Yomies D30 SAS | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Yomies D30 SAS

Hey everyone, finally decided to post my results here.

My setup includes:

1995 High Pinion D30
Spring hangers and drag link(3/4" heims) by CRL Customs
1979 Jeep Grand wagoneer stock leaf springs
1993 Explorer steering box
Rubicon Express RE1550 22" long brake lines (bolted right up to hard lines)
Rancho RS 5036 front shocks

SOA in the rear

there are more pics here
http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/223222/2

223222_153_full.jpg
 



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How tall are you???

Cause that looks just about perfect! :D :D :D
 



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Originally posted by Yomie
To put into perspective how high the truck really is...

223222_185_full.jpg



Yeah, but you look like you're about 5'7"!!! LOL...
 






Qs:
#1, How is the steering with that bent drag link?
#2, What tells you you need a trac bar?
 






Robb, i'm from the south, we never wear shoes...

Hahaha Heath, my ID says i'm 5'9" :p

Steering is handleable with the bent drag, not alot of bump steer, i'm looking into the high steer....but my wallet isn't.

Well i'm debating the trac bar issue right now. I need to get my castor set right and get these shorter shackles on there, but I can feel the axle 'walking' side to side under the truck. I'm gonna fix the 2 mentioned above and see how she feels after that.

NOTAJP what kind of castor are you running on yours?

I get a death wobble every once and a while hitting a bump, and everythings tight, like i said it may be my castor causing it.
 






Originally posted by Yomie

NOTAJP what kind of castor are you running on yours?

I get a death wobble every once and a while hitting a bump, and everythings tight, like i said it may be my castor causing it.
I played with caster to keep my wander down. . .I'm at 10* which seems like too much, but it drives great. At the "recommended" 4-6* it was all over the road.
 






The hi-steer is $$$ but boy, is it ever worth it. My Exploder went from stock to lifted with dropped pitman arm to super-runner steering, to SAS with hi-steer. I skipped the SAS without the hi-steer because I knew it would be an issue (based on my past experience with early J**Ps).

I do not run a track bar because I don't believe in them with leaf springs. Jeep never thought of the issue until the Wrangler due to the added stress of the public request for a more stable Jeep. Obviously a track bar is required on coil spring suspensions. I'm sure there is a case where one would need a trac bar. You just may be it. :)

I don't have any wondering in the front end. I do have 5" shackles but they are the dog leg style for my axle flex. The front drives straight and true, much better than a stock or lifted Exploder. I believe my Caster is set about 6.5*, but I'm not 100% positive. I haven't installed a sway bar yet but it's in the works. Been too damned cold up here. I am also running RS9012 shocks. I can tell you that makes a world of difference. I run the shocks firmer on the street and soft on the trail. I do crank them up an extra notch when running the freeway or hauling a load or a trailer. I don't have any wobble or vibration, but then again, I'm running a 17" wheel so there's quite a bit of difference there.

You might want to try a sway bar. That might help along with your caster and shackles. I hope it works out for you. That's what I like about leaf springs is that it's a good combination of streetability and flex off-road.

I see you're in Ocean Springs. I remember that stomping ground well. I used to be stationed @ Keesler. I had a great time on the Gulf coast. I had a Blue two door Sport running 33s until I PCSd out of there in Sept, 2001.
 






I just noticed you have the bias Mickey's. Great tire but that will also cause some wondering. My Claw's went for every groove in the road and did like to wiggle from time to time but a bad ass tire off-road!

I run a 35" tire but I have the same sidewall height as a 33" tire due to the added height of the 17" rims. Your 36s with a 15" rim have a lot of sidewall. I'm not suggesting buying new wheels and tires, just a sacrafice of big meats. After the X gets a paint job I'm going to get a set of 36" tires on 15" bead-lock rims for the trail.
 






I live in Biloxi, near the mall. I work for a contractor on keesler....small world, if you ever head down here again, lemme know!

I am running a sway bar, my shackles are 6" long and my castor seems to be at around 9.5*. I ordered some 4" straight shackles and some 4.75" 'dog legs' gonna see if they help at all.

I got the 'death wobble', violent shaking, occasionally @35 with my 33's, it didn't get worse with the 36's just stayed the same. were trying to figure it out piece by piece, but the shop recommended trying a trac bar.

The tires wondering doesn't really bother me, its the occasional death wobble that i'm getting frustrated with. Theres a guy here with a YJ SOA'd thats fighting the same battle
 






Sweet! I go down there from time to time so I will surely look you up. Rocket is from Ocean Springs and I've talked to him a number of times.

Your death wobble has got me thinking now. I'll have to stew on this for a while. The YJ, did he have a adjustable track bar installed or the lift bracket? Is his track bar parallel with his drag link?
 






he's not running a trac bar either
 






Well, that's back to square one. You might have a good validation for a track bar. I would hate to 'just try it' as that gets spendy and then you'd have to readjust after you installed your hi-steer to keep the drag ling and track bar parallel for bump steer reasons. JoshC had a lot of issues with his track bar but he is also running coils and that's a must.
 






Yeah, i'll keep you all informed of what we do, the truck will be in the shop all day Friday, were gonna try to diagnose the problem hopefully.

Crazy Ed's Performance....D'Iberville, MS :p
 






:D That setup of yours should fit quite well with a trac bar!

Actually, I have seen that exact setup with a trac bar!:)

Bumpsteer SHOULD be quite handable with the bent draglink. Bent bars aren't the optimal setup, but is sure is better than draglinks with incredibly high angles. When tubing is bent correctly (which I know that one was), strength of the bend is of little concern. The simple fact that any vertical movement in the axle is only slightly being transferred to horizontal movement through the draglink is always good.

I think that, until if/when you swap to a hi/cross-steer setup, you have a great compromise for steering stability. Without a hi/cross- steer, a bent draglink with that much angle is your best bet.
 






Yes, like robb said the steering is good, the only problem that I have found with the setup is..... With the waggy springs and 5036 shocks, i have about 9" of droop. At full pass side droop it pulls the wheels to the drivers side, but not too bad, i turned the wheels to the right at full droop and the drag link barely misses the leaf and i can still turn right :D

I got the wobbles solved this weekend, and she rides beautifully now. I switched to a 'shorty' 3.75" front shackle and stock shackles in the rear to level her out. I lost about 1.25" of lift, but that was kinda the plan. I got rid of some caster and BAM! its perfect, still no trac bar, don't need it now. I also got my wheels balanced today, and other than the 20oz. that one tire has (avg-12oz) we got her set.

All i'm waiting for now is a front shaft :cool:
 






That's great news. Glad it worked out for ya!
 






yom - looking good buddy!

i went to a track bar even after i went with sway bars. i had my wife sit in the truck and steer it with it in park and i sat in front of it and watched. the steering would push the whole axle assembly whatever diretion she was steering. i added a modified bronco TB and i could believe the difference.

looks awesome! how does it wheel? or is that thing jsut a driveway queen?:D
 






Originally posted by BUCHVILLEMAN
or is that thing jsut a driveway queen?:D

LOLOLOLOLOL
 






Originally posted by BUCHVILLEMAN
yom - looking good buddy!

looks awesome! how does it wheel? or is that thing jsut a driveway queen?:D

HAHAHA, i don't have a front drive shaft yet, so i actually havent had a chance to test it out. I'm getting the shaft in the next week or so and then i'm gonna gear it, i am planning a run the weekend of Feb 21, but if i get her out before then i'll let ya know.
 



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BTW here is an updated pic with the shortened shackles. I love not having thoes warriors hanging down in the rear!

223222_187_full.jpg
 






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