Axle shaft spacer member
AssigneeTenneco Automotive Inc.
InventorScott W. Douglas
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An axle shaft spacer member for use with a suspension lift kit. The spacer member enables the wheel spindle of a vehicle to be moved laterally a desired distance, which in turn enables the upper control arms associated with the wheel spindle to be lowered when such would not otherwise be possible because of interference with the frame portion of the vehicle. The spacer is a disc-like member having a thickness equal to the desired lateral offset distance needed to enable the upper control arm to be lowered and re-mounted via a drop bracket, to the frame. The spacer member enables the original suspension geometry to be maintained, thus maintaining the ride and steering characteristics of the original suspension system while enabling vehicle ride height to be increased.
Claims9
A combination of a motor vehicle and a suspension system including a suspension modification system for allowing a ride height of said motor vehicle to be increased without adversely affecting the performance or geometry of said suspension system, said suspension modification system comprising:
- a drop bracket coupled to a frame portion of said motor vehicle and to an upper terminal end of an upper control arm to effectively lower a height at which said upper control arm is disposed relative to said frame portion, and further to laterally displace an upper end of said upper control arm a predetermined lateral distance;
- and
- an axle shaft spacer secured to a driven end of an axle of said vehicle associated with said upper control arm and to a driving portion of a differential of said vehicle;
- whereby said axle shaft spacer transfers driving force between said driving portion and said driven end and laterally displaces said axle by a distance in accordance with said predetermined lateral distance.
A combination of a motor vehicle and a factory installed suspension system including a suspension modification system for allowing a ride height of said motor vehicle to be increased without adversely affecting the performance or geometry of said factory installed suspension system, said suspension modification system comprising:
- a drop bracket coupled to a frame portion of said vehicle and to an upper terminal end of an upper control arm to effectively lower a height at which said upper control arm is disposed relative to said frame portion, and further to laterally displace an upper end of said upper control arm a predetermined lateral distance;
- and
- a disc-like axle shaft spacer member secured to a driven end of a stub end flange of a continuously variable (CV) joint associated with an axle of said vehicle, wherein said axle is associated with said upper control arm, and to a driving end flange of a differential of said vehicle, without modification to said stub end flange or said end flange of said differential;
- whereby said axle shaft spacer member transfers driving force between said driving end and said driven end and laterally displaces said axle by a distance in accordance with said predetermined lateral distance to thereby maintain the geometry of said suspension system of said vehicle in accordance with said factory installed suspension system.
A method for enabling a ride height of a vehicle to be increased without significant modifications to a factory installed suspension system of said vehicle, and without adversely affecting the geometry and handling provided by said suspension system, said method comprising the steps of:
- mounting a drop bracket to a frame portion of a vehicle adjacent an upper control arm of said suspension system, said drop bracket being coupled to an upper end of said upper control arm to lower said upper end a predetermined distance and to laterally displace said upper end a predetermined lateral distance outwardly of said frame portion;
- and
- mounting an axle shaft spacer member to a driving portion of a differential of said vehicle and to a driven end of an axle associated with said upper control arm, said spacer member transferring driving force between said driving portion and said driven end and effectively displacing said axle by a lateral distance in accordance with said predetermined lateral distance, such that a wheel spindle coupled to said upper control arm and to said axle is effectively lowered by said predetermined distance and moved laterally by said predetermined lateral distance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.