Theory of extended rear end for atv type swing arm to facilitate true & simple full suspension

This got me thinking... If someone moved a transaxle forward, left it unlocked, and ran chains back to the suspended axle, it would be very impressive if they joined both sections with an electric clutch or something of that nature. That way you could get an electric locking differential. I won’t tell you how to build your machine, and I don’t know how well it would work because I’m still learning a lot about this but it would be cool to see it done! You certainly have a very clever idea!

What about 2 half shafts that kind of butt against each other in the middle? Put a sliding collar on it with a setscrew to hold it and you would have a mechanical locking/unlock diff. I would think that would be simpler....

That would work a lot better. I might just have to try that if I get a dedicated rally machine going. I always thought simpler is better with something like this.

Generally speaking, it is. Less to go wrong and leave you stranded in the woods

Yeah that's a pretty cool idea as a way to lock the axle. Would be good if you drove on pavement a lot.

I have it mocked up with wood, getting proof of concept. It's coming together well. Need to make the hubs to be able to test it rolling.  

Looking good! Did you say your gonna have an idler for a tensioner or will the rear axle move to adjust the chain. Nice deal with the rear being pivoted on the transmission tho so you won’t have any chain issues from that anyway. Looks like you oughta be able to get a good amount of travel out of that setup.

Thanks! I'm hoping the 3/4 axle in the transaxle it's going to be strong enough to hold up to the weight of everything. I don't think I'm doing a chain tensioner but I haven't completely decided yet. I'm going to need some way to keep the chain taught, I was thinking about making the Axle's pillow bearing bolt holes slotted so I can adjust the tension when I need to install a new chain or adjust for stretching. Im wanting to try to keep as little moving parts as possible, the more moving parts the more likely it is for something to go wrong. I also found a lot about 5 minutes from my house with about 20 parts tractors in it. The guy lets me go pick whatever I want out of it. I'm going to try to use parts only from those.

That’s not a parts lot, that’s a goldmine! That rear axle design looks like it will be very stout and sturdy, can’t wait to see her done!

Slotted holes would work if you have the patience to do them. A lot of stuff does it that way. If you do a tensioner, just be sure to put it on the slack side of the chain when the machine is going forward. I think the 3/4" axles should be alright. There's a fair amount of leverage on there but at least the weight of the machine itself will mostly rest on the shock.

3/4 axle shouldn't give you too much trouble. I've seen a lot of people moving 2-300 lbs in front end loaders in GTs with stock 3/4 spindles. If you are really concerned the best thing to do would be to move the pillow blocks toward the rims. Here's a random photo I found, hope this helps.

@Rustbucket Garage Not to bust your bubble there but John Deeres have 1 inch front spindles......well at least mine does.

BlakeGroce wrote:

@Rustbucket Garage Not to bust your bubble there but John Deeres have 1 inch front spindles......well at least mine does.

Yeah true. My 2055 does too. However the Ford LGTs/Jacobsens had 3/4. It’s doable, but 1” is preferred for anything extreme duty.

Anyway, didn’t want to jack the thread so I will be quiet now.

Thanks guys for the reassurance on the 3/4 axel. I feel a lot more at ease about it now, if those fords with the loaders can have 3/4s i should be fine. If for some reason it does bend ill just find a 1" one from the scrap yard to swap in.

Slotting willing be time consuming but I do have a lathe that I can use as a mill to make the process easier. I just worry about the axle sliding in the slots when moving.