homemade long arms

[bburris]

I've searched on POR and JU (shaddup) and I can't find a whole lot of relevant fabbing info about making long arms for a TJ. The main (intimidating) cost of the suspension setup I want on my Jeep is going to be the front long arm setup. From Rubicon Express it's going to end up being ~$550 for four arms and a couple of brackets.

Scott - how did you do your rear link setup? You don't need a track bar since you triangulated the uppers, correct?

What material is needed to make the arms? I know I can't fab my way out of a paper bag, but if I can get help somehow and not have to spend so much with RE, my swap could go a lot faster.

[redcagepatrol]

I plan on changing my setup at a later date but right now the upper links are triangulated to the top of the diff while the rears are straight and go to the outside of the frame.

I plan on changing it around to have the triangulation coming from the lower links and triangulating at the t-case crossmember while the uppers are on raised brackets off the axle going straight to the inside of the frame.

did any of that make since??

material - I know nothing but used 1.5" sch.80 sleaved wih 2" sch.40 for the lowers and 1-1/4" sch.80 for the uppers

[Krawler68]

Originally posted by redcagepatrol


material - I know nothing but used 1.5" sch.80 sleaved wih 2" sch.40 for the lowers and 1-1/4" sch.80 for the uppers

***...:D :rolleyes: :flipoff2: ... nice jab Scott.

Doug

[bburris]

Did you use Johnny Joints at the ends of each link?

I figured I'd go with some thick DOM, since there's really not that much material that will be used, and I seriously doubt that a stick of DOM will cost even close to $550.

Do any of you guys know if there is a nominal length for control arms? What about the angle of the triangulated pair?

I figured I would run the lowers from wherever they need to be on the frame to the stock lower control arms brackets and make some sort of upper link in the center of the skid plate to modified UCA brackets on the axle.

I'm doing this in the front, so I can't put a truss of sorts over the top of the pumpkin and use that as a locating point.

Is it better/more preferred to make the point of the triangle at the skid plate, or on the axle?

[redcagepatrol]

used johnny joints at the axle and on the "upper upper's". The "lower upper's" use YJ bushings because they used to be curved and they kept the bars straight up and down

[Krawler68]

make sure you get enough distance between your upper and lower mounts on the axle itself... are your going to run triangulated y-links like the RE long arm kit? If so it's important you have a good amount of space between the upper and lower mount...otherwise it puts extreme load on the lower mount and will destroy any joint or bushing you put in it in short order. Example of not enough space being Hal's fron suspension

Doug

[bburris]

Well, looking at prices or Johnny Joints and RE Superflex joints, buying eight of either puts the price of building my own arms close to where I started.

:rolleyes: :(

[BMFScout]

at the risk of sounding like a putz, why not just save up and buy the arms. By the time you got all the parts needed, find someone to help you do it all, and spend the time doing it once (or maybe twice to get it right) you probably would have spent over the 550 in time and parts. You buy the kit, an afternoon to put it on, it is right, and you can spend the rest of your time getting the rest of the **** figgered out. Unless you wanted to do a different design, I would probably just pony up the funds...:(

[bburris]

that's what I plan to do after I researched it a little