D 90 suspension

[horseplay]

I've gathered all the parts to do a defender style rear suspension change. Being as they're few new ideas I was wondering if anyone out there has done this. Before I fully commit looking for pros & cons. Also any problem areas to the project if any one has already done this. Thanks for the input.

[Justin]

Looks like the D90s run a pair of radius arms and a panhard bar, essentially identical to the front of an EB. It's an unusual setup for the rear a rig, in part because you've got enough room in the rear for a higher performing suspension setup. The main appeal of radius arms in the front is that you don't have to deal with fitting in additional links around the engine, exhaust, etc. It's not a bad way to go, but a 4 link or a 3 link with a panhard bar will likely perform better. You've got more control over how the axle moves through the arc of it's travel, and have control over things like anti-squat, roll axis and roll center since you can locate multiple links to work together. It's more complicated to engineer, but the end result is better performance. A rear radius arm will likely wind up with very high anti-squat numbers, causing the axle to want to walk under the truck under bind. The end result can be lots of wheel hop. The other issue is significant pinion angle change in long travel applications. Both can be partially combated with very long arms, but you're still left with a solution that's likely not going to work as well as one of the more common setups. If some or all of this is greek, take a look over this: http://hstrial-4wheelundergr.homestead. ... n-411.html

Ultimately whether it's a good idea comes down to your planned use. If it's going to be a short to mid-travel street/trail rig this would be a relatively easy way to improve the ride and potentially improve performance some. It'd also be novel as heck, and I'd love to see it done. If it's going to be a hardcore wheeler, then it's an interesting plan that may or may not work very well. What's the draw of the D90 suspension, and are you using actual D90 parts?

[horseplay]

I was only planning on doing the rear suspension. So it would basically be much like a three link. no pan hard rod on the rear. My experience with the Rover rear suspension has been good as for their front it's terrible no articulation to speak of. I'm just looking for some good road manners and some good off road manners. Not looking to go on the rock crawler side of things. Love the input things to think about.
Thanks

[Colorado75bronc]

The only issue I know is the balljoint on top of the axle for the upper wish bone wears out and clunks, they drive ok, I used to be a rover tech for years. If you're planning on running some lift and wheeling it mildly to hard talk to Matt Peterson at Rockware here in Colorado Springs, he used to build heavy duty bent for clearance lower links

[horseplay]

Funny I own and operate a Indy Rover & BMW repair shop. worked at the dealer for years. I was going to use modified RTE lower arms but I should give Matt a call he did a couple of custom Bronco suspension jobs a number of years ago. maybe get his take on it too. wich Rover shop did you wrk for.

[Justin]

I was only planning on doing the rear suspension. So it would basically be much like a three link. no pan hard rod on the rear. My experience with the Rover rear suspension has been good as for their front it's terrible no articulation to speak of. I'm just looking for some good road manners and some good off road manners. Not looking to go on the rock crawler side of things. Love the input things to think about.
Thanks

Ah, I thought I was looking at the rear suspension, a 3-link with a wishbone makes way more sense. That could be a really cool setup, and I'll be curious to see how you adapt it. I've wondered why people usually chose a 4 link over that setup, as it seems like it could center the axle more effectively and could result in less axle steer. Not sure the difference is big enough to matter, could be that the 4 link is simpler to fabricate.

[Colorado75bronc]

I worked for Eric at Pikes Peak Rovers here in the springs for a little over a year until he got so slow he had no work for me ( he closed the doors not too long after, then I worked at Red Noland Jaguar/ Land Rover for a couple years until I finally got burnt out on the dealership scene, and mostly tired of flat rate in this town.
What's the name of your shop? Where are you located?

[horseplay]

My shop is in Evergreen M.I.T. automotive I didn't know that Eric shut the doors. As far as four link V's three I think it's maybe a little easier to fan up. I'm a little concerned about exhaust routing for clearance issues. I'm going to do the front extended arms first. I'll try to take pics as I set it up hopefully it will all work out

[Jesus_man]

What suspension setup do you have now? There are lots of ways to free up the suspension. Getting good springs and shocks really go a long way. Generally people modify their suspension only because they are deviating far from the norm. As in rock crawling, desert racing, or drag racing. Just thinking out lout a bit that you might be just as happy with high quality stock replacement parts without the effort.

[horseplay]

The truck is sitting on a 3.5" Duff system it performs OK but I know I can make it perform way better both on and off road. Not afraid of some fab work to get the overall gains that I think I can get. I also will be able to gain between 1-4" in wheel base with relocating the rear axle.

[Colorado75bronc]

Ya I think it was like a year and a half ago that he shut down, he changed his cell and I can't get ahold of him, I still talk to Chris from time to time, he started his own shop. Anyways I'm excited to see how this pans out, the d90 suspension should be interesting, it's one of the best oem suspensions out there for the rear of a solid axle truck. I plan to build/ design a four link for mine as I'm not concerned with using oem type parts and I want the best performance possible