3 link front with stock arm locations on the body?

[XJ_ranger]

well,

I did it this weekend...

Started friday afternoon, and finished up late on sunday evening...

start with some yellow axle POS with some blue stuff...

with true crossover and lots of low clearance steering made from ultra heavy 1-3/8" Solid Hot roll -

and an axle mount that doesnt place nicely with an oil pan -

buy some new shiney parts and max out your discover card -

and a little material, and search around the garage for some material -

and go at it...

First, I made the upper mount for the passenger side - 2.5"x1.5"x .120 box, hole saw, and an RE Superflex Joint -

 

[XJ_ranger]

then look at it a little more, and decide to plate the side that had the joint hang out more as you made room for the set screw...

that should work out nice -

weld it up...

and grind it smooth, just like you did all summer long...

one last look at the old mounts...

and BAM! new passenger side mount - Also note the 3/16" strap welded to the front and back of the new mount to add weld to the axle tube in the direction of loading, and the gusset to help with side loads...

now you have to re-enforce the frame mount...
I cut some triangles out of 1/4", beveled them real nice, drilled them to .391 (about 2 thou under 10mm) and stuck one inside the frame thru the acess hole, and one on the other side of the mount next to the engine. Since i couldnt clean all the undercoating off, I switched over to flux core wire for this part of the welding -

the high speed whoops on the way to Aftershock took their toll on my oil pan.... so I welded it up -

I also re-enforced the RE upper control arm, as well as making sure there wasnt any play in the hole by adding plates to the outside of the UCA -

 

[XJ_ranger]

now for the steering problem... drilling out pitman arms wasnt my forte, and some slop was introduced last time... this time - double shear pitman arm...
Start with one stock XJ pitman arm, drill it out to 5/8"

drill a 5/8" hole in some 1/4" plate, and cut a groove in the plate -

have Roberto form the part in his break -

weld up the groove, clean up the pitman arm and grind off the paint, weld the bracket on, weld a side bracket on to distribute the load a little more..

and thats about it...

now remove the old shitty upper mount...

paint some stuff yellow -

 

[XJ_ranger]

to make the invirted T work - you need a tab on your tie rod... torch and hammer come out to play on some 1/4" steel -

bolt some stuff together -

and then enjoy a coke... and realise that 4130 1-3/8"x.188 wall is still huge, and no where near the weight of 1-3/8" SOLID hot roll...

drove it up to 80mph, and it handled, braked, tracked, and worked fine... and the suspention moved a lot easier than I recall...

oh - and my deathwobble is gone!

link to pics -
http://opiebennett.com/images/Jeep/Garage31807/index.html

 

[HaleYes]

Nice work Opie!
:thumbup:

Got pics of how you fubar'd the bumper?

Hale

 

[87manche]

Nice work Opie!
:thumbup:

Got pics of how you fubar'd the bumper?

Hale

I'd like to see that as well.

nice work on the front end though, it all looks suitably overbuilt.

how many hits did the solid stock tie rod take before it was bent that badly?
and is that snot you used to seal up your oil pan?

 

[Jeepin Jason]

why would you downgrade from crossover steering an inverted-T setup?

I can understanding wanting to get that tierod up higher, but I think I would have tried to keep it crossover somehow.

 

[Matt S.]

Good job dude.. drive it next weekend.

 

[Goatman]

why would you downgrade from crossover steering an inverted-T setup?

I can understanding wanting to get that tierod up higher, but I think I would have tried to keep it crossover somehow.

For west coast wheeling, getting the tie rod up is enough reason. And, the inverted T with rod ends works pretty damn good.



Nice work, Opie. The QA1 double adjuster would let you adjust the toe without having to unbolt the drag link.

 

[vetteboy]

For west coast wheeling, getting the tie rod up is enough reason. And, the inverted T with rod ends works pretty damn good.

Is there still a little bit of dead area when changing directions, or do the rod ends pretty much take care of that? Specifically the tie rod "rolling" around the heims on the knuckles if the drag link isn't pushing square. And I guess doing crossover w/a steering arm off the passenger knuckle probably would have meant re-working the panhard mount on the axle...

It also sorta looks like the drag is a good deal longer than the panhard...any issues with bumpsteer or is it pretty smooth?

Looks pretty cool though, I dig it.

 

[XJ_ranger]

Got pics of how you fubar'd the bumper?

course -

A few seconds before this pic was taken... Aftershock, JV...

how many hits did the solid stock tie rod take before it was bent that badly?
and is that snot you used to seal up your oil pan?

how many hits? not many... I think it started to bend at Winterfest 06, and was fully beaten into submission by the end of summer...
Gorilla Glue i think on the oil pan - ask xDUMPTRUCKx - he gave it to me.

why would you downgrade from crossover steering an inverted-T setup?

Tie Rod Clearance - its all about clearance...

Is there still a little bit of dead area when changing directions, or do the rod ends pretty much take care of that? Specifically the tie rod "rolling" around the heims on the knuckles if the drag link isn't pushing square. And I guess doing crossover w/a steering arm off the passenger knuckle probably would have meant re-working the panhard mount on the axle...

It also sorta looks like the drag is a good deal longer than the panhard...any issues with bumpsteer or is it pretty smooth?

there is a little bit of a noticeable spot where the tie rod rotates when I was turning it back and forth in the garage... however, once I took it up to speed, I didnt notice it...

no bumpsteer right now... once I go hi-steer, im going to need to re-do the TB mount anyhow, at that time i'll probably push the axle forward another 1/2" and move the coil buckets back some, re-do the axle end panhard mount (higher, and brace it to the UCA mount and with the springs outta the way, make it attach to the passenger side knuckle A La Scrappy), and make room for a hydro ram... after i finish paying discover for this round of mods that is... :doh:

 

[Goatman]

Is there still a little bit of dead area when changing directions, or do the rod ends pretty much take care of that? Specifically the tie rod "rolling" around the heims on the knuckles if the drag link isn't pushing square. And I guess doing crossover w/a steering arm off the passenger knuckle probably would have meant re-working the panhard mount on the axle...

Not that I have noticed on mine, and I'm pretty sensitive about that stuff. A couple of things help that situation. One thing is that the tie rod doesn't have much angle on it, so it's pushing mostly sideways, and this is helped even further by the drag link being mounted on top of the drag link, rather than in front of it like on an inverted T with TRE's......and it also helps being on top rather than in front, so it's not pushing down so much.

I do offset the twist in the rod ends at the knuckle to minimize any movement, and if I don't do that I can sometimes get a clunk/tap noise when turning the wheel back and forth. However, I've never noticed a dead spot at slow or fast speed, I offset the rod ends simply to eliminate any noise. And, if I look at the tire while I turn the wheel back and forth the tire turns instantly....no dead spot or hesitation. So, it seems that any roll of the tie rod happens while the tie rod is already moving, rather than a dead spot before the tie rod moves.

I stole the idea a long time ago from a very high dollar and well fabricated Jeep that did desert go fast stuff as well as crawling, and I'm sure he stole the idea from someone else.

 

[Captain Ron]

...


have Roberto form the part in his break -

...

The best press brake operator on the planet just learned a new phrase in english.

Booty Fab.

--ron

 

[Roxtar]

Very nice Opie.
"Our little boy's all growed up."

 

[XJ_ranger]

took it out and played in the mud...

worked pretty well

im finally semi-happy with my front axle... :clap:

but I am once again reminded of how much I need an Atlas... :

 

[Ty2003K]

I like that a lot, I was just wondering how much lift your running with this current setup?

 

[XJ_ranger]

I like that a lot, I was just wondering how much lift your running with this current setup?

if everything is what its supposed to be - about 5.25" (RE 3.5 Coils and 1.75 Spacers and some mix and match leaves to level the rear)

 

[Ghost]

Did you beef the frame side? Any pictures or details?

 

[XJ_ranger]

Did you beef the frame side? Any pictures or details?

now you have to re-enforce the frame mount...
I cut some triangles out of 1/4", beveled them real nice, drilled them to .391 (about 2 thou under 10mm) and stuck one inside the frame thru the acess hole, and one on the other side of the mount next to the engine. Since i couldnt clean all the undercoating off, I switched over to flux core wire for this part of the welding -

 

[Ghost]

OK so you did not do any reinforcing to the fram side other then those tabs? Did they get welded on the inside? Please tell me how. :wierd: