What kind of suspension is this?

[robertjpjr]

I've searched the google's, but yet to find a satisfying answer. So perhaps you guys know?
The front suspension of this truck is none that I've seen. Seems intriguing for sure. 20 inches of travel.

1972 Ford F100 - Making The Grade - Desert Truck - Off-Road Magazine

[KJ10]

Twin traction beam, taken to the extreme.

[KJ10]

Forum said I hadn't waited 20 seconds, then posted twice. Double post.

[BJoe]

Originally Posted by KJ10

Twin traction beam, taken to the extreme.

Twin I Beam, but yes, to the extreme. They offered huge amounts of suspension travel when used in the right application, but could develop horrific death wobble in other applications after some time on the road and some abuse.

[Stormin2u]

I've had numerous PU trucks over the years being in the construction business. I bought a new 75 Ford with the Twin I Beam front suspension it was my first Ford. That front end in my truck had a nasty shimmy at about 65 mph and would only stop if you dropped the speed. The geniuses at Ford played with it for a year with no result. Then under the threat of a law suite they removed and replaced everything and it never shimmied again. Basically that front end and Ford Customer Service made me a buyer of GM pickups.

[BJoe]

Both railroads Dad worked for had them for highrail trucks, turns out that if you add highrail gear (which adds over 1000lbs to the truck) and then procede to use it as a truck and on the track, they'd DW so bad than even the bigger, burlier track maintenence guys couldn't barely hang on until they got them slowed down enough or stopped. One road finally gave up and went to GM products after an issue with the early 80's ignition computers (Ford put them on the fenderwell right next to the d/s exhaust manifold, which would allow them to heatsoak and not work) that Ford said didn't exist and threatened to cancel the warranties on any of the trucks they did fix (by extending the harness and put the computer next to the l/f headlight), so they dumped those trucks when the lease was up and changed brands, which fixed all of those problems.

[Sevastra]

An RC Version of that suspension here on RCC: twin I beam prerunner 79 f250

[lonleycreeper]

Just to clarify...
TTB is twin traction beam, aka 4wd front. Twin I beam is the 2wd front. Common on ford1/2 ton and ranger trucks from mid 70's to the mid 90's.
It is great for long travel applications because the pivot Arm is so long, but in stock form they bump steer horribly and if any steering bushings are worn death wobble happens.

[Raptorn]

Everyone is right, that is twin I beam. It's a cheap and relatively easy way to get huge wheel travel, but it can have nasty bump steer and negative camber issues.

If anyone wants to know more, the full size truck forum race-dezert has some great info.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[robertjpjr]

Thanks for the info guys.

[bob1961]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

Basically that front end and Ford Customer Service made me a buyer of GM pickups.

smart man ....

[Natedog]

I've owned a couple Ford pickups with Twin I-Beam and Twin Traction Beam (4x4), the best stock bump soaking beating taking front suspension ever. Just don't let them get out of alignment with bad bushings/joints or then they will death wobble. We blazed mountain fire roads with a bed full of stuff, four wheel drifting over and through ruts bigger than the tires, scraping the axle and frame occasionally and it just came back for more all without rattling tooth fillings loose in driver and passengers.

On the flipside, Ford customer service and dealers suck ass and the electronic ignition TFI (thick film ignition) is a pos and usually mounted on distributor at rear of engine or next to exhaust manifold on inner fender where they would overheat and leave you temporarily stranded until they cooled off or they would just die and leave you completely stuck without a paddle. So overall I don't really miss any Ford I ever owned or drove lol.

[BJoe]

One little thing on that ignition Dad discovered if it won't start because that computer is heat soaked, you can dump water, preferably cool to iced, on it and that will get it cooled down and back in service pretty damn quick! The road he worked for had one decide not to start while sitting on tracks that had train coming at it and they were trying to figure out what to do to start it and Dad suggested they take their iced drinking water and dump it on the computer module as a last resort before radioing ahead and telling the train that it was there and that they risked hitting it. It worked, they track guys were able to get the truck to a siding so the train could pass, and they not only confirmed what was causing the no start issue but a way to quickly fix it in the field if it happened!