On my ladder bar suspension, should it have pre-loaded one way or the other? I set it neutral at ride height and it rattles around driving thru the pits....
Nope, you don't want to preload that link. The diagonal link on a ladder bar setup locates the rear end in relation to the chassis centerline. It should be tight, but not preloaded. Once rear end is squared to the chassis centerline in setup, the locator is installed to "just fit" the bolts in place. Any preload pushes the suspension out of line with the vehicle centerline. Check the heim joints for looseness, causing the rattling. If you can't recall the last time you replace the heim joints in the complete rear end setup, now is a good time to do it. I have seen a heim (front rod end) fail in a ladder bar on the race track, it caused a major accident as it broke a heim at launch, and then when the driver lifted, that bar dropped down into the asphalt, and sent the vehicle flying thru the air. It was an S-10 pickup, and I was down the track just before this happened, and watched the whole thing from the return road. This is my source for rod ends.. https://www.qa1.net/ JW
Thanks Jim. I did replace the front heims a while back. Well 4 yrs ago now. The jam nuts had backed off and load was all on the threads. Scary.... I should install heim joint retainers (safety loops) in case of failure.....
