Slam Specialty(UPDATE: 7-21-08)

Looks killer!! Im a lil whore lol, Todd beats me though, lol, but your doing an excellent job man!!

Do you need the 180s? Or the 30 ish degree bend? I can do either one, in 1.5" or 1" tube.

Hehe, ya, they might learn a thing or two from us new guys!

good luck to you too! Cause that sucks about your front! lol...

Thanks slammed, ya todd is a whore! Makes ya wonder how he still has a job! LOL!

Seth, I'm talking about that 30ish degree bend... Like I said I can get you exact measurements before you bend it so I know how much I need.

If you can do it in 1.5" tube and like .125 wall. I wanna make it cheap as possible, lol. How much would that run me, buddy?

But once I can get the axle all fixed and ready to go, I'll be able to give ya a measurement. I'm having a bit of a hard time trying to wrap my head around getting the axle placed and whatnot. Not sure how to really go about it...

BTW, my neighbor lady's son is like in his late 20's it looks like, and he's been interested in my truck for a while. Lol, so my pops was talking to him and he was wondering why the heck it was in the "grarage". Well come to find out he's done 6 or so trucks I guess and we talked a little bit and he said he's gonna give me a hand!

I dunno how much he knows, and I dunno if it's cause he just met me, but he kinda sounded reserved on the 4-link part, lol. We'll see!

He was saying they could use guy like me at his work, too. Maybe I'll get a job and be a mechanic! lol! He said to come to him if I need ANYTHING.

OH, and I had an idea. I wonder if I can make something out of wood that would hold the axle hosuing and all at my 6" ride height so it does'nt move and then install the 4-link? I dunno how you do it, Seth!

Anyone have anything on my drive angles too? Weird how the fronts are all 5 degrees. Never touched the angles before, so mazda had to have it that way. I thought 0 degree OA was bad though?

Yeah just get me dimesnions, I'll just charge you for the tube by the foot.


And when I set up my axle, I level the truck and put the axle on my 12 ton jack stands because they are rather tall. I use a plumb bob to mark center of the axle on the frame or notches before removing the leafs or anything, then just center it under that mark and adjust my pinion angle.

Shiiiiet, lol... time to go put it back on the leafs...

How much will it cost for a 2ft. piece? It won't be for a little while, and I may even see about cutting the mid portion out later on if I have enough x-members and have just enough for the shocks to mount onto...

Less than $10.

Is that without shipping?

Hey, Seth.. 2 questions!

1. Do you usually make the front x-member that the links mount to the same size? I'm just trying to figure out a good size or way to come up with building my x-member...
2. When you go to mount the bags on the bars how do you determine where to put the lower links on? Just use the radius of the bag and extend it out another .5" or so for clearance?

Thats without shipping.

1. I usually us 2x3, or 2x4. But I have used round tube before as well. Just depends on the look I want.

2. I usually keep the bags at least 3/4" away from the frame rail.

eehhh.... not sure how you got that, but it seems from your numbers it would be 3. the difference between -5(first driveline) and -2(2nd driveline)
i wouldn't run those numbers they seem wrong. get your axle height set first, then mock up the driveline and get some new angle measurements.

like seth said the easiest way for you to mock up your axle would be to use a pair of tall jackstands, and a 3rd under the pinion (or a floor jack for easy pinion angle adjustability)just keep checking and doublechecking that your square and plumb and not too far off to one side. tack your axle tabs first measure and mark your crossmember location, and double check your measurements. tack your crossmember and tabs and check again. u know the drill measure twice and cut once.

Hey HeX0rz, one other bit of info for you on setting your pinion angle... in a previous post you mentioned that the tranny output was 5 and the first driveshaft was also at 5. This would be as you look at the truck from the side. If the cab were off the truck and you looked straight down you might notice that the carrier bearing (between the front and back driveshafts) is offset to one side. Not a lot, but enough to eliminate driveline vibrations. The pinion (if I remember correctly) is also offset to one side. Given this info, even if all your side view numbers were exactly the same, there would still be acceptable angles built into the design right from the factory. Again, just a bit of additional info. You are definately on the right track with your setup and definately have a couple of knowledgeable advisors.