I have had toyotas for over 13 years and the last one I had I did quite a few things to get it to flex good,its had custom springs,shackles,shocks and modified driveshafts.and it rode good on the road.I have always had a shackle in the rear of the front spring like ford and chevy trucks.I thought it flexed pretty good until I started building this sami I have now.I immediatly did the YJ conversion and the missing links front and rear.This thing flexes great in comparison to the old toyota and it did damn good itself.What I wanted to know is what are some of the hidden drawbacks to the m/l's.I have found none yet,Other than the spring wrap thing in the rear,(A trac bar will fix that.) Also I like the way the shackle is in the front,on my toyota with the rear shckle where it was I was always having tire clearance probs with the inner rear fender well and either the driveshaft was too long or too short.(long travel ds fixed that)just wondering if there are some factors I have yet to discover that would make me do it any different.I am pretty tuned in to the toyota trucks with having so many but this is my first sami and it is a different beast but a beast I am very impressed with

IMHO, the only drawback to ML's is that they allow for more lateral axle drift and can tend to make steering less responsive in the front or increase axle steer in the rear. If you like 'em, keep 'em :D

Jim with you being in Jax, I'm wondering if any of my drawbacks will make a difference, You already bought them anyway right:flipoff2:

Anyway, just as stated before, I did not like the on road feel. I did not like the fact that when going up hill, the front tends to unload and the body rocks back. The last AND most important to me was, when I tried to climb big rocks or ledges (contact point over my hub) the ML would start to come apart and the front spring would bend back leaving the tire on the ground and the body moving upward:eek: :eek: (I'm locked F&R). I also see the spring wrap thing too. I don't think it is a very good susp for dude running either:( so I tally this for what I do....
Bummer for dunes
Bummer for street
And so so on rocks.

I don't know of any more places in jax but when I was there it was the beach, the mud, and the dunes.

My .02 cents:D

i was considering using them on my sammy. what i wanna know is, exactly how bad are they on road. also, does pinning them closed help these problems.

also, with rear spring in the front, about how much flex are you guys getting with M/L's'

thanks

I drive mine on the street everyday and I have to say it rides very well,I dont even know they are there.I have had the in the dunes and again they work fine ,as far as flexing goes they do pretty good on what little trails we have

Originally posted by jims4x4
I drive mine on the street everyday and I have to say it rides very well,I dont even know they are there.I have had the in the dunes and again they work fine ,as far as flexing goes they do pretty good on what little trails we have

It seems that Samurais vary from each other as to how good they ride. Also, some people have "numb bums" and wouldn't be able to feel a tire blow out (Jim, I'm NOT implying that is you!).

The running gag around here is that a Samurai is composed of 42 moving parts flying in close formation down the road. How well it drives/feels is a function of the karma of the interrelated peices.

Just a point to think about, the more moving parts you have in your suspension the more potential for slop between the parts. Adding missing links adds another place for slop. A well designed and pinnable ML would "fix" this.

MLs are more trouble than they are worth imo, but then I'm not an articulation monster kind of guy so take that with a grain of salt.

r@m

Missing Link shackles are the easiest way to add longer springs to a vehicle, and improve the ride quality. This comes at a cost to handling, tho. I have heard that a front trac bar can help this. I intend to build one & see.

Off road, the M/L shackles are excellent in all areas EXCEPT climbing Steep inclines - they will "unload" and shift the vehicle's center of gravity. This can have disatrous results. Some have come up with pin systems to hold the shackles closed while climbing - I am considering this also.

i run them in the rear but i would be a little hesitant about running them in the front. i have a personal tendency to drive like a maniac around corners and such and i dont think i would be able to handle the slight front end changes that would come from front ML's. if you see mostly trail mileage, i would seriously think about it also. i have heard how they do funny things on the trail when installed on the front end. i personally only have experience with rears which i like thusfar!!

missing links suck on the street for a daily driver. Missing links were the one mod that I did that keeps the wife Permanently! out of the drivers seat. Panhard bar & all, they still suck on highway driver crawler poser rig. :skull: steer

well my sami usaully doesnt see the road that much and what little it does see I cant complain,I knew it would be rough when I signed up.....does great in the woods and thats all that matters