[Mikel]

Hello,
I finally got some time to piece together my M715's rear suspension. I went from a dual 4-link to a centrally pivoting 4-link with shared leafs. It's all tacked together, in case I need to make changes. This truck has a 12V 6BT, NV4500 and a Ford NP205.
Mikel

 

[Mikel]

 

[Diesel Durango]

looks good, glad to see some progress...

 

[g-funk]

looks cool. What rear axles are you using?

 

[Mikel]

Ford HP D60 front and two M715 Dana 70 rears.

 

[tndonor]

Have you no shortage of projects? Ive been following this lately on the ifsja. Cant wait to see this thing rolling!

Good luck with all your irons in the fire

 

[Mikel]

Nope, no shortage of projects

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Mikel trying to remember where else I saw your rig.. On TDR? REegardless, cool man! What are the plans for the driveshafts?

 

[Diesel Durango]

Mikel trying to remember where else I saw your rig.. On TDR? REegardless, cool man! What are the plans for the driveshafts?

I think this thing was on Pirate at some point...i remember looking at it hoping to see progress :beer:

 

[Mikel]

I think this thing was on Pirate at some point...i remember looking at it hoping to see progress :beer:

I frequent both boards.

Here is a pic of what it used to look like:

 

[dieselcruiserhead]

Why did you choose to go with leafs instead of coils in the end, better load carrying ability?

 

[Mikel]

Why did you choose to go with leafs instead of coils in the end, better load carrying ability?

Which elastic element (leaf vs coil) is irrelevant. The issue is that in my old setup, each wheel had a coil, vs having a pivoting system now, with a pair of leafs sharing two wheels. This allows the suspension to articulate regardless of vehicle load. With independent coils (what I had earlier), if I wanted good articulation the load capacity would be low, and if I wanted good load capacity, articulation when empty would be terrible.
I believe my current setup has the best of both worlds. Not to mention the fact that leaf suspensions are very easy to tweak.
Mikel

 

[Diesel Durango]

Air Bags would have been another option

I like the leaf setup, looks good to me.

 

[BIGDOG69]

Inter Axle Power

How do you plan on getting power from axle "A" to axle "B"?

 

[Mikel]

How do you plan on getting power from axle "A" to axle "B"?

The transfer case will have two rear outputs. One of them will power the middle axle. That axle will have a pillow block with two jokes, with one driveshaft going to the TC and another to the rearmost axle. During level driving, this will keep the u-joint angles very low, while allowing the two axles to articulate without worrying about the shafs hitting the middle axle.

 

[Mikel]

I´m still missing the hubs, but had to see what the tires looked like in place.

 

[bigorangecntry07]

that is really badass!!!!

 

[smithy]

if you're ever down in PA with that beast be sure to let me know

 

[Mikel]

if you're ever down in PA with that beast be sure to let me know

Will do, but it will be a while

 

[cumminsrover]

Looks sweet man :beer:

Are you using 2x6x1/8 tube for your frame as well???

I haven't had much of a chance to work lately, but maybe next weekend you can stop over for a :beer: and check my rig out.