No rear articulation

[97 Eddie Bauer v8]

What's up with this:

Image taken at Rausch Creek 1/1/12

I have Warrior shackles in the back, a mild TT and 30x9.5 mud terrains and got stuck in the ravine pictured above. See how my one wheel is completely off the ground? This happened twice. Aside from the high center from the lack of ground clearance I should have been able to get out of this with all four wheels planted on the ground.

How do I get better articulation in the rear of my Explorer? Did this happen because my rear leafs could be worn? Does anyone know where to get a completely new and quality set of leaf springs in the rear (I also want to get an add-a-leaf so please don't just recommend an add-a-leaf as an independent solution).

Thank you.

 

[sport97]

Do you have a rear sway bar? That would be the issue if so.

This is my flex with 4 door leaf packs, AAL and shackles. Sway bar in place:

Looks about the same as yours. Also if you flex out too much you may need to modify your brake lines.

 

[97 Eddie Bauer v8]

Do you have a rear sway bar? That would be the issue if so.

This is my flex with 4 door leaf packs, AAL and shackles. Sway bar in place:

Looks about the same as yours. Also if you flex out too much you may need to modify your brake lines.

Hi Vince,

I didn't remove anything suspension wise so if 97 Eddie Bauer v8 4 doors come with sway bars the answer is yes. I guess that answers my question, if so!

When are YOU coming to RC?

Chris

 

[MidnightRebel07]

Your rearend is articulating (look how far out of the wheelwell the RR tire is) but with just the WP shackles it's not gonna be a rock crawler. Also, your Ex is a V8 so you have a stabikizer shock (third shock) on the rearend. My '97 V8 Mounty has one and I know it limits the travel. You could do a Spring Over Axle conversion but the IFS is limited on lift options. Also you can make Sway Bar quick discnnects to allow more travel and flex.

 

[sport97]

I'd love to travel out to RC for a run, maybe spring time when its warm again.

Search sway bar disconnects. There is a very simple way to make them for the rear. I am going to try to make a set front and rear.

 

[Jason c]

What's up with this:

The rear passenger tire and the rear glass. Did I win?

 

[RangerX]

Yeah, sway bar. Disconnecting it when offroad makes a big difference in the rear, not so much in the front.

Next time out, just grab two wrenches and remove those two bolts, same as a a quick disconnect, just takes a few minutes and it free!

 

[Blee1099]

I'd remove the rear sway bar and keep it off.. You'd hardly notice the rear one after its off to be honest. The front one on the other hand, you can remove for offroading but I'd remove the entire thing and not just the end links cause the sway bar gets a little too close to the inside of the tire. Another option I considered when I had my old 97, was to sleeve the sway bar closest to the frame and make disconnects so you just had to remove the end links and the sleeved areas for offroading and simply just re-insert after your done.

 

[DominicanX]

Agreed with above! You don't notice the abscence of the rear sway bar when daily driving. I've had my rear sway bar off for 5 years with no issues. Then last year I removed my front sway bar when i did the coil over conversion. You just have to change your driving style a bit if you're rough around corners and drive high speeds.

End result: I have no sway bars and all four wheels when off roading are almost always on the ground. I love it and it forces me to slowdown on the road thus saving me money in the long run...

 

[MrQ]

Ditto, I drove my old 94 without a rear sway bar for a while and I never noticed a change.

 

[IZwack]

That rear axle isnt articulating because there's not much weight on it. Most of the weight of the vehicle is already high centered. So besides the sway bar idea thats already been mentioned, another solution is to get larger tires (or a suspension lift). Doing this will put more weight on the planted tire which, when pushed up, will push the other tire down further. As for the AAL, don't go that route becuase, although it will lift the vehicle, it will also increase the spring rate which not what you want for off-road. You want soft, plush springs. Interestingly enough, the torsion-twist (TT) also increases the spring rate which is not good for off-road use / articulation of suspension. In addition, longer shackles would also help in this situation because you're shackles look like they're already at full droop (vertical).

 

[gmanpaint]

Here you can see the rear sway bar disconnects in place. Just turn the arms 180* swap sides and bolt them back up. Now the tops are the bottoms. This allows you to use a clevis pin to attach the sway bar to them. I used springs and washers to make them quiet.

Flexed out and tires still on the ground.

Earlier set up with shackles and disconnects.

The 5th shock will limit the droop. I had one and removed it for more flex.

Also, the length of your shocks will limit the droop when fully extended. So you can run longer extension, just need to have the same collapsed rates.

 

[rabbit91]

go spring over