DOM is heavily recommended. At least .25" walled.

 

lead foot - i really havnt gotten up under my jeep yet to even map out how i would want the belly skid to run but iv seen some on jeeps that are yes fully linked front and rear just liked you mentioned and i thought it would be nice to protect the vitals.
as far as welding i do have a couple friends that have some good welders and have excelent skills at welding and i did help them in the fab shop for awhile building custom suspension lifts for SXS's so they owe me a favor or two. check out some of there work if you ever get into fourwheelers or SXS's. its OUTKAST FABWORX. they have a website and a face book page. i was wanting to do as much work on the jeep as i could by myself. iv had people tell me as long as the prep is good that a 120 will do the trick but i thought 120 only did up to 3/16" and most of your brackets are 1/4" or thicker, correct?

Also on a side note - yall need to offer financing so my wife wont know what i spend on my jeeps suspension cuz the cash will still be in the bank - lol!

 

Yes, you and BNJeepsta are right. You can use 120 in a pinch. But you have better prepped it real well. Add some bevels at the joints for better penetration. and use flux core instead of gas as it burns hotter. Yes, all my brackets are 1/4". You could always weld it all together and if you dont feel 100 percent comfortable with it, drive the rig over to your buddies house to have them throw another bead over it.

lol Better to have her freak out for a short time over one withdraw rather then every month that a smaller withdrawl comes out. lol

 

everything on my 4 jeeps has been welded with a 140 amp hobart. suspensions, bumpers, frame stiffeners, link mounts, everything. not a single weld failure. and they all have been wheeled... hard.

 

Psh, you wheel like a girl.

 

doesnt flux splatter a lot - iv never used it but my welder is set up for both so i guess i could try. - and you are right - i forgot to mention that i was told you have to bevel the ends.

I love the holidays and Christmas but i sure wish it was january so i could by my FROEHLICH 4-link suspension kit. oh well - that will give you time to desighn the rear traction bar and other goodies i might need.

 

 

Yes flux splatters a lot and imo doesn't penetrate as well as gas.

 

Flux core leaves slag over the weld so it can be protected from the atmosphere as its cooled, instead of a gas shielding. Yes it does tend to splatter more. I honestly haven't used flux core for quite some time but I do know that most manufacturers say you can weld thicker steel with flux core over gas shielding according to their little charts. I honestly don't know why though.

 

The slag isn't intentional, just the nature of the beast. Just to clarify for everyone, the reason you can weld thicker steel with flux core is that the gas "cools" the weld. Flux core naturally burns hotter since it does not recieve the cooling effect from gas. I run a 75/25 mix of argon and co2 with my MM 350P, but that's a big ****ing welder for most fab projects. To produce clean looking, strong welds, use straight co2 (if you're working at the limit of your welder) because it will cool the weld less due to the lack of Argon. Honestly though, if you need to weld thick steel and don't have the $$ for a good welder, get a 220 stick welder. One can be had for less than 1/3 of a equally powerful mig and will produce insanely strong welds. I am a fabricator for a living and spend my whole day dealing with this stuff

 

What about IRO long arms, there 3 link andybody had experince with them? or there 6.5 inch kit

 

Its not a 3 link. Its a modified radius arm, reffered to as a y link... Post 42-44 also have some info on known problems with iron rocks setup.

 

IMO - all these companys with radius arms are just glorified old ford front ends form the late 70's before they changed over to TTB and even like some of the current model F-250 and F-350. i had a set up like that one time and it sucked. yes you can get lots of travel but imo the bump stear and change in steering caster through out the range of motion was terrible.
some of these 3-links offered that have two true lower links and a single top link is the way i would go if not traveling long didtance at gret speed. i understand they are very reliable but im just a cautious guy and want as much holding the axle as i can get.
to answer the poster origianl question - NO, not all long arms are created equal. do lots and lots of homework. do not be affraid to ask silly question. some long arms are really mid arms. some have cheep joints to save money, some kits are incomplete, some use thin wall tubing, and some are radious arms and IMO - are garbage.
i have never heard of LEAD FOOTS company before this post, but i have been on other forums and called many companys and he is the only one to truly explain why he built his the way he did and was the only one who didnt say "the kit on mine is the best because i bought it or built it and want to make myself feel good about my decision". full traction and BDS did an ok job of trying to sell me on there kit but wr not as pasionate and i also like the hex tubing and i also like the idea that LEAD FOOT only has his hand in jeep fab and not every vehicle out there. i know there are plenty of guys running radious kits and they work just fine - like i said its just my personal opinion but evrybody has there own driving style and needs out of there jeep. there is a reason only true 4-link setups are JEEP SPEED legal.

 

You're mistaken.
Ford radius arms are comprised of 2 arms only.




A Jeep/Ford radius arm build (one of many I'm aware of):
http://mallcrawlin.com/forum/showthr...th-radius-arms

Say what you will, they are plenty strong enough for your unibody.

Better take another look at XJ radius arm setup's.
A step above the single arm design (IMHO) because of the ability easily adjust the caster and pinion angle.

Binding? How far are you going to drive your rig with max droop on one side and max stuff on the other? A mile, 2 miles? How about a few feet at a time.

If by some chance you snap/break an upper arm on a radius arm setup you've still got another to keep you mobile enough to move your rig off the trail or obstacle. Can't do that with a 3 link kit. Truth be told, it's doubtful you'll ever break an upper on either design, you'll break a lower first.

Old technology...still works.

 

I am all for a 3 or 4 link design. I have tested both and know whats better (no matter how marginal or drastic each Pro / Con is). But your statement about no radius arm being jeep speed legal, you are wrong. Rubicon Express had their kits approved, and they are a Y / radius arm long arm setup. And they are still used on a very few older or lower cost jeeps.

I would never do that design on my race car, but its cheaper and easier, so to some its their choice, and what they run.