wristed arm/ wristed axle

Ask technical questions about your Ford Bronco II here. Technical write-ups on your axle swaps, engine swaps, chop tops, etc. are encouraged.
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fullsizebronc
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:18 am
Location: LAKE STEVENS, WA.

wristed arm/ wristed axle

Post by fullsizebronc »

whats better wristed arm or wristed axle? or even both . i personaly am going to try and run both together and see what happens. it could either be the best combo ever or create a catastraphy of problems that i will have to fix. what do you guys think or suggest . if you haven seen the wristed axle yet go to classicbroncos.com and check it out. must see. :eek: :eek:
DBrown
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Location: Bowling Green, KY

Post by DBrown »

looking at that I see what they are trying to do......that being said I think you will be creating more problems then that mod is worth. by alowing that part of the housing to rotate you will change the mounting possition of the TRE pulling it up and down. this would cause your steering to be unhappy in extreme cases, and you could end up with problems. that and after years of abuse how will the moving parts on the housing hold up? personaly I would wrist the arm and be done with it. I can replace an arm easier then a housing. as far as doing both......I think that would be an even worse move. you would then have two roating components on the same area of the suspension which could cause the suspension to dump on you at the wrong time or just sitting still. when you are looking at these kind of upgrades you need to understand what it changes and investigate which mod gives the most benefit. for me I will choose the wristed arm, it cost around $30 and opens the suspension on the front to large amounts of flex. on top of that if it fails it can be rplaced in an afternoon. now don't get me wrong, some of these mods are great ideas and we as a collective should investigate every option or idea, but for me I look at bang for the buck.
71 Bronco - twin sticked, full width, 2" lift, wristed arm, lots of rust...

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Nobody
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Post by Nobody »

DBrown wrote: when you are looking at these kind of upgrades you need to understand what it changes and investigate which mod gives the most benefit. for me I will choose the wristed arm, it cost around $30 .
Yep, you need to understand what's happening with the suspension. More is not better.

As is, with a wristed arm, it creates a lot of bind on the track bar and eats bushings, it maxes out a 9012 shock, it maxes the u-joint angles, and it stretches the coils to the max. Basically, any more flex and you'll open up a can of worms, in which case you would be far better off building a 4 link from the ground up.

A simple wristed arm is more flex than you know what to do with. I rarely pull a front tire. The beauty is all in the cost. Guys spend thousands on custom suspension to get similar performance. A wristed arm can be built for less than $50, or bought for around $250.

In regards to the axle housing mod, I don't like it. #1 you're hacking a pefectly good housing. #2 you loose precious ground clearance in a critical spot. #3 it's expensive. #4 it's a lot of work.

In short, if you want more that what a wristed arm has to offer, put your money into a ground up 4 link, coilovers, whatever....
FatMan
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Post by FatMan »

i with Dbrown, and Nobody. to much work good idea but wristed arm is so much easier to build. i pay'd a welder to build mine for $250.00. im pretty sure you did'nt spend much on your 2 arm's. sell one and use the money on another mod.
Darker than your average wheeler!!!!
fullsizebronc
Posts: 42
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:18 am
Location: LAKE STEVENS, WA.

Post by fullsizebronc »

you spent 250.00 on yours. damn. i spent 1.00 a pound for T-1 grade steel witch is stronger than cromeoly. cut my plate with a plasma and then went to work, i had both done in an 3.5 hours. - the paint. i already sold the other one didnt take long. but it was to a buddy so 50.00 bucks was good enough for me plus the trade for his stock one. im going to go with the 6" super flex springs. im pretty stoked.
FatMan
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Post by FatMan »

the price you pay for not having the right tool's. wish i was there maybe could have had you hook mine up. does'nt matter though i think it's a awesome mod and worth it. superflex good chioce post up some pic's of your rig
Darker than your average wheeler!!!!
Rockcrawler
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Post by Rockcrawler »

What i dont like about the wrist axle is that you are twisting the knuckles to diffrent angles! my wriste arm can move upto 2 inches now imagine one knuckle being strait up and down and the other one being twisted back 2 inches! its a stupid idea! As for combinding both it will be a catastraphy! lets say you run them both on the same side there would be no axle rap control for the passenger side which would make alot of problems. You cant even run a wrist arm on the other side becuase it will bind the u joint (trust me i did it once when putting in my 60) and even if you did there would then be no rap control for the pumpkin. The axle one also makes it weaker! just go with the wrist arm and call it a day. Its what im going to put in the back. oh yeah you just put the wrist arm on one side.
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