1999 4Runner Rear 3-Link

A friend of Steadfast wanted more travel and some welding practice, so we designed modifications to a common outboard shock relocation kit that was already on-hand and paired it with a simple 3-link design. 

The shock mount and modifications raised the upper shock mount as high as possible without cutting into the cab.  This achieved approximately a 3"-4" higher shock position.  This also allowed the lower shock mount to be moved from below the axle tube to the front of the axle tube and gave us the opportunity to utilize a custom lower shock mount.  We oriented  the lower bushing 90 degrees opposite to the upper mount to remove as much torque off of the shock shaft and seal head as possible during articulation. Many available configurations incorrectly orient this mount.  Given that the angle between shock shaft and axle is always greater during articulation than the angle between the frame and the shock body (and that these are rubber bushed shock ends rather than spherical bearing shock ends in this case) this is the logical way to orient these these bushings. It provides minimal stress to the seal head of the shock, and makes the rubber bushings last longer.  The angle change in this orientation was minimized due to our choice of using near parallel length upper and lower links.  We did not optimize anti-squat geometry here as this is not a high-horse power vehicle and quite often operates in low-traction environments, therefore chassis squat or rise during acceleration is not of major concern. Proper pinion angle through the entirety of the travel window was the primary concern. This application cycles 13.25" of travel using a 12" stroke shock while gaining ground beneath the axle.