Rear Suspension

The rear suspension design used on this vehicle is a multi-link system. Each side of the rear suspension consists of the following components:
- Shock assembly
- Lower control arm (and ball joint)
- Lateral links (2)
- Trailing link
- Knuckle
- Hub and bearing
- Stabilizer bar and links (one bar common to both sides)
The bottom of the rear knuckle is attached to the rear lower control arms using a conventional style ball joint as in the front. The ball joint is located in the lower control arm and is attached to the rear knuckle using a tapered stud. The tapered stud is retained in the steering knuckle using a castle nut and cotter pin.
The top of the rear knuckle is attached to the frame using two lateral links. The lateral links are mounted at the top of the knuckle, one just forward and the other just rearward of the knuckle centerline. The length of both lateral links can be adjusted. The length adjustment of the lateral links is used to move the top of the rear knuckle. The top of the knuckle is moved in and out to adjust the rear wheel camber and the knuckle is rotated on its centerline to adjust the rear wheel toe. Thus, the lateral position and movement of the rear knuckle is controlled using the two lateral links.
The rear suspension used on this vehicle incorporates a trailing link as part of the mull-link design. The trailing link is used as the knuckle attachment point to the frame which controls the fore and aft position and movement of the rear knuckle. The trailing link is not an adjustable component of the rear suspension.

OPERATION
The rear suspension allows each rear wheel on a vehicle to adapt to different road surfaces and conditions without greatly affecting the opposite wheel and the ability to control the vehicle.
When the vehicle strikes a bump, the force is transferred through the tire and wheel, hub and bearing, steering knuckle and lower control arm to the shock assembly. The shock assembly then cushions the force, controlling vibration, along with jounce and rebound of the suspension.