huntingman2706217

ive already got 6.5in rear packs i picked up cheap and was going to piece together a front 6.5in little by little with what i want... now im thinking of going to a long arm setup... its gonna take me awhile to save and spend the money but i figured i my as well go all out if im gonna do it this way... I was wondering what the upper control arms connect too in most kits? to the framing i mean... the lowers in most connect to a new cross member... but they say nothing of the top... who has the best design? do the uppers connect to the lowers? just trying to figure out what im wanting design wise anyway... going with adjustable upper and lower of course... thanks for the info guys...

ktmracer419

radius arm kits or "y links" mount to the lower arms

3 and 4 link kits usually mount to the crossmember or a separate bracket. aside from rockkrawler i dont think any off the shelf longarm kits use a separate bracket

lame longarms like teraflex have no upper control arms

xjbones

i hear teraflex no longer makes anything for unibody jeeps except bb's and interchangable parts.......no more long arms

huntingman2706217

the y link kits do they use your avergage adjustable upper control arms to mount? the y link considered to get more flex the the standard setup... so most long arm kits the uppers normally mount to the lowers or stock locations... which i think is gay... i didnt know if the uppers moved to the lowers or something...

huntingman2706217

http://www.bc4x4.com/inthenews/default.cfm?ID=140

well now i found this setup... looks like the upper and lowers mount to the crossmember... well maybe not... i guess it could be more strength running up the arm but it looks kinda like a upper CA mount... this kit does come with different upper arms though...

huntingman2706217

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/XJ-Cr...item518d733145

i found this and for the price i think it would be great... its not completely ajustable but it would work great for 6.5in cause thats about the middle of where they have it set... and im not going any higher then 6.5... ever... no point... makes them top heavy i think... but im liking this kit...

4.3L XJ

The uppers mount to the cross member.

4.3L XJ

The Y links are the most flexible, but a three link is probably the best of the bunch. It will provide just as much flex and retain the camber throughout the range of motion. A Y link will not do that. The three link will also relieve any stresses of flexing you find in a four link in extreme articulation.

ktmracer419

technically a radius arm or "y link" is the least flexible. there is a great deal of binding in that setup. but with the rubber bushings deflecting this is a pretty minute point. the bushings just wear out quicker.

3 link or wristed radius arm are the most flexible with no inherint binding.

and you are talking about caster, not camber

huntingman2706217

so 4 link sucks... y link is better but be prepared to buy lots of bushings... and the three link is best but takes alot of fabrication due to its mounting points... right?

EndlessMtnFab

Read up a bit in the Tech Snob thread for some 3 link ideas. I put a really quick/basic description in there as well.


Everyone else in the thread hit the nail on the head on 3 link vs Radius arm.



There is nothing wrong with a 4 link in the front (true 4 link with no track bar). Trouble is, your oil pan tends to get in the way. And some people find the offset centersection more aggravation to make link mounts for (that need to be centered on the axle).



Joe

SeriousOffroad

I wouldn't say that 4 link sucks, but there are issues that are difficult to overcome on a front axle.

Y-links need more bushings, or more frequently require replacement? Really? I suppose that may be the case if the setup was based solely on OEM or urethane bushings. OEM style rubber bushings are great for the upper and lower arms at the axle side of the arms, but they are a poor choice for the frame side.

Three links do perform well, but after having experienced a bolt failure (Grade 8 with a grease zerk....NEVER AGAIN!!) I will say that having the redundancy of 2 upper (radius) arms makes it a no brainer for me. The bolt sheared in half on the way down the trail (Moab Rim) and I would have been in serious trouble had it been a 3 link set up.

YMMV

ktmracer419

nope

i would rather run a 4 link over any other longarm design. there is inherint bind going on, but nowhere near as much as radius arms. and radius arms don't have much bind for it to be an issue for 98% of wheelers

i have been running a "wristed radius arm" style suspension for 3 years now i have 3 mounting points on the axle all with 9/16" bolts and havent had a failure yet. they survived jumps,endo's full throttle assaults, dented oil pans, dented bearing cradles, dented/tweaked,cracked unibody. build it right and this is a non-issue.

as for the bushing faulure its mostly off the shelf y link kits and the factory upper control arm bushings at the axle wearing out.

huntingman2706217

yeah im so lost on this stuff... read mtnfabs build page and i now feel like an idiot... lol... someone should just tell me what design is best and ill start shopping... lol... id like to learn it all but i would need a suspensions for not just dummies but jackass's book... lol... i wish i had a shop i could fab everything i ever wanted in... i think i would really enjoy it... but i dont even have a carport... lol...

EndlessMtnFab

Based on what you are saying here .... I would say you would be best served by something like the Rubicon Express Long Arm or the BDS Long arm kits. Both kits are bolt on (with the exception of required drilling).


RK's kit would probably be more radical and would require you to have a welder burn the brackets to the chassis (after the fact).


Every kit out there has a pro / con --- there is no one perfect kit. Even the one I made for myself has its strengths & weaknesses. Stick with quality stuff that isn't using as many "proprietary" parts. That will allow you to tweak things later on if you have access to welders, lifts, etc.



Joe