Clearence problems with LA's and a hp60

Please don't bother responding if you're not sure what you're talking about. I put a HP ford 60 in my MJ, used RE brackets on the axle, used RE long arms, same set up I had on the d44 before. My problem is the mounting the top link on the housing, on the 44 it had a bridge, worked great. The 60 I used nickle rod and welded the mount directly to the housing, my problem is when the suspension cycles and the diff. rotates slightly it binds and hits the top link on the housing. Problem 2 is, I wasn't able to put the upper link mounts parallel to each other, meaning the upper arms had to be adjusted at 2 different lengths, I'm no engineer by any means so suggestions are welcome. Will the upper arms being at 2 different lenghts cause binding or is it just the fact that the one link is contacting the housing? I took it wheeling today and it seemed to do fine, the only difference I have noticed is it doesn't flex as well as it did with the d44 in the front. The upper link on the diff side sorta "clearenced" itself today on the trail, it bent slightly but it didn't crease, just a smooth bend. Help please.....solutions...anyone?

It looks like you have a couple options; run only one upper on the passenger side or raise the mount on the housing. Either way, you will need to address the driver's side upper arm contact issue.

-Jon

Kaczman said:

It looks like you have a couple options; run only one upper on the passenger side or raise the mount on the housing.

Click to expand...

I would at least give this a try before busting your balls anymore to get it to work, if taking the ca off doesnt work for somereason, then start thinking about other options....

Which trackbar mount did you use?


Looks good BTW! :cheers:

I really don't want to run one upper, I fall into the "will make it or break it" catagory, hence the losing the 44/warns/ctms and going to the 60. May not be the most practicle or smartest wheeling method, but hey I put on a show...lol. I'm scared of running one upper, I'm on the east coast and heavy throttle is the only way to make some obstacles(oh, if I only knew how to post video) If someone who subscribes to my type of driving has run only one upper without problem, I may consider it, it's just not my first choice. Will the upper arms being different lenghts( by a couple of inches)have any effect in binding?

Oh and to answer the track bar mount question, I made the lower mount and the upper is a modified(gussets) RE HD mount.

With the long arms, I'm a bit surprised that there is enough diff rotation to cause that upper arm to contact. However, It apparently does move. I'm not sure how the upper arm mounts at the axle are different compared to each other, but it looks like the passenger side may be taller than the drivers side. Perhaps it is rotated on the axle housing a bit differently making the distance to the long arms longer too. I'm not sure why you couldn't make the mounts the same. This will probably cause different arcs of rotation comparing the two long arms, but I wouldn't think it would be that much. There has to be quite a bit of force on that contact area since it already bent the upper arm. That bending must have put quite a bit of load on the mounting bolt and bushing at the pumpkin too. I would be a bit concerned about that. If you have a method, removing that upper arm and increasing the bend already started (enough to provide contact free articulation) would be an option. Perhaps the arm could then be beefed up with some additional steel too. Since it is already bent, you probably wouldn't be out much by trying to increase that bend a bit and then stiffening with additional steel. Just my 2 cents. Also, it kind of looks like the passengers side upper mount on the axle could use some gusseting to the housing. Jeff

The difference in upper arm length should be a problem because the lowers set the arch of articulation. I'm supprised that it's rotating enough to make contact that wasn't there when you first set it up. You could either run 1 upper, raise the mount or relocated it more to the driver's side, or grind the housing a little and reinforce the arm. If you decide to go with the last option, know that when your bushings get broken in a little more (assuming you're using bushings on the upper) it will probably contact again.
Billy

Bigwoody,
Having done a swap very similar to yours I've thought of some things. 1st off, my original setup with long arms and both uppers it bound up so I decided to remove one and try it. After 4 years and many trips up Lower 2 and Schoolbus I feel pretty confident in 1 arm. All of that was with a Dana30 and 36's or 38's. Now with my 60 and 44's there is a little more leverage on parts which makes me think. I run 1 upper that has j joints on both ends this eliminates any pinion change as opposed to rubber mounts but I always think "what if?". So I'm trying to work out a way of running 1 solidly mounted upper and one rubber mounted ( rubber being very soft not to work against the other arm) to act as a back up arm incase the other one broke. Or have one that has a very short hydraulic cylinder that would allow movement but could add additional support to the solid mounted upper.
Just some thoughts. Also do you have rubber mounts on one end? If you don't then thats why the one bent.
Hope this helps.
Chill,
RonS

BTW, When we hitting Windrock?

Looks great! Very clean install.

I'm going to try to raise the mount just a bit on the drivers side and get the arms the same length, the problem with that is, it'll be a little higher than the passengers side, will this cause problems? As for gusseting, there is no side force on these mounts that I'm aware of.

The main reason why 2 uppers don't work well on 60's is that there is no housing flex. A 60 will not bend or twist during flex so something has to give. Bind does not get worse with two uppers of different length. I run a single (passenger side) upper since i put my 60 up in front and we have to push the skinny pedal most of the time. Never had any problem with it, just get solid joints for the single upper so the angle doesn't change too much during load changes.

i dt think housing flex is all that much different , especially in torsion between a D60 and D44, or D30 at the loads we're putting them through.

Is there a way that you could make the upper control arm mount higher on the lower control arm, not forward but out further from the arm itself