I was thinking, what if you used a heavy duty chain or strap instead of a solid bar? Basically, take the slack out of a chain and hook it up to the top of the axle. That way when the leaf springs compress, the chains wouldn't push the axle back.

 

its not the springs compressing that wears out a track bar but you turning the steering wheel , by moving the steering wheel a side load is placed on the track bar, for lack of better words the truck is moving sideways on the axel, look under your truck while some one moves the steering wheel, note the frame and axel posns, and you will see what I mean.

 

The axle is always pushing on the bars when the truck is under load. A chain would simply be hanging and doing nothing.

Eric

 

I'm pretty sure he's not talking about the track bar, but traction bars for the rear.

Personally, I don't like the idea of having anything having the ability to have slack. I would also prefer the bar mounted to and pushing on the bottom, rather than a chain mounted to and pulling on the top. Of course, for the best way, a bar mounted both top and bottom should hold it in place better under all conditions.

The chains will still twist the axle when loaded, and unless I'm not thinking of it right, would make it worst. Worst to the effect of moving the pinion/driveshaft angle. May not be significant enough, but I still prefer the bars. Just my .02

 

if he is talking about rear sway bars, then chains wont work, the way its susposed to work is when one wheel goes up the other side is forced down, so if that the case chain will not work

 

I got this pic from 4x4wire.com. It's a rough sketch of how it would work. For a regular driven street truck I still don't see why chains wouldn't work.




A solid bar would push the axle back if there's enough weight in the bed to compress the leaf springs or on a turn, actually causing axle wrap and stressing parts. But with chains, they would just slack and the axle would be able to freely move up in a straight vertical line like it's supposed to.

 

If your traction bars are pretty parallel to the ground, then you wont have any problems when the suspension compresses. I have hauled some loads with mine and my bars havent given me the first problem.

What are you doing with the truck? That design will be horrible for sled pulling, and i dont know that it would be good for anything else either.

Notice how in the bottom picture that you posted, the axle is still wrapping badly

Traction bars/ ladder bars are the best way to keep your axle from moving. They go straight to the bottom of the axle and stop any forward movement all together.

Also, what happens if the suspension is compressed and you get under a hard load with the chains on it. They will have slack and wont do anything.

 

With the bars parallel then any vertical movement of the axle would actually cause the bars to pull the axle forward. Although that would probably be the best way to do it as the articulation of the axle would cause the bars to elongate/shorten the least.

The bottom picture is the situation where you use a solid bar and the rear leaf springs are compressed. In theory the bar would actually cause axle wrap even if the truck is sitting still.

You're right in your last sentence. If there's a heavy load in the bed, then the chains wouldn't do anything. But in that situation hopefully you won't be accelerating fast enough to cause axle wrap. Except when you pull up to a Duramax.

I have no doubt traction/ladder bars work great, especially for someone who sled pulls or drag races. However, for daily driving and non-racing applications, I was thinking maybe chains would be a better idea. That way it helps with axle wrap and doesn't put as much stress on other things. One guy on here broke his frame with bars, and another bent the mounting bracket at the frame. Lots of stress at the joints.

 

Maybe for your application, Caltracs would be good? Lots of people like them for racing.

Eric

 

Couple of links to pics/info

http://www.calvertracing.com/caltracs.html

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...3Dus%26ad%3Dw5

 

I saw the bent bracket. Where was the thread about a broken frame?

 

First and foremost, you have to get the concept right. The bar does NOT go to the top of the axle when usign traction bars. The only benefit then would be no wheel hop and better planting of the tire in REVERSE. The bar goes on the bottom. This would keep your axle straight, keep the tires planted, and reduce wheel hop/ axle wrap when accelerating forward. You have to realize if your tires are spinning one way, your axle will be trying to twist the opposite direction which would bring the bottom of the axle towards the front of the truck. Having a bar there keeps it from twisting, holding it in place. If you were to use a chain setup, in place of the bar in your diagram, it may work I guess.

Traction bars push, not pull on the axle. With the chains you would have to pull from the opposite direction of how you would install a set of bars for them to work correctly.

If you want the strongest hold on the axle to virtually eliminate the wrap completely, build a set of bars the mount both on the top and bottom of the axle. If the bars are made long enough, they will be closer to parallel to the frame and would not affect suspension geometry as far as the load goes. Most trouble that you will see with traction bar setups are because of over tightening them, and making them too short. The short length won't really come into play unless you either have them extremely too tight or have a big load on them. Does that make sense?

 

I understand what you're saying. After watching some youtube videos on axle wrap, I think the biggest problem with chains is that most of the time axle wrap doesn't occur in a smooth motion. Unless it's continuous acceleration on a paved surface, it'll jerk. I think they would help, but a long, solid bar afixed to both top and bottom of the axle would be best.

I don't have the link, I was searching the forums. I think his screen name was Katmandoo or something like that.

 

wcbcruiser, I was thinking along the very same lines. Clearly, any geometry of traction bars that does not have their pivot point at the same location ar the leaf springs hinge will create a rectangle that is twisting under load, causing all kinds of stress. The only true solution I have seen so far used a triangular bar, attached to both top and bottom of axle, and having a slipping spline at the attach point.
I think and want to try one day a solution that would use a 5k lbs strap attached to an arm, protruding up from the axle. With a bit of drawing one should be able to locate the attachment spot on the frame that would be a virtual twin of the hinge of the pivoting / flexing leaf spring. I will use strap instead of the chain to avoid sharp jerking.
The main reason for my even considering this is truck's "standing up" when taking off towing, and axle hop in the snow.

 

Bars not straps.