Dodge Off Road is known for making the world's best 2nd gen suspension systems - nobody offers more 2nd gen upgrades than we do, with this kind of strength and functionality, at such a reasonable price. When many other companies have given up on 2nd gen trucks, we keep finding ways to improve them. Our rear 4 link is an exclusive product that brings the highest level of suspension performance to the 2nd gen market.
For 2nd gens only (1994 - 2001 Ram 1500 trucks and 1994 - 2002 Ram 2500/3500 trucks), we have come up with a completely awesome rear suspension setup that replaces your harsh, no-travel-having leaf springs and switches your truck over to a 4 link setup with dual rate coilovers. This setup is unlike anything else on the market. If you have always wanted to get rid of your leaf springs and run a much better suspension setup in the back, with no axle wrap and a lot more suspension travel, a rear 4 link is the only way to go. Our setup is the only one that is made to work with lower lift heights, and is built for the performance-minded customer rather than just being for show trucks. What makes our setup different is the quality of the parts we are using, the geometry of the suspension itself, and the way it is built to be used in all conditions. Where other rear 4 link kits are built to look cool and provide a ton of lift, ours is built to outperform all other rear suspensions. You will have a better ride on the highway with no axle wrap, and you will have much more suspension travel off road. This system is built for daily drivers/weekend warriors, who want all of the benefits of a rear 4 link but who don't want to lose their factory fuel tank location and who don't want to cut the bed. With that in mind, this is a parallel 4 link with a track bar, just like our front long arm setup. The suspension is sprung with Fox 2.5" remote reservoir dual rate coilovers, with our custom valving and spring rates for this application. We offer a couple of different spring rate setups depending on how you plan to use the truck, so this setup is built to order and built specifically for you. It is not an off-the-shelf setup that you are expected to make work for your application. We do recommend supplemental air bags if you plan to tow much weight on a regular basis, as this will give you the best ride quality when unloaded, without limiting suspension travel.
This system is built to bolt or weld on to your frame and axle, but the axle brackets do need to be welded on before the truck is driven (even if you select the bolt-on option). You can install the entire system and then save the welding for the last step. The frames on 3rd and 4th gen trucks are hard to drill, so welding is much faster and easier, and stronger (if it's done correctly). If you select the weld-on option, the only hardware included will be to mount the coilovers to their mounts, the long arms to their mounts, and the track bar to it's mounts. You will need to weld all the bracketry onto the truck frame and axle.
The 4 link system includes the following parts:
CNC cut 3/8" steel frame brackets with 1/4" upper arm mounts, all MIG welded and powder coated.
2" OD, 1/4" wall 1026 DOM upper and lower arms which are dual-adjustable with all the adjustment you would ever need to dial in your axle position and pinion angle.
1.25" shank Currie Johnny Joints at both ends of the arms. These are forged from one solid piece and are the strongest joints on the market. They are greaseable and rebuildable.
1/4" steel axle brackets that mount over the factory leaf spring perches so the perches do not need to be cut off. These are the brackets that need to be welded no matter what, but they can be bolted on during mock up.
2.0" OD x 1/4" wall 1026 DOM track bar with 1.25" shank Currie Johnny Joints at each end. This track bar keeps the axle centered and is also double adjustable so aligning the rear suspension is a cinch. The track bar is longer than the frame is wide, so your axle stays pretty well centered throughout the entire range of suspension travel.
1/4" steel track bar and coilover frame brackets, all CNC cut and MIG welded, then powdercoated. They are very easy to align on the frame and install.
Powdercoated reservoir mounts that bolt to the frame for a clean install.
So why do a rear 4 link? This is a question we get asked a lot. The simple answer is that a rear 4 link will give you the ability to have a softer ride, with more travel, and no axle wrap, all for the same amount of money you would spend on building up a leaf spring setup. Price out a set of progressive leaf packs, 2.5" remote resi shocks, traction bars, a shackle flip, and air bags or Timbrens and you'll see what we mean. Leaf spring setups are a thing of the past, as evidenced by the fact that Ram trucks are now being made with a 4 link rear suspension from the factory.
With diesel trucks especially, axle wrap has been a problem. Traction bars/ladder bars keep the axle from twisting, however they also limit the suspension travel and cause a tremendous amount of binding, which makes the rear suspension even stiffer than it was when stock. The only way to totally eliminate the axle wrap without affecting the ride quality is to go with a long travel traction bar like we make, or get this 4 link setup. This has generally been viewed as an unrealistic thing to do because of the lack of room under the truck, but we have found a way to make it work, much like the new Ram 1500 and 2500 rear suspensions - except we use long arms and coilovers, rather than short arms and coil springs. Another advantage is that our coilovers are mounted outside of the frame, rather than inboard. This provides much more stability than a factory coil spring rear suspension.
The biggest argument against coilovers has been based around the rumors that you can't tow with them, which is simply untrue. Coilovers are just as capable of carrying weight as leaf springs are, because the coil springs are available in a wide range of spring rates and weight carrying capacities. If you want to maintain your factory towing ratings, we can offer that, and still give you a much softer unloaded highway ride than leaf springs can offer. Coilovers allow you to fine tune the suspension to the point that you can pick exactly when you want the spring rates to change from soft to firm, you can pick your suspension height, your travel, and valving all with one piece of equipment. And you can still use air bags or Timbrens if you want to, they can be bolted on with the coilovers in place, just like if you had leaf springs. There is plenty of room to run some air bags inboard of the frame rails.
Our rear 4 link kit is the most advanced rear suspension system on the market. There are other 4 link setups but they are just built for show trucks. Our setup is designed to be used on daily drivers, weekend warriors, tow rigs, work trucks, race trucks, and off road rigs. It is designed around a 3" and 6" lift height, however we can build it for any specific height you want. We also have two options on the shock travel - you can get standard travel which fits under the bed without any cutting at all, or you can get long travel which adds 2" taller towers that require a very minimal cut in the bed, around the back corner of the wheel tub, to clear the larger towers. This package includes 2" longer shocks that will give you even more travel.
3" lift, standard travel - 13" travel
3" lift, long travel - 15" travel
6" lift, standard travel - 16" suspension travel
6" lift, long travel - 18" suspension travel
If you plan to use the entire range of suspension travel, you will want to add limiting straps and bump stops (sold separately). We recommend hydro bumps and can set you up with some matching Fox 2.0 bumps.
If you want a different lift height, just give us a call or send an email and we can discuss it. The system can be built for any height from stock up to 20" or more, but we'll need to get some measurements from you to make sure you get exactly what you want.
The rear 4 link brackets and arms are designed to match our front long arm kit, and using both will provide you with a balanced system front and rear, plus a location to build a cradle between the two brackets, which can be used for a belly skid plate.
Please give us a description of how you will be using your truck so that we can build the coilovers to suit your needs. If you have any extra weight in the bed or if you tow a trailer every day, or if you never tow and the truck is just your daily driver, the info will be useful to us. If you use your truck off road, we'd like to know if it's a rock crawler, desert truck, mud truck, trail rig, or otherwise. You can put this info in the order comments or just call/email.
We do have an option to buy the rear 4 link without the coilovers - this means that you will be responsible for providing your own coilovers to fit our brackets. We do not modify our brackets to work with different lengths or mounting widths, and we do not give out spring rates or valving info. Our recommendation is that you buy the rear 4 link first, then order your coilovers once it's installed so you can check your lengths. If you order coilovers first, the rear 4 link may not work at the height you want.
