Transfer case mounting help needed.

[Hedgehog]

How to write this? I've been thinking about your rear suspension and how it more than likely doesn't really work well at all.

A leaf spring rear suspension essentially allows the rear axle to move up and down. That's the way suspensions work with slight movement toward the shackles. With your suspension having a link that goes from the welded cross member to your axle, a solid connection or the hypotenuse of a triangle, when the suspension tries to move up the link would put great pressure on the axle to move to the rear, but the axle can't move to the rear much at all. Wouldn't that bind the whole system to the point where SOMETHING has to give or the suspension can't work at all. The combination seems untenable rendering most of the suspension unusable. So it seems logical to remove the link system or reset the frame link to the front spring pivot. ...... Where is my logic inaccurate, maybe it is, I don't know.

 

[Peanut Butter]

I would say yes there is additional force on the axle from the traction bar due to it's fixed point of attachment at the front. Most traction bars for 4 wheeling not drag racing, use a shackle type connection to the frame. Here's an article and some pictures to read: Off Road Truck Traction Bar 101 - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

In drag racing (another sport big on traction bars) there is very little up and down articulation. In fact you want to limit the up and down motion as much as possible, sometimes referred to as wheel hop. On a 4 wheel drive unit there is a lot of articulation. At least this is what I understand in my Limited understanding.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

How to write this? I've been thinking about your rear suspension and how it more than likely doesn't really work well at all.

A leaf spring rear suspension essentially allows the rear axle to move up and down. That's the way suspensions work with slight movement toward the shackles. With your suspension having a link that goes from the welded cross member to your axle, a solid connection or the hypotenuse of a triangle, when the suspension tries to move up the link would put great pressure on the axle to move to the rear, but the axle can't move to the rear much at all. Wouldn't that bind the whole system to the point where SOMETHING has to give or the suspension can't work at all. The combination seems untenable rendering most of the suspension unusable. So it seems logical to remove the link system or reset the frame link to the front spring pivot. ...... Where is my logic inaccurate, maybe it is, I don't know.

Pretty sure it binds up under a lot of flex. They are kinda close to parallel, but not quite. My guess is the builder didn't know, or just thought that was better than a lot of hopping and breaking u-joints. My first instinct is to do away with them first. I have to anyway to get the Transfer Case up any higher. If I experience a lot of wheel hop I can always address that later. Both of my last 2 4x4s had SOA and with my take-it-easy driving style, it was never a problem.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

I would say yes there is additional force on the axle from the traction bar due to it's fixed point of attachment at the front. Most traction bars for 4 wheeling not drag racing, use a shackle type connection to the frame. Here's an article and some pictures to read: Off Road Truck Traction Bar 101 - 4-Wheel & Off-Road Magazine

In drag racing (another sport big on traction bars) there is very little up and down articulation. In fact you want to limit the up and down motion as much as possible, sometimes referred to as wheel hop. On a 4 wheel drive unit there is a lot of articulation. At least this is what I understand in my Limited understanding.

Thanks for the link. Going there right now to check it out.

 

[Hedgehog]

Learned something and I'm pleased to see that evidently my thinking was close to accurate. It appears that here is no front shackle mechanism at the front of the link. You mentioned that the suspension was a little bouncy, this might be part of the problem.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Learned something and I'm pleased to see that evidently my thinking was close to accurate. It appears that here is no front shackle mechanism at the front of the link. You mentioned that the suspension was a little bouncy, this might be part of the problem.

These short little CJ5s are bouncy anyhow, but I'm betting that this is a pretty good part of it.