JKM

Anyone ever fabbed up something like this?

I am thinking of doing it on my 95 when i get home in november , i'd like to do air bags on all 4 corners , a long arm kit in the front , and a custom 4 link in the rear, all setup the same as the class 8 tractors i work on , with an automatic ride height valve.

Anyone got some good info on fabbing something like this up? I want to use greaseable Heim joints on all the pivots , with central greasing (so i don't have to crawl under the truck) I know there are some certain angles that the bars for the 4 link are supposed to use , and i believe one of them interferes with the fuel tank , which is no biggie , i can get a smaller tank made and put in when i am done, i don't need alot of fuel capacity , i can go 2 weeks on a tank as it is.

mkubacak

Kelderman?

http://www.keldermanmfg.com/

rammtuff

Hope you have a thick wallet.

JKM

Lets just say when i come back home from alberta that i might have some money to spend...

I plan on doing most of the fabrication myself , i have a very good selection of tools to work with, and my neighbor is a licenced welder, not sure what ticket he has , but i know the local machine shop has hired him on short term contracts several times because they didn't have anyone with the right ticket to weld some very tricky stuff.

JKM

That Kelderman stuff looks like exactly what i want, Anyone one what the prices are like on it?

high country

A friend of mine did it on a chev dually, he used firestone bags and fabbed his own 4 link. he worked in a suspension shop so parts were very cheap and with a 12v compresser it was less then $500 it was awesome on washboard roads and the more load you put on the more air you put in. the bags were good for 20k per so most of the time they only had 30-40psi in em. the other neat thing was to get under his camper he just dumped the bags.....6" lowere that fast.....back under and buzzzzzz. fill er' back up and go. sorry I have no pix

JKM

I think i am going to try and fab this up myself , i can get most of the parts for dealer cost (air bags , ride height valves , etc, i work at an international dealer) and most of the fabrication doesn't look TOO hard.

But if that kelderman setup is a decent price , i'd be interested.

does anyone know a good place to buy the Heim joints online?

BCB

http://www.keldermanairride.com/pdf/...ice%20List.pdf

i was interested too until i saw the price

JKM

OUCHY!...

I think i an build that entire setup , cheaper than they can install it...

I still have some ?'s about the 4 link , i see they have all their bars parallel (side to side), i thought there were supposed to have some angle to them?

NHDiesel

I have done a lot of custom suspension work (though not on a Cummins in particular). First, true Heims will be pretty harsh. Although the actual suspension will work great, they transfer every little road seam to the frame of the truck, and to you. You will have absolutely NO vibration dampening between you and the road other than the tires. I have used them on a few off road 4x4s, and they work great, but they do transmit vibes on the street. They also don't seem to wear well, and tend to wear out quickly if used on a daily driver. A friand had them on the rear of his Cobra kit car, and although he used high quality heims, they had to be replaced once a year. If you use greasable heims, you should be a bit better off.

Building a rear suspension isn't rocket science. I would get the book "Chassis Engineering Handbook", found online or at big bookstores. It will give you info about proper suspension geometry for good handling.

If the 4 bars are mounted parallel, you would need a panhard rod (track bar) in the rear, just like our fronts. You could do a 3-link, with 3 bars. Two lower bars that attach like the lower bars on the front, and the top bar is shaped like a triangle, with the 2 front points mounting to the frame like the rear of the front upper arms, and the rear of the triangle mounts to the top of the differential with one big joint. You wouldn't need a track bar for this, as the top bar keeps the axle positioned side to side.

Jim

JKM

Hmm , The heims don't seem like such a lovely idea now , what are some of my other options?

I think the 4 bars being mounted parallel would be easier to build, i had planned to put on a panhard bar anyways, i think the 3 link would actually be harder to build, more intensive i guess is the word.

Thanks for the help so far!

NHDiesel

There are options similar to heims, without the harshness, such as Johnny Joints. They act as a joint and incorporate a bit of cushion into them. Or you could design your own bars and use polyurethane leaf spring bushings in place of heims. They wouldn't have as much freedom of movement as heims, but for a street/towing truck, you won't be going for all the flex rock crawlers are looking for...vertical travel of the entire axle is more of a concern for you.

Jim

joefarmer

Here:
http://mysite.verizon.net/triaged/4l...tml/index.html

brandon.

hellotbone

If you want to lay frame air ride technologies has what you need.

turbo thom

I will say this, build it yourself and you will tune it forever. With Keldermans system, the geometry is done and alignment is all you will need.

..Preston..