I think the shipping to the military bases works like contiguous US, i must ask some buddies...

 

Another thing to consider is side loading, and the effects it will have on the orientation of the axle under the vehicle. If you are on a side hill, or a traverse, it will be "side loading" your system. If it shifts to the side, all of the geometry will be wrong. Also when you steer an XJ, it side loads the system. That would have to be accounted for as well. HTH!!

 

What do you mean exactly with side loading? A force or a movement?

 

I think he means lateral G-force.

 

Well, the counter force of the binding reaction of an incompressible fluid is known to be one of the toughest.

 

The I guess I don't understand your design. If you are relying on fluids inability to be compressed, then your basically where you would be w/out the pistons. You are looking to utilize the dampening effects of hydro fluid, correct? If that is the case, then the set up would be more like a shock, and have some kind of passive dampening in order to function as you want it to. Fluid in a static state is, as you stated, resistant to compression, and would function like a solid bar, and therefore offer no real benefit over the current design.

 

i may not really understand the drawing and im too lazy to read all the replys, but it looks to me that the pistons may restrict both shocks from compressing at the same time? what happens if the front wheels hit something at the same time and the oil in both pistons has nowhere to go?

if these are stupid questions, i apologize

 

Nononono, let me get a beer...
sorry if i wasn't enough clear, just read the first post with the drawing carefully.
No damping effect, it's pistons not shock absorbers.

Quote myself:
"In this way, the pistons can move only in or out together, they cannot move one in and one out at the same time
The axle is free to move vertically but constrained horizontally."

look at the pressure lines how they are connected, they are crossed.
This means two things: when the axle goes straight up (and the jeep goes down) the pistons will both get shorter, the fluid will just move from the pumping side of one piston to the sucking side of the other one and vice versa.
When the axle tries to move sideways that would only happen if one piston gets shorter and the other one longer, but this is impossible because you would have to force the oil from the pumping side of one piston to get in the pumping side of the other one and it won't work.
The result is super linear (straight) up and down moving and absolutely NO side moving.
What do ya think?

 

Ok that makes more sense, but what if the entire axle needs to move up or down, and not just one side at a time. The fluid from both the pistons will either want to disperse (axle going up) or fill (axle going down). It sounds like it this case the axle would not go anywhere, but the whole front end would go either up or down.
Right?

 

I just said that the entire axle WILL move up or down, the pistons will just get shorter tranferring the oil from one to another.
And it WILL move one side at the time too (twist), the pistons will still get both shorter, but less.
The only thing that it WON'T do is right to left (or left to rihgt) moving, and this is exactly what we don't want, right?

 

Ok I just took a double look at the diagram and I see where I was wrong. My mistake. I thought that the fluid would be pushing against itself in the hose (I thought that there was only one).

 

Hey I was just over at TSC (tractor supply store) and saw those same links there. They had a variety of sizes and they seemed very beefy but not really designed for the road. They could be used on a trail rig though. Pretty cheap too, around $30-$60 per arm depending on size. They need jam nuts added to them.


http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/...g=true&cFlag=1

 

Top links could be used, but being an old ex farmer, I wouldn't use them. The first linked suspensions back in the day used them. But they quickly moved away from them. The joints in them are not nearly as strong as heims and will stretch easily. They are designed to take a force of compression, not stretching. Also, the threads are a fairly loose fit.

 

since you are army it should work fine since an APO is also considered a us address, i kno when i was in iraq last a buddy of mine got a hunting bow shipped to him

 

You answered your own question cheap and simple. Not always a bad thing your system is overly complicated and would be extremely expensive. IMO