portalhunter
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- Tacoma
- 2024 Tacoma Trailhunter
Build Update: Ditched the Heim Joint Links for 74Weld Billet Flex Joints
Been a minute since I posted an update here. This one has been brewing for a while and I wanted to share the full story because I think a lot of people in the 4th gen community are making the same decision I was facing.
The Short Version
I ran chromoly Heim joint rear links on the Trailhunter for several months. They felt great at first. Then the clunking started, the maintenance got old, and a race truck engineer told me what I probably should have figured out sooner. Pulled them off and went with 74Weld billet links with vulcanized rubber flex joints. Night and day difference.
How I Ended Up with Heim Joint Links
Met a guy at a Tacoma meetup here in Phoenix who was running chromoly links from a local fabricator. The fabricator had a race truck background and was branching out to build parts for the new Tacoma platform. A few of us in the area jumped on board.
The fabrication process dragged out way longer than expected. Some guys waited six months or more. A few never got their parts at all. I was patient about it but the experience was rough for a lot of people. Not going to name anyone here but if you scroll my IG you can piece it together.
When the links finally went on, the truck felt completely different. Tight through corners, no more vague sloppy feeling from the stock links. I was sold.
When It All Went Sideways
After months of hard wheeling the truck started shifting during acceleration and decel. Sharp turns on pavement would produce a loud clunk. Wet season in AZ made everything worse. Dry lube helped with some of it but the shifting and banging over obstacles never fully went away.
Got connected with Tyler at Arizona Chassis Engineering through my buddy Jay. Tyler spent years at ADS before going out on his own. He builds and services actual race trucks for a living so he knows exactly what these parts are designed for.
His assessment was immediate. The upper rear links had zero movement. On our 4th gen platform the rear suspension needs some flex in the uppers, especially at the chassis side. Without any deflection everything loads straight into the chassis. Some of the Heims were already loosening after being torqued to spec just a few hundred miles earlier.
His exact words about the noise: "Race truck parts make race truck noises."
He told me to put at least the upper rears back to stock rubber before King of Hammers. Did it in my driveway the week before we left. Solid advice.
The 74Weld Swap
Already been working with Quinn and Kristian at 74Weld on portals and wheels. Picked up a set of their billet rear lower links, upper links, and track bar at King of Hammers during a GFC campout above Turkey Claw.
These use rock crawler flex joints with vulcanized rubber instead of Heims. The pitch is simple and it turned out to be accurate:
Had SDHQ in Gilbert do the install. After dealing with too many shops that forget to torque bolts or miss parts entirely, SDHQ has been the one shop I keep going back to. Serena and her crew are always professional and always on time. They handled the portal install too and have been solid every single time.
The Verdict
Truck drives better than it ever has. I get the planted feeling from the billet construction without the harshness and constant maintenance. There was a resonance through the Heim joints that I did not fully notice until it disappeared. Gone immediately.
15,000 miles on the 74Weld portals too and they continue to be the best single mod on this truck. Combined with a CAM Tuning custom tune this thing feels completely different from stock.
If you have not checked out Quinn's YouTube channel I would highly recommend it even if you have no interest in portals. He does an incredible job explaining the real trade-offs of popular off-road mods. Free education from someone who has done it at the highest level.
Full writeup with more details on the blog: truck.bdigitalmedia.io
Build specs: truck.bdigitalmedia.io/build
IG: @portal.hunter
Anyone else gone through the Heim joint vs flex joint decision on their 4th gen? Curious what you guys are running for rear links.
Been a minute since I posted an update here. This one has been brewing for a while and I wanted to share the full story because I think a lot of people in the 4th gen community are making the same decision I was facing.
The Short Version
I ran chromoly Heim joint rear links on the Trailhunter for several months. They felt great at first. Then the clunking started, the maintenance got old, and a race truck engineer told me what I probably should have figured out sooner. Pulled them off and went with 74Weld billet links with vulcanized rubber flex joints. Night and day difference.
How I Ended Up with Heim Joint Links
Met a guy at a Tacoma meetup here in Phoenix who was running chromoly links from a local fabricator. The fabricator had a race truck background and was branching out to build parts for the new Tacoma platform. A few of us in the area jumped on board.
The fabrication process dragged out way longer than expected. Some guys waited six months or more. A few never got their parts at all. I was patient about it but the experience was rough for a lot of people. Not going to name anyone here but if you scroll my IG you can piece it together.
When the links finally went on, the truck felt completely different. Tight through corners, no more vague sloppy feeling from the stock links. I was sold.
When It All Went Sideways
After months of hard wheeling the truck started shifting during acceleration and decel. Sharp turns on pavement would produce a loud clunk. Wet season in AZ made everything worse. Dry lube helped with some of it but the shifting and banging over obstacles never fully went away.
Got connected with Tyler at Arizona Chassis Engineering through my buddy Jay. Tyler spent years at ADS before going out on his own. He builds and services actual race trucks for a living so he knows exactly what these parts are designed for.
His assessment was immediate. The upper rear links had zero movement. On our 4th gen platform the rear suspension needs some flex in the uppers, especially at the chassis side. Without any deflection everything loads straight into the chassis. Some of the Heims were already loosening after being torqued to spec just a few hundred miles earlier.
His exact words about the noise: "Race truck parts make race truck noises."
He told me to put at least the upper rears back to stock rubber before King of Hammers. Did it in my driveway the week before we left. Solid advice.
The 74Weld Swap
Already been working with Quinn and Kristian at 74Weld on portals and wheels. Picked up a set of their billet rear lower links, upper links, and track bar at King of Hammers during a GFC campout above Turkey Claw.
These use rock crawler flex joints with vulcanized rubber instead of Heims. The pitch is simple and it turned out to be accurate:
- Basically zero maintenance. No greasing, no dry lube, no checking for loose joints.
- Built-in flex where the suspension actually needs it.
- Billet construction so you still get the strength upgrade over stock steel.
- Bolt-on. No cutting or welding.
Had SDHQ in Gilbert do the install. After dealing with too many shops that forget to torque bolts or miss parts entirely, SDHQ has been the one shop I keep going back to. Serena and her crew are always professional and always on time. They handled the portal install too and have been solid every single time.
The Verdict
Truck drives better than it ever has. I get the planted feeling from the billet construction without the harshness and constant maintenance. There was a resonance through the Heim joints that I did not fully notice until it disappeared. Gone immediately.
15,000 miles on the 74Weld portals too and they continue to be the best single mod on this truck. Combined with a CAM Tuning custom tune this thing feels completely different from stock.
If you have not checked out Quinn's YouTube channel I would highly recommend it even if you have no interest in portals. He does an incredible job explaining the real trade-offs of popular off-road mods. Free education from someone who has done it at the highest level.
Full writeup with more details on the blog: truck.bdigitalmedia.io
Build specs: truck.bdigitalmedia.io/build
IG: @portal.hunter
Anyone else gone through the Heim joint vs flex joint decision on their 4th gen? Curious what you guys are running for rear links.
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