JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 how do-able is this? I have all the right tools to do it, or access to them, i just have never tried to tackle the system and don't know the designs. can anyone help? what should I be looking for when/if I do this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOMJ87 Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 If you look for designs for XJs and then change the pieces you want for your needs you have a very workable design. There are several write ups on how long the uppers should be compared to the lowers. Something else to look at is if your arms pivot on the frame in the same location as your Front D-shaft then the slip on the d-shaft will be null or minimal which could be a nice atribute. also do you want to run 2 uppers or 1 or do you want a wish bone upper? Also do you want your uppers to connect to the lowers as one peice or have a seperate mount for them. My design is Prob going to be 2 sets of arms that include both the uppers and lowers mounted close to the pivot point for the D-shaft on the frame using a strong Box design that is made so that rocks wouldnt catch it To bad. I did a 2 sec drawing of what the arm design would be roughly. Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOMJ87 Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Oh and i would use RE super flex joints on all ends i could. Cole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 2 uppers, 2 lowers. uppers mounted to the lowers. one question, how the heck does the axle stay in with the uppers mounted to the lowers? i know, shocks and trackbar.. and steering, but is that it? i mean, that can't be that strong... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 I was looking at making a tranny crossmember and longarm lower mount all in one piece. i'm talkin heavy duty. then removing the stock LCA mounts and reinforcing that spot of the frame. actually, can a longarm kit run just lowers and use stock uppers? i know, not at 6.5" of lift, but would that be OK at least temporarily? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HellCreek Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Check with Rusty's Off-Road (http://www.rustysoffroad.com). They have long arm kits for XJs, which would be the same on the MJs on the front end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 don't wanna buy one, and i can get the materials minus the joints for cheap. i was thinking of doing one with heim joints and graduating from there...then i realized that the only longarm kit i've seen on an xj with heims had bad heims after 2000 miles on the lift... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Look at Terra Flexes Long arm upgrade kit. The mounts are simple.. and it uses the stock upper location. It is not the best when you get to 6.5" but at 4" it flexes good. The advantage to the radias arm style mounting is you only really need to buy to flex joints, as the axle end can be done with poly or hard bushings. You still need to run a trac bar, and limit straps and positive retention of the lower coil mount is a must. 3 link with panhard rod is another option, as is a dual triangulated 4 link. I strongly suggest you do some research on NAXJA, or Pirate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 ok. the goal for now is to get it lifted with some used control arms, then I can design my crossmember and my mounting points. i won't build the mounting points into it until i've designed the LCAs but at least then i'll have just the base to deal with. for mounting the crossmember, does 6 1/2" bolts run through the frame horizontally sound good? that way I can just weld the nuts to the back side of the plate and also set it up to bolt rock rails to it or something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 On the MJ frame there are 4 moutning holes all ready... and if you add 4 to the side that should be plenty, especially if there are welded in place. Most LA kits the center of the tranny x-memeber is removable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 hmm...maybe i'll build the la mounts to fit underneath the stock x-member and just make them a permanent addition...hell, after I remove the stock LCA mounts, it's not like i can go back to stock... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 What Terra flex did was make it so you shorten the x-memeber by 3" per side. The MJ has another set of mounting holes for the x-member just inboard of the frame. They also include a spacer so you can drill a second set of holes in the lip of the frame and the x-member into the mounting plate. I never used it... seemed kinda pointless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Radius arms (uppers connected to lowers) aren't great. I can't preach too much because I have seen them work. They flex really well (a bit too well, IMHO) but have some bad tendencies. And with them most of the stress is focused on the two attachment pionts at the frame. Make them beefy or you will be in for a bad day. The only really decent thing about them is they're very easy to make (geometry doesn't really matter, it'll suck no matter what) and you only need 2 decent joints. A 3-link works better. Aka a missing link. Two long lowers and a shorter upper that is conencted to the frame. Well, it works better if you design it right - you actually have to do the math on it. You need either 3 or 6 decent joints going this route - depending. But hey, I have leaf springs, so I have no right to comment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feerocknok Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 My buddy runs long lowers with new mounts and adjustable uppers that bolt into the stock location. He loves it. Keep in mind your wheeling style with your truck. I know you don't plan on wheeling the 3800 hard, but if this is for a different rig, don't hang anything down that you don't have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 25, 2007 Author Share Posted June 25, 2007 My buddy runs long lowers with new mounts and adjustable uppers that bolt into the stock location. He loves it.Keep in mind your wheeling style with your truck. I know you don't plan on wheeling the 3800 hard, but if this is for a different rig, don't hang anything down that you don't have to. this is the 89, not the 3800 :D so it's gonna be wheeled. my "wheeling style" hasn't exactly come out of it's shell soo what I do now can always be redone later. it just needs to fit 33x12.50's with enough room for articulation WITHOUT major trimming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 2 uppers, 2 lowers. uppers mounted to the lowers. one question, how the heck does the axle stay in with the uppers mounted to the lowers? i know, shocks and trackbar.. and steering, but is that it? i mean, that can't be that strong... The axle is bolted to the LA assembly at the upper and lower control arm bushings, and the arms are bolted to the chassis at the cross member. Where's the axle going to go? Clayton's Off-Road isn't far from where I live, and in a club I used to belong to I have wheeled with Clayton. His long arm kit was not designed as a kit to be sold -- Clayton is a balls-to-the-walls wheeler and he designed it to stand up to his kind of wheeling. It worked so well that a few people in the club asked him to make them up for their XJs and ZJs, and it kind of took on a life of its own. Although you could make it up yourself, I will strongly urge you to just buy Clayton's kit. I don't think you could possible damage it beyond scraping the paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86FUBAR Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 does this help any jeepco rustys longarm set at 9inches of lift Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 does this help any jeepco rustys longarm set at 9inches of lift YES! how much was that? is it yours? do ya have any measurements on it and where it's located on the frame? that's exactly what I want to do, but beefier on the frame-end mount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 The rusty's kit has its flaws. The arms mount dead centre in the crossmember if it is located in the rearmost position. I think the arms are 32"~ long, don't quote me. If you copy it, use real joints instead of that BS they do (twisting threads), and mount the arms higher at the frame side. While you're at it, flat belly the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86FUBAR Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Ya jeepce its mine , if u want any more info on it let me know and il be glad to help. as fer the BS they use like the twisting threads i think it works fine , besides what do ya think companies like teraflex used fer their flex joints , which by the way when they came out they were regarded as being the best of the best and super inovative and what not. I'm not sayn there aint room for improvements caus there are quite a few but it is a simple / to the point / cost effective / easily modifiable solution to the problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I had that kit. So I feel I can bash it. For a few bucks it can be made way better. Pull their joints and thread in some Evos and put jam nuts on them. I've seen threads pull from wear when being used like that. Sure, they'll last a long time. But when it happens it's majorly bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 how feasible is it that I could build a kit that will hold up to road and highway driving without having to worry about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
86FUBAR Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Its very feasible dependent on ur welding capabilities / material used . the design is so simple and easy its scary but its very effective , the one thing i don't like is the 2 bolts that hold the arms to the frame, if those break ur wheel is gona be burried in the wheel well like crazy and i don't want to be hammering out my floor boards any time soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pingpong Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I suggest you do a quick search on Pirate. There are so many different 4 link/ suspension setups on there that I am sure you can find something that will work for you. Do us a favor and research the hell out of it before you start to build. Then over build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87manche Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 my problem with most of the radius arm kits out there are the frame mounts. They all seem like gigantic rock anchors. It's probably not such an issue for the XJ guys, but in an MJ that's the first place I set the frame rails on rocks. when I do it, and it's simply a matter of time, the front is going to get a mid arm 3 link, with a panhard. I think that it's a better arrangement, the anti dive/unloading characteristics of the radius arm just don't suite my tastes. anyway, I don't see anything horribly wrong with radius arms, but do something better with the frame side mounts, otherwise you're just going to get hung up and bash the snot out of them if you wheel rocks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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