Hey guys

Just thought I'd share my latest mod.

My truck had been dropped by the previous owner by turning the torsion keys down in the front and removing the 2" spacer blocks & installing 2" drop shackles in the rear. I was pretty disappointed with the way it handled and bottomed out over speed bumps and decided to do something about it. I also wanted to drop it just a little more.....

Up front was easy, I purchased some Belltech spindles but in the rear I decided I wanted air bags & 4 link. Problem was, no one, and I mean no one, makes a 4 link for these quadrasteer trucks. Because we have the Dana 60 rear diff, the 4 link for a 99-06 silverado or sierra will not fit.

So I had a real good look at what was available, and read a whole lot on rear suspension design and made my own.
I decided I really didn't want to go welding brackets to either the diff or the chassis, but wanted to make it as OEM as possible.
Spent some time on CAD & drew the trucks rear chassis, wheelbase, center of gravity height, roll axis & instant center. Ripped out the stock leaf springs & front & rear brackets & designed everything to mount in the stock factory holes in both the diff & chassis. Well, everything except the air bag brackets, these needed 4 holes drilled in the chassis and they bolt through to the Watts link brackets on the other side.
Had it all laser cut and CNC bent, then cut & fishmouthed the upper & lower bars, welded up the whole lot, squirted some chassis black on it and bolted it all up.

It's been on the truck for a little while now and although I haven't done a lot of driving, I've done enough to say it rides great, sits lower than before but doesn't bottom out at all and handles better than it did with leaf springs.

Next mod planned is a rear sway bar but as before, no one makes one, so I thought I'd rip the bed off to make access easier. I've designed some brackets and had them cut. Bolted them up temporarily for a trial fit (they're the un-painted ones bolted to the diff). Everything seems to line up OK so now I just need to weld the brackets up properly and get the sway bar made.

While I had the bed off, I thought I'd snap some pics - in no particular order.

Oh yeah, I know the exhaust coming out of the turbo looks like crap. It used to come out just behind the rear wheels but I had to chop it off to do the 4 link install and I tacked it back on to drive the truck.
I had planned to re-do it all in stainless steel anyway - but being out of sight, it was a mod that could wait. Seeing it like this however just gives me a good reason to do it sooner.

 

Nice work man

 

sweet work man i m diggin it

 

never seen a linked quadrasteer truck before, my hats off sir

 

well executed man

 

I like that you decided to use a Watt's link.

 

While the suspension is very cool, you should really see some of the interior work he has done, it is sweet.

 

Thanx guys

Thank you. Having read through your build thread, I know my 4 link pales into insignificance compared to the work you are doing to your truck.

With all the stuff hanging off the diff, there was no room for a decent length Panhard bar. A short one would have been do-able but then the diff would move side to side excessively with suspension travel.
A Watts link was a better option - it took a few nights of measuring & cad work to get everything to line up perfectly but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.


Thanx Jarrod

Yeah, my truck is just one big project, way too many mods.

Maybe I should post some pics of some of the other stuff I've done.

 

Nice job man

 

Nice work. I think the quadrasteer option was the best option that that GM offered in a LONG time. I just wish it was still around. But you did some amazing work on there. Great job! Throw up some pics when you get the body set!