What are Rear Links on the 4th Gen Toyota Tacoma? And Why I Upgraded Mine to the New 74Weld Set.

[Quez]

What's up guys! Recently I've immersed myself back into heavily modifying my Tacoma after taking a hiatus when I sold my 3GT. When browsing upgrades, I knew the links were a must do for anyone planning some serious off-roading. This will be a long one. So, let's get into it.

First off - what are links? What's their purpose? Why did Toyota put them in some 4GTs? All great questions, and questions that the average person might have when browsing online.

What they are: Rear links are the metal control arms that connect the rear axle housing to the frame.

Their purpose: Their job is to keep the rear axle positioned correctly as it moves up and down over bumps. The coil springs hold the truck up, and the shocks control the motion.

• In simpler terms they do the following:
  • Locate the axle front-to-back and side-to-side
  • Control axle rotation under acceleration and braking
  • Let the suspension articulate more freely than a leaf-spring setup
  • Work with the coils and shocks instead of the leaf spring doing multiple jobs at once

Why did Toyota put rear links in the new Tacoma: Toyota says the new Tacoma introduced a “coil spring multi-link rear suspension” on most trims aiming to improve ride and handling. Some trims kept leaf springs, e.g. SR, SR5 XtraCab, and TRD PreRunner.

What are the different links, and what does each do? There are upper links, lower links, and the Panhard, or rear track bar as some call it. I have each pictured under this section.

• Upper links: These are the shorter, higher-mounted arms above the axle. Their main job is to help control axle rotation. They're heavily relied upon under acceleration and braking. They help by keeping the pinion angle and axle housing from twisting too much.
  • For my less mechanically inclined: they help stop the axle from “rolling” backward or forward when torque is applied. Because the 2024 Tacoma’s coil-spring setup separates springing from axle location, these upper links take on part of the locating job that leaf springs used to handle.

• Lower links: These are the longer, lower-mounted arms below the axle. Their main job is to hold the axle in position front-to-back, and transfer a lot of the driving and braking forces between the axle and frame. In addition, they also help guide the axle through its up-and-down suspension travel. Since they are longer and mounted lower, they do a big share of the work in keeping the rear axle tracking properly as the truck moves.

• Panhard/Trackbar: The Panhard’s job is to keep the rear axle centered under the truck left-to-right as the suspension moves. The upper and lower links handle most of the axle’s front-to-back location and rotation control, while the Panhard handles the lateral part. Without it, the axle could shift sideways relative to the frame.

In short:

• Upper links: control axle twist
• Lower links: control front-back axle position and force transfer
• Panhard rod: controls side-to-side axle position

For YEARS Toyota has opted for a leaf spring rear end on the Tacomas. IMO it's one of the biggest downfalls to the platform. I can almost guarantee that 9/10 3GT's, and some lower level trims going forward you'll see will have essentially "flat" leaf pack when they're loaded with gear, towing, or have a RTT on top, etc. This paved the way for many manufacturers to produce aftermarket leafs packs, AAL packs (add a leaf), and so on.

When browsing upgrades, I knew the links were a must do for anyone planning some heavy off-roading.

Now the question, why did I choose 74Weld over anyone else? Have you freaking seen this things? Be forreal bro. Just kidding, kind of.

I chose them based off the following:

• Materials/Construction: All of the links are precision CNC machined from 6061 aluminum, after that they're anodized to help with corrosion resistance.
  • Anodizing is pretty sweet if you've never heard of it. Basically its an elecromechanical process that helps thicken the natural protective oxde layer on metal. It's primarily used on aluminum. The process involves submerging the metal in an acid bath and running an electric current through it. How sick is that.
• Maintenance: Each end on the upper and lower inks include a maintenance free Rock Krawler Advensure series joint. This means increased angulularity and articulation from your suspension, and a noise free ride. If you're like me, you hate a squeaking truck. Especially when it's new. So this is a huge deal. The panhard/trackbar is also maintenance free. It has a sealed flex joint on both sides.
• Adjustability: I haven't seen anyone talk about this yet - but 74Weld has adjustable upper & lower links. They were nice enough to get me some of the first sets they produced.
  • Why adjustability matters: With a lot of suspension cycling, it lets let you fine-tune where the rear axle sits after a lift, bigger tires, or extra weight. That can improve how the truck rides, handles, and flexes off-road. I just kept mine at OEM length.

Below I've attached some pics of the joints, and side by side comparisons of them vs. the stock ones. If you've stuck around this long, thanks for reading.

Upper Links vs OEM

Rock Krawler Adventure Series joint vs OEM

Panhard/Trackbar side by side OEM