I am in the process of picking up a new xj from a buddy of mine to build a street legal wheeling rig. I have seen that there isnt really a mid arm kit available to the public with the exception of the dirtbound DIY kit.

I have access to a water jet and a cnc plasma, along with a cnc bender to make quality parts.

I am curious of peoples thoughts about this? Is this something you would be interested in?
This is just a thought as of now, if I get enough positive feed back from it then I might start making them.

A few of the details would include control arms made of 2 inch .500 wall dom, This is so that they will never bend or dent, I can also thread the tube itself for a johnny joint instead of using a tube adapter.

I still have yet to design the actual bracket although I have a few ideas in mind. The brackets would be made of 1/4 steel.

What's your opinion is this something you would want to run on your xj over a stock short arm or a y link long arm set up?

Again this is just a thought for now.

 

I'm down! I've tinkered with the idea of it also but no longer have the resources to design an fab like I use to.

How long of lower arms you thinkin? Will it have enough to clear the tranny?

 

Cost will have the most affect on my level of interest. Also I would want it compatible with suspension lift as low as 2"-3". I did have Mid arm lift on an old ZJ. Loved it.

 

I'd keep the cost down to what id want to pay for a kit, so probably 5-600ish. dont quote me on that though because I need to figure everything out still, it could be lower.

Im going to make it to work on a "stock" xj, meaning you dont have to do a bunch of cutting and fabbing. I already did that to my current xj, my new one is going to have simpler parts on it that will be easy to install.

As for arm length I would want to shoot for around 25 or so. I remember my old long arms with the stock d30 were 32 inches long, stock short arms are 15.5 long, so around 25 would be a happy medium imo.

Let me know what you guys think though I dont mind input on it or constructive criticism

 

id run it, especially if it would end up being one of the cheeper kits

 

tough call. it would be really really hard to produce and ship a kit for any sort of profit. the market out there is tough, if you're a fabricator you'll just go straight to ruffstuff. if you're looking for bolt on the aftermarket is really competetive.

also, you'll still have to drill some bolt holes or cut off the LCA mounts or do some sort of custom work. I don't see any way to avoid it. I'd certainly like to see it done though

 

I agree Atmos,

There will be some drilling required for the mounts, wouldnt be too hard though as its going to be 3-4 holes in the frame rails.
The part I wish I could get around that is un avoidable is having to weld the UCA mount on the passenger side axle.
Thats why this is just a thought right now and I might have a y link alternative. One thing at a time though...

X2 that the bolt on market is competitive. Thats why you make something different than whats out there

 

Is there a benefit or making the 3rd link on drivers side versus passenger?

I'm sure there's more clearance on the pass side but the drivers side has a much better axle mount.

I'm sure most folks that see the benefits of running a mid arm kit won't have a problem welding on a bracket if price and design is good.

 

the huge benefit of putting it on the pass side is that you can steer clear of the driveline and downpipe. packaging on the driver side would suck can't imagine why anyone would want it over there. plus you gotta do a truss if you're trying to put it on the driver side.

my pass side upper link bracket is ruffstuff beef tied into the beefy track bar mount which is tied into the tube and coil bucket and gussetted altogether. if that breaks off I'll be a monkey's uncle
geometry wise, I don't think it makes a lick of difference which side it's on. just put stuff where it fits, and theres obviously more room on the pass side

 

Yes, there's more room on the passenger side but the driver's side is certainly doable. Rock Krawler does it everyday.

Their kit is designed to work just fine with the OEM Dana 30 driver's side, axle end UCA mount. You just have to replace the bushing.

 

I guess it would actually be easier for sandaddik to make a kit that does something similar. that way the buyer can avoid having to cut and weld brackets and such. does RK use a JJ to replace the bushing? so now you'd just have to be able to find something similar to that or maybe even just buy one from RK at the time of install..

 

I'm going to pick this xj up in about 20 minutes so I should have some ideas of what is going to happen and answer any questions in the next few days.

I have 1000 ideas that I could go on forever on but I'll just wait to post them and figure out what will be the most practical way to go about it

 

Any update sir?

 

Nothing worth really posting at this time. I plan to have stock length control arms available soon as well so I went to a friend to make a deal with him to have the arms tig welded.
I will have bracket templates finished today and sent out to a friends shop to have them made of 1/4 steel later this week.
Once I get those back I'll install them on the new xj. It will be a while before that rig is ready to go wheel (need tires gears steering rock sliders guel tank skid plate lockers etc) so I am considering letting someone run a kit on their rig to provide feedback on its performance to me for a little bit before I decide that I'm satisfied with it and offer it up for sale.

When I install the brackets I will make sure to take pics and do a writeup in the tech section.

I do need to know if most of you reading this are using frame stiffeners made of 1/8 or 3/16 steel and are your stiffeners welded to only one side of the frame rail or both?

 

Sub'd. I'd like to see your work. I might be interested in buying a kit instead of building one