Truck Stuff: Contemplating 4-link conversions.

"Saracen" (manualdoucheelitist) 03/24/2020 at 09:00 • Filed to: None

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When it comes to vehicles I seem to be at one extreme or the other.

Usually it’s expensive european metal . Preferably of the variety with a way higher power to weight ratio than is necessary for the str eet. And five doors because wagon.

But part of me never left Texas, and I love obnoxious diesel trucks. And I can’t help but think about doing stupid things to mine.

Lately I’ve been thinking about ripping out my old rusted out leaf springs and going full retard on my ‘99 7.3 Super Duty by going with a 4-link suspension conversion.

These caught my eye because after installing brand new Bilsteins - granted they are not the fanciest shocks available - my Super Duty rides only a little less like shit. My buddy’s 7.3 rides far better than mine, but it has considerably fewer miles than the 250+k on my truck. So, I’ve been suspecting it’s a combination of the worn out body mounts and the ancient leaf springs.

I was mulling over replacement leafs at all four corners (and simultaneously adding a 4" lift) when I remembered that another friend’s 6 liter Super Duty rode like a freakin cadillac compared to mine. Those of course run a four link, coil spring front suspension.

But heck, if I’m going to look at 4 link suspensions, I need to pick a really good set of shocks to match with it . This truck is destined to live on my property on Hawai’i, after all, which is pretty much out in the sticks. And all trucks out there are brodozed so it gives me a good excuse (also, I grew up in Texas, so a lifted diesel truck would greatly appease my inner redneck).

So here I am, rolling down the slippery slope from replacing my shocks to contemplating a 4 link conversion and fancy coilovers for a 21 year old truck.

I should at least replace the yellowing headlights and sagging headliner first...

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Nibby > Saracen 03/24/2020 at 09:14

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wow that frame looks better than some 6 month old trucks here

66P1800inpieces > Nibby 03/24/2020 at 09:31

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Looks like that article was from ‘07 which might explain the lack of rust. I think it would be fun for a couple of days to tool around in a stadium truck.

Tripper > Saracen 03/24/2020 at 09:42

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I know it’s only a google or two away but I do not understand the those fancy shocks work. I always say things like, “you know those sweet ass shocks they have on really fancy trucks, the ones that have like a separate scuba tank?” to describe them.

Anyway it doesn’t really matter because whenever I see them I’m like...NEAT. The engineering, the geometry, the shininess, so fancy. I bet one of those costs as much as a TPA on the M3.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Tripper 03/24/2020 at 10:37

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You can kind of think of it as similar to the rear wheel shock on a mountain bike. (The comparison become even more obvious if you have a rear coil). The scuba tank would be the piggyback you see on some high end models.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Saracen 03/24/2020 at 11:23

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Another thing that might be worth considering is looking into what spring package your truck came with and the possibility of downgrading it. Depending on the payload packages selected, there is big variance in how HD pickups are spru ng. If your SD has the camper or heavy service suspension package, your front springs are 1 or 2 levels, respectively, stiffer than it otherwise would’ve been built with for the configuration.  On these, usually the rear springs stay the same for the configuration with the packages, but get helper leafs added.

Saracen > ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com 03/24/2020 at 13:09

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Hmm, I’m pretty sure it’s a basic spring package.  I don’t think there are any helper springs in the back.  The truck also did not come with the options sheet.

Saracen > Tripper 03/24/2020 at 13:10

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I think the gist of it is, a reservoir means more fluid in the shock, which means the fluid temperature stays lower overall. And shocks with remote reservoirs tend to have longer travel.

Censored > Saracen 03/24/2020 at 14:36

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All correct, minus the assumption that remote res shocks have longer strokes. There is some truth there, but only because the longer stroke makes the fluid build heat quicker, so you have to go larger body or remote res to keep the temps down. Almost every modern motorcycle shock has a remote res (some are piggy back and not true remote res), and their travel is usually around 3-4"

Saracen > Censored 03/24/2020 at 23:23

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“...tend to...”