end. they run all the way over the axle. they should have been on the opposite side. (the back side of the axle)

Originally posted by bdroppeddak



Originally posted by FarBeyondDriven





there is no way in hell anyone in their right mind would build a prerunner truck with a reverse 4 link... 4 linking a front axle is totally different....



well im sure 1million$ plus trucks and the engineers who build them would know

SEVERAL trophy and pro truck teams run a reverse 4 link.. in the REAR of thier trucks..

nobody four links the front anywaysanyways its either i beam or a arms,,,

i have pictures somewhere on my computer of a truck in the baja 1000 with a full blown reverse 4 link in the air with like 40+ inches of travel

"and alot of them use reverse 4 links too so the reverse fourlink cant be all that bad if you can jump 30 feet in the air doin 150 and land flat bottom and be fine"

NOBODY reverse 4-links off road trucks (at least none that work.) What you are confusing as a 4-link are called mesanine arms. Much like the S-10 systems with the rearward facing link arms for the bags. A reverse 4-link does not work for any kind of performance. PERIOD!

They will hold the truck off the ground and they will ride decent. They can be done sucessfully. But, never for performance.

I think what is mostly wrong with the suspension on this truck is called "roll steer." Reverse 4-links roll under steer. What that means is that if you were to turn left the rearend is trying to turn the vehicle right. Shocks help, but only cover the issue. The bars need to be moved further to the outside of the vehicle. The narrower the bars the worse the effect. Also the bars should be (from a side view) fairly parallel to the ground at ride height. I would be willing to bet that they point down at the ground, toward the front, at ride height.

It can't really be easily salvaged. Sorry.

There is too many things wrong with this set up to be repaired.Starting over is the only way to correct this truck.That may not be what you want to hear and I would bet money you will disregard this but mock my words...............If you repair it it will still be unsafe and cause you to wreck or end up on the side of the road.It is your fault for letting a shitty shop work on your truck and you should own up to it and let someone that knows what there doing rebuild it.My words may sound ruff but it is the truth and that is what you get from me.As for the reverse four link you are all speaking of something you do not know and have no experence.My wagon has a reverse and pitches perfect.Most people just can't figure out how to remove the flaws from a reverse and in turn talk down about what they do not understand........

Originally posted by grip

Most people just can't figure out how to remove the flaws from a reverse and in turn talk down about what they do not understand........

No, I disagree. I think the real problem is that people with reverse 4 links say out loud that "it worked for me" and people, armed with that statement, try to half ass one into their ride. Reverse 4's were born out of neccessity, not proper design, exploer and caprice owners who dont want to lose their rear seating and truck owners who dont want to move their gas tanks.

fact #1: reverse 4 links work backwards in braking and acceleration. This is not me putting down something I dont understand, this is supported by any number of suspension design, physics and math books containing the "right hand rule of torque"

fact #2: reverse 4 links work in an opposite arc to the arc of the driveshaft, causing them to ether seperate or bind in nornal operation unless you limit lift/drop.

fact #3: reverse 4 links apply very large forces to the end of the chassis AWAY from the center of gravity instead of close to it like forward 4 links. This makes them prone to roll steer as BioMAx points out.

This tacoma owner is still steadfast on using his reverse 4 because he doesnt want to move his gas tank, not realizing that if he had installed it forward in the first place it would have 1) only taken about 10% more time to relocate the gas tank and 2) already be driving down the road safely. In addition, Dave (avtek) has shown you can install a very nice forward wishbone 3 link on a tacoma and not move the tank.

The people down on reverse setups quote physics and fact, the people up on them only say "it worked for me", which does more harm than good.

Werd, a parallel 3link with a panhard is so easy to install its rediculous, and you dont have to move anything.