Link Pin travel

[WannaB-class5]

I just bought new front suspension parts for my baja. I have to make custom shock mounts and I was hoping to get some suggestions from any of you that run coilover linkpin front beams. I have an 8.5" coilover and with my tinkering I think I can get 13.5" of travel. They are the 2.25" longer 1" wider arms. Does this sound right? and how far up do you all allow your arms to go? to parrallel? higher? same up as down? Pics of your travel and your input would be great! Oh and is there anything I should take into account since I am going to run rack and pinion for the frist time.

[WannaB-class5]

I also need to know where to get a reamer or if there is anyone that can ream my link pin spindles to accept International rod ends. On that note I hear some people ream from the bottom. Is this something I should do?

[FullsizeFun]

set it so that when it is bottomed out the beam is pretty close to the ground. Some people have it so the beam is on the ground and some have it a few inches up.
For the tierod ends, just use 3/4 heim joints with misalignment spacers with 1/2 in bolts.

[WannaB-class5]

Follow up question. Do people usually lay the beam back to create caster? I think caster shims are junk but what does the off-road world think? and does 7* sound right or should I go more since it's off-road only?

Thanks again. Oh and I was givin aluminum tie rods with International ends for free so i am going to run those and need reamer info still.

[phorensic]

I've heard 12* is just about right recently. I remember having a conversation with ESB Mike (about a-arms) and he told me that the setup he had on Fish's truck had plenty of caster, but at speed it would get twitchy, so he dialed in a few more degrees and the problem was solved. I'm a believer in a lot of caster after talking to a lot of fabricators and reading a lot of posts on caster.

[ntsqd]

Compare the taper of the large "Mechanic's Repair Reammer" that Snap-On and others sell to the taper of the TRE pin. There are only two different US tapers so you have a 50/50 chance of it working.

[Ryan_P]

I know this might sound corney to some people, but have you ever read the book "How To Build a Baja Bug" ??? it's a really good book and teaches you the basics of how to set-up a car. It's like $20 from either Kartek or McKenzies, best buy IMO.

As for caster, just play with it and cycle your suspension to see which is gonna give you the best performance to your application. Each car is differnent and things like drop spindles and longer/wider arms will make caster vary from each application.

Pick up that book, you'll learn a ton from it, I know I did....

-Ryan

[prerunner1499]

you can get the reamer and or adapter pins for running the heims from Kartek or Mckenzies.
If running this on a race car I would opt for the heims, they are easier to work with and remove if a rod gets bent or broken. Time savings alone in a race will be worth it with heims. Tie rod end removal= bfh+removal tool+ pickle fork, etc.... Heim removal= 1- 3/4" gear wrench and a quick pull with the hand. You ever tried to get an inner tie rod off? Its a PITA at best.
I see more and more beam cars running heims for rod ends.

[WannaB-class5]

Its not a race bug and cost is an issue now since I blew my motor (and bought a new one) so I will stick with the free tie rods and TRE's. Thanks for the info and yes I have had the bad luck of trying to get an inner off!!!! No Bueno

[WannaB-class5]

Does anyone have pics of their cage/tubing holding their ling pin front ends on a baja bug. I am about to build mine and would love some ideas. Remember I am replacing a ball joint front end. It is not a race bug so simple is better than overkill. Any and ALL pics would be great. Ideas too if you have them.

[ThingOw181]

Check out my setup on my Thing. Go to www.thesamba.com, and check out the gallery, and search for pics posted by ThingOw181. I took 1/2 of a ball joint beam, did a little welding, and a little bending, and made an "adapter" if you will. It runs to my cage, which is becoming central to the car. Keeps the pan head, and if you can do things somewhat straight, it worked out ok. It stretches the wheelbase too, making up for the longer arms.
Using 5/8" heims, I can cycle 13+. (14 to try and be one of the cool kids)

Jordan

[WannaB-class5]

What spring rate is your lower sping Jordan. I really like that set up and I might do that! You don't have any contact with your tierods and the frame? I have the same rack so the this info would really help.

[ThingOw181]

I don't have any problems with them hitting the frame, but I do have a problem with them hitting the coils. I am using 2.5" arms currently, but will be stepping up to a +4" arm, which should give me a little better clearance. I was also using heim adapters, which raised the pivot point on the spindle, bringing the rods closer to the shocks. In hindsight, I wish I would not have raked the shocks as far as I did, although I needed to to make them fit. Right now I am running 200/400 coils. The shocks had 400/500 when I got them, and I didn't want to spend too much on coils. The 400 almost acts like a bumpstop, and I can tap the car out in second through the whoops (55-60) very smoothly. Once I get the +4 arms, I'll mount a urethane bump in there as well. You should also know that even if you get the car set up with perfect geometry (no bumpsteer) that the rack is so fast that you will get a lot of feedback. Or at least, I do, but I run 8.5 razorbacks in the sand, so I get plenty of gription. I recently added a bilstein steering damper off of a motorhome that I got off ebay for $20, so we will see how that works.

Jordan