setting up my 2link and other questions

i put a 2 link on my daily ranger just to get some first hand experiance with how they actually effect the vehicle. i used to have it bagged with the main and overload springs, truck dont lay out because i put most of my focus into the explorer and i still haul stuff with he ranger. and bags are currently on the axel on the ranger not on bars.

the truck used to have rear shocks on it with the leafs but i decided to leave them off for a little while on the 2 link since i have rode on other suspensions with and without shocks and this will get shocks once i can take a look under the truck and see what all if anything has been effected u-joint wise and such. anyways so far what i have decided: it rides good on the highway, handles good in corners, i do get some wheel hop when accelerating from a stop and making a hard right turn most of the time. but i think it is because there is no shocks, but i will have a final determination on that once i reinstall the shocks. the one thing i dont like is every time i shift especially under hard acceleration is the the the rear of the truck squats like a mofo, shocks could help that as well. my driveway at my house is gravel and on a hill, i have never had any of those rearend locking up issues i have heard about. the truck also does get some side to side movement. the 2 link is the silver star customs kit, i got it on a trade and decided to give it a test. over all i think if shocks take care of the wheel hop and rear squatting or at least help it out, i might consider leaving it on longer than planned and maybe put the bags on the bars. also the truck has a 2.5l 4 banger if anybody wants to know and its a 2000 ranger ext cab. if you have any spacific questions ask and ill try to see if i can help answer them.

Originally posted by B_Y_O_B



you can get articulation out of a 2 link just use your head and some of these sweet joints that people make these days, i just experimented on a truck that was already 2 linked. i put the spherical bearings on each end of the link bar, solid mount at the axle and a diagonal track bar with heim joints and high offset washers and i dont know how but it pivots like a mofo doesnt make sense to me but it worked.

thats not possible. the pivot of a two link is locked by the bars solid connection to the axle, not by the bushings used at the front. if you drew a line through the center of the bushing and tried to twist the bar, the angle of the line normal to the frame, even with a half inch of twist, would mean that the the bushing on the opposite side would need to move down a FOOT to articulate that half inch on the first side. Super pivots on a two link are useless, because both forward bushings behave exactly the same.

Most likely you are flexing the frame, or the saddles or both.

People get confused when they compare a two link to the trailing arm system used on semi trucks, or the system used by nascar. Semi trucks use I beams, not rigid tube, that allow flex. Nascar autos have very limited travel and therefore almost no pinion change. Using box tube for a two link on a truck with air or hydro adjusted suspension isnt really directly comparable to anything currently used in rear suspension design. I dont think its unsafe, lots of guys rock monoleaf which is potentially more unsafe than a thick walled two link. I just think its kind of a cop out, you will spend thousands on your wheels and thousands on your paint and hours and hours in body mods but you use the cheapest, simplest, and worst rear suspension design. Its like a supermodel with bad teeth.

well im 2 linked and live on a dirt raod that is no where near flat ...and i drive slow down it and not a one wheels spins or comes off the ground

and im not like the other that need 20 inch of lift i bagged my truck to lay not lift above stock...if you only use your susp for what you need then you set your pinon for the movment you need ...sorry i dont want my truck to look like a grass hopper

well you geting into something else talking about speend loads on a frame that will never get seen...i see no point in these full frames builds..when you will never see the work...why do i need a 4link so i can hit sides when i dont ...im not switch happy like other ...i only make my truck get up off the ground and go thats all i need ...dont need to lift up for cars to drive under...dont need to hit sides so stuff will slide out the truck

Originally posted by TuckingLugs05



well you geting into something else talking about speend loads on a frame that will never get seen...i see no point in these full frames builds..when you will never see the work...why do i need a 4link so i can hit sides when i dont ...im not switch happy like other ...i only make my truck get up off the ground and go thats all i need ...dont need to lift up for cars to drive under...dont need to hit sides so stuff will slide out the truck

isnt that ricky clintons old truck? I remember when he built that two link, he wished later that he had just done a forward 4 link.

and I will say that ricky spent more time designing his 2 link to be long and have the right pinion angle at ride height and have the most usuable travel than most of the guys who just use the stock perches and some box tube.

Originally posted by BigRich



My Bros 97 full size is 2 linked, its the kit extensive makes and its worked like a dream, only thing we have ever had to do to it is check the torq on the bots once in a while but thats it. also man when you do the front end clearance cut the lower control arm pockets about a 1/2 inch up if i remember correctly. it will allow your control arm to travel up higher letting the front end to lay! The truck will ride killer with the 7's! post up progress pics when you get em! and good luck!

big rigs and nascar also dont have adjustable suspension that moves so far it throws the pinion off. you're talkn about an inch of movement on those setups.

a 2 link works AWESOME in a situation where there the axle is fixed in 1 location.

the problem with a 2 link is and if you deny this, you are a fucking moron and need to go check yourself into the retard hospital. air your 2 linked truck up and measure your pinion angle, measure it when you're laid. you will have DRASTIC change, as there is no way for the rear end to articulate. anything more then like 2 or 3 degrees both ways, can cause a hum or vibration.

yea yea yea, you dont ride aired up. well guess what, some of like to build fully functional trucks that can be drove anywhere in any situation. come drive with your ass on the ground in my state or the state 2 states below me, you'll be going back to texas in tears.

2 links work for what they are intended to work on. they DONT work for what we use them for.

with longer bars on a 2 link my pinion only changes very little look at my build pics under my build in undercontruction and look at the lift it gets and it drives

also i never siad i never drive with it aired up but i sometimes ride about stock hight and that does not change mush from laid out...like i said when the bars are longer then you get very little change...whats about all the reature trucks and all the other who runs then and have no probs...so i see no reason i should change to a 4 link just to hit sides?