LONGARM BUILD
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Joined: Nov 2010
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From: cape cod ma.
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 i6
i think the crossmember is a very simple design really... maybe another piece of steel up the inside of the frame rail so when you bolt it on through the frame it pinches the frame... make sense? also you lost 1/4in yes... or a 1 1/4in technically... but you also lost it all the way across... the stock setup is thick only in the middle...
I have this exact same size of tube in the shop actually that ive been trying to figure out what to do with... now i know... my question is do you think its possible to run it with only the one piece... not stacked... or will it pick the tranny up higher then stock? i wonder if cutting the center of it down to about an inch thick would kill the strength VS. the two inches or so it is... this would allow the tranny to sit down in it alittle more and still raise the crossmember off the ground... what ya think?
I have this exact same size of tube in the shop actually that ive been trying to figure out what to do with... now i know... my question is do you think its possible to run it with only the one piece... not stacked... or will it pick the tranny up higher then stock? i wonder if cutting the center of it down to about an inch thick would kill the strength VS. the two inches or so it is... this would allow the tranny to sit down in it alittle more and still raise the crossmember off the ground... what ya think?
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From: cape cod ma.
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 i6
if you look i only went through one side of the rail with short bolts and i bored out two of the drain holes to get up into the rail with a wrench...if i were to go straight through i would weld in sleaves to stop it from crushing..the rails are actually pretty beefy right there too..
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From: cape cod ma.
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 i6
hey guys looking for so input....up in the air on joints anyone use ballistics 2.63 rebuildables? or the ruffstuff cryo heims? i like the ballistics and they have square weld in ends
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From: muskogee oklahoma
Year: 1988
Model: Cherokee
Engine: I6
Ok so I don't mean to sound completely dumb but what exactly is DOM tubing? I have been wanting to build my own long arm setup but every write up uses a lot of terms I don't quite understand
MJ>XJ
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From: Griffin, G.A.
Year: 1990
Model: Comanche
Engine: 4.0 I6
DOM is formed in a circle... other tubing is formed flat and then rolled and welded/"sanded" down a seam... reg tube will have what looks like a line running down it... like chainlink fence pipe almost... or exhaust pipe... DOM is nice and smooth...
D.O.M starts out as Hot Rolled Electic Welded (AKA HREW) and is then Drawn Over a Mandrel (D.O.M) to eliminate the seam, strengthen, and shape the finished product.
http://www.protofab.com/tubing.html
http://www.protofab.com/tubing.html
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From: Hesperia
Year: 89
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0
in hrew the seam is considered weak which it is thus the reason people prefer dom tubing as it has no seam. but in most cases if you make something such as rock sliders and use hrew and put the seam on top it will be just as strong and when they take a hard hit they will flex instead of bend and stay bent, but for something like a roll cage dom is stronger so it would be wiser to use dom.
they both have their pros and cons
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From: muskogee oklahoma
Year: 1988
Model: Cherokee
Engine: I6
How do you guys connect the joints to the tubing.... weld them or do they have some kind of connector... I think ill make one after I get another motor
most people just buy weld-in bungs that the joint threads into.
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From: muskogee oklahoma
Year: 1988
Model: Cherokee
Engine: I6
Ok... I got ya... anything else you guys know that I need to know.. I know what DOM tubing is and now I know about mounting the joints on the tubing... the crossmember looked real simple
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From: cape cod ma.
Year: 1998
Model: Cherokee
Engine: 4.0 i6
uh...not be rude but you have alot of reseach to do not to mention skills to aquire...the crossmember was very labor intensive and while simple still has to be pretty precise and strong..it's your life and life of others in your hands...start by building a bumper or tire carrier maybe some sliders before trying to build suspention..i have built a number of drag cars suspentions and still learned alot doing this


