ive recently decided to change the direction of my suspension from 3 link with panhard front and rear to leafs in the front and 4 link in the rear. so i figured i would brush up on the 4 link calc. the one thing i dont know is if i want my (lower) links to be 40" long, and to start 3" ahead of the axle centerline, do i put the numbers in as 3" and 43" or will that actually calculate the link as longer than 40" because it becomes the hypotenuse? basically im asking if that 40" is angled along the link, or a straight front to back measurement?

and if you would be so kind as to give me a little insight if i am way off with the numbers i have right now. a little background info, s10 blazer, 44 front, 14b rear, 38's, and trying to keep it under 4k lbs.