Glacier Diesel ladder bars broke

[JKreiss]

While looking under my truck to investigate a creaking noise i thought was leaf spring bushings, i found my traction bars were cracked and broken. Both sides broke in the same spot. I was dumbfounded by this due to the high quality of these bars. They are stout as can be and worked very very well, i just found it bizarre that both sides cracked in the same spot. I honestly attribute it (like everything else) to the crappy roads out here. They probably would have held up much better if i didn't have to hit 8" deep potholes at 65mph for 30 miles everyday when i go to work. Just thought i'd post this for anybody running these bars, maybe keep an eye on them every now and then.



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[AEdelheit]

Ohhhhhh, hey Joe does Don know you have ladder bars? They do not allow the leaf spring to travel in there natural arc and can really hinder suspension performance, you might want to let Don know before ordering your shocks FYI.

 

[JKreiss]

Hey Aaron,



You know that has been in the back of my mind for the some time now. I honestly don't plan on replacing them with anything else. I'm going to email Don in the morning and come clean:-laf. Nothing has shipped as of yet so i'll see if this changes anything. I was thinking of putting my air bags back on, will that affect anything?



Thanks!

 

[AEdelheit]

The only thing Air bags will affect deflated is limiting your travel, shouldnt matter much on the freeway but can off road, thats why Carli made long travel air bags, they still allow for 10-11" of travel while the average one will allow around 5, but they come with the Carli price so all depends on your needs.

 

[ENafziger]

Ohhhhhh, hey Joe does Don know you have ladder bars? They do not allow the leaf spring to travel in there natural arc and can really hinder suspension performance, you might want to let Don know before ordering your shocks FYI. <!-- google_ad_section_end --> <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I still run some traction bars with my setup as well. I don't think it hinders articulation much, but I think it does add to the effective spring rate. The increased travel of a true suspension system is incredibly hard on traction bars... I've not heard this anywhere, but I've found it to be true. The severe compressive introduced into the bars when jumping and hitting whoops really pushes them into failure pretty quickly. The passenger side threads on mine heims are galled so badly that they won't turn :/

At the 650 hp level I still feel like I need something to limit pinion rotation, even with the Carli rear leaves and bags. Carli had a prototype shock-type device to accomplish the same thing, but I don't think it was ever brought to market?

--Eric

 

[Prairie Dog]

Joe, have you given Richard @ GDP a call about this? I bet he'd like to see this too.

 

[Gypsyman]

Joe,



I thought we had replaced all of the old style brackets long ago. Just give me a call and we'll send you the updated rear brackets and new u-bolts.



No worries.



Richard

 

[JKreiss]

Richard,



Thank you very much! PM sent. Thank you everybody for your help, i'm still VERY green in the ways of obtaining full suspension performance.

 

[Prairie Dog]

Wow, now that's great service!

 

[JKreiss]

Wow, now that's great service!

Absolutely! Spoke with Richard and the new brackets are on there way as soon as they're available. Also got some honest answers to some fuel filtration questions i had. Outstanding service!

 

[AEdelheit]

Carli had a prototype shock-type device to accomplish the same thing, but I don't think it was ever brought to market?



--Eric

I think that was a Mike Kim venture so doubt it will ever come too, next time I talk to Sage or Shaun I will ask them.

 

[rbattelle]

I'm curious why they cracked like that. Improper stress relieving after welding? Exceeded allowable stress in that thin area of the arc (just not beefy enough)?

What do the new ones look like?

-Ryan