landrover598 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 I'm thinking about cranking my rear trailing arms to acount for the lift and extra articulation I was wondering if anyone has had any success cranking their own arms I've got a hydraulic pipe bender and i reckon i can get it close enough to the end of the arm I am planning on welding a strip of 1" angle down the underside of the arm to strenghten it as well How much is this likely to affect the wheelbase ? and will it cause a problem ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 when you crank them you need to add some length or you will shorten the wheel base. I have seen some home made ones that were effective and the correct length not as pretty but what does that mater as long as they do the job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 when you crank them you need to add some length or you will shorten the wheel base.I have seen some home made ones that were effective and the correct length not as pretty but what does that mater as long as they do the job I've bent my own to allow for a 3" lift , this shortened the arm by 4mm. By landrover standards thats probabley within the tolerences they were originally built to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark90 Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 You can space them out at the chassis bush by a few mm with some washers if required. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 this shortened the arm by 4mm. Not as much as i thought It shouldn't really affect the axle too much then, just pull the diff nose up slightly The next question is how much do i bend it The arm is currently sitting at 10 degrees to the bush (unladen on flat road), so i presume i need to bend it by 10 degrees ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtydiesel Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Not as much as i thought It shouldn't really affect the axle too much then, just pull the diff nose up slightly The next question is how much do i bend it The arm is currently sitting at 10 degrees to the bush (unladen on flat road), so i presume i need to bend it by 10 degrees ? I'd just take one off at a time and bend it untill the chassis bush is "unstressed". I've done mine so that the bush is stressed upwards at ride height, so that the bush is at maximum compression at full bump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted April 12, 2006 Author Share Posted April 12, 2006 Thanks for the replies I gave it a try on some scrap arms i had and with a 10 degree bend, there is very little difference in length Just got to get some tidy arms and bend a pair up now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LR90 Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Slightly OT but do cranked arms really make much difference? OK I can see the point if you want to tuck them up out the way for rock crawling but wrt articulation I'm still limited on droop by the shocks, not but trailing arm bushes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bishbosh Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 There's always going to be one component of the suspension system that limits your travel Trev. As a minimum, the cranked arms will give the bushes a longer life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white90 Posted April 17, 2006 Share Posted April 17, 2006 stronger arms that are cranked are worthwhile Jez's or similar I'd recommend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted April 17, 2006 Author Share Posted April 17, 2006 Axle articulation was being limited by the bush, and the bush is permanently stressed on the road, so it's going to reduce the life I'll be fitting the new arms once the shops open so i can get some nuts and i'll post a few pics to show the affect they have on the bush Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landrover598 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Share Posted April 18, 2006 In normal road use the bush was always being stressed due to the lift So the cranked arm removes the stress placed on the bush This will also allow the arm (and hance axle) to move further downwards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve H Posted April 19, 2006 Share Posted April 19, 2006 Dave, I can certainly see your reasoning for wanting to unstress the bush & that seems sound. To improve the angle of the diff pinion to the drive shaft, as I see it you need to do a bit of what you've done with the bottom arms, ie shorten them & a bit of the opposite with the A frame, ie lengthen it, thus rotating the axle slightly. I think I've seen on pirate4x4 a spacer for the a frame to ball joint mount which both effectively lengthened the A frame & lowered the ball joint, but I guess that was on a much more extreme set up than you've got. I'm really just thinking out loud here & wonder at what point changing the diff angle becomes desirable? Your trucks looking good by the way, getting better all the time. Cheers, Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted April 25, 2006 Share Posted April 25, 2006 How about this for an expertly cranked trailing arm? Beautiful job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
letsgetdirty Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Dave and bog monster can you pm me your videos If you think they will help when I do mine this weekend? Tris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 Jez (& Stig) do make rather a neat job of it: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest noggy Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 how much do they cost fridge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveG Posted July 8, 2008 Share Posted July 8, 2008 how much do they cost fridge? a pound less than the ones in the photo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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