rear setup done "right" - still rides bad and feels unsafe??

like^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

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ahab said:

From what I see. The watts link is not setup correct, and the pinion angle should never be the bad with a parallel four link. I dont see how the pinion is going to change like 6-8 degrees when the truck moves up a few inches. The geometry of your setup is all wrong. Hate to say it but you need to start over as far as your link setup is concerned. Ive got a two link cycling 14 inches with less pinion angle change than that.

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There should be a "LIKE" button on here cause I totally agree! Love my Two Link!

1. Have a drive line shop make sure the new drive shaft is balanced and carrier bearing is good. As well as U-joints.

2. The pinion angle needs adjusted. You have a parallel 4 link that is adjustable. Adjust the pinion angle by screwing the bar ends in or out until correct pinion angle is achieved. If you don't know how to do this, have a qualified person do so.

3. I don't see much wrong with the Watts link. The Watts link bars SHOULD be parallel to the ground/axle at ride height, not laid out. Btw, this won't cause vibrations. (1 & 2 have to do with your vibration)

4. I doesnt LOOK like the 4 link is installed improperly either. Just seems to me that it isn't adjusted correctly.

5. The poor ride comes from the 1:1 lift ratio with a double convoluted bag. Very reliable setup, but not for ride quality. I would use a Firestone F9000 sleeve bag in a 1:1 lift ratio. Only problem with just bolting these in, the Slam 8s compress to 3 inches where the F9000 compresses to 4 inches. The sleeve bag will make a night and day difference in ride quality.

just something to consider too- the upper bar tabs are rolled too far forward.. they have lost all of their mechanical advantage.. had they been pointed more straight up- the pinion angle would be closer to the correct degree..
like some one said - there should not be all that much pinion change in that much stroke, so if its "correct" at ride height, and this far off when laid out- then yea.. the 4 link may as well be re-done.. Good luck.

I disagree with that Shawn, the tabs can be on the front of the axle without an issue. Where they mount has nothing to do with the pinion angle. By rolling the tabs to the front of the axle you decrease the distance between the pivots. If you are doing a parallel setup, you just keep the forward pivots the same distance apart, and it will still be a parallel 4-link.
This whole thread isn't going anywhere... telling him to redo it, the watts link is not setup right, the welds look like poop, ect has already been said. We need to see the truck at ride height! Lets see what it actually looks like at ride height and that will tell us if the vibration is coming from the pinion angle or if it is coming from the drive shaft itself. If it is not correct at ride height, and you have enough adjustability in the 4 link, you will be able to get rid of the vibration. If you have a good drive shaft shop where you are, you can take the truck there and have them figure it out for you. That way they can adjust the angle and rebalance the drive shaft and make sure the carrier bearing and all the u-joints are good.

thanks tre5...im taking it to a driveline specialist this next week...told him the situation and he said he'll check out EVERYTHING...said he deals with this kind of thing all the time...fix/adjust my setup if it can be, re-balance my drive shaft etc...and whoever said the welds dictate the quality of the overall build - shut the fuck up dipshit...

shitty bulid - i know...clearly the perhaps, not so pretty welds, on my rear end painted the picture for the whole truck

maybe it would ride different if the bars were under/over the axel and not in front of it? looks like the shock on the right side might be fighting the whole setup... could just be the picture. but the shock mounts look odd.
like an after thought after the setup was done and the parellel bars are more racing think the triangulated link set up would better over the parelle.

I would check the watts. Based on the time ive spent with solidworks drawing watts I have seen how they can pull the axle with the bars being too short. You might be shifting the axle when airing the truck up which could cause your vibrations. Combine that with the pinion being off and you could be increasing the problem.

There's nothing wrong with his Watt's link. It's a KP kit, I don't think he probably doesn't get enough lift bag on axle to max out the cycle of the Watt's link.