Anyone used both Y-link LAs & BDS 4-link LAs?

I'm trying to find more information on the BDS 4-link long arm upgrade. Its the only true 4-link I know of & I'm wondering just how superior it is to the traditional Y-link, radius arm style, long arm kit. I don't think a 4-link setup would bind & strain the axle mounts & destroy their bushings like Y-link kits are know to do when flexed a lot, & Ive read that a 4-link will not "unload" like radius arms.. But so far all I can find through searching is "I saw a guy running one of these..." or "I have a buddy who runs this kit & he likes it." No first hand experience, so if anyone is running this kit, or better yet has run both this kit AND a radius arm kit please let me know what you thought & give me a comparison of the two. I'm trying to decide between this kit & the TNT Y-link kit. Thanks !

RockKrawler also makes a 3 or 4 link (your choice) setup.

Full-Traction also makes a 4-link.The TNT kit will not have as much binding as some of the other kits out there since they are mounted further inboard(they should have moved them even further in).

Poly Performance and Clayton both now make a 4 link front suspension for the XJ.

If you are worried about unloading, my Poly 3-link has none.

froelich also makes a 4 link.

RockKrawler also makes a 3 or 4 link (your choice) setup.

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"Requires welding of the crush sleeves to the frame and removal of the OEM lower control arm brackets. The long arm brackets themselves bolt into position.

Using the front end as a full 4 link system may require full manifold back exhaust modifications.

To use as a full 4 link the OEM passenger side front upper control arm axle mount will need to be removed and the newly supplied mount welded in its place."

Thats just too much work! :conceited

Full-Traction also makes a 4-link.The TNT kit will not have as much binding as some of the other kits out there since they are mounted further inboard(they should have moved them even further in).

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I cant find a long arm upgrade on their website, do they make one? Or just the full lift kit... Link?
I'm totally in love with the TNT kits design.. all except the fact that its a Y-link. :bawl:
If they made a 4-link version of their kit Id be in heaven!

Poly Performance and Clayton both now make a 4 link front suspension for the XJ.

If you are worried about unloading, my Poly 3-link has none.

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I dont want a 3-link on this rig, I just dont like the idea of having only one mount up top.. & with all the highway miles this thing is gonna get I'd just rather go with a 4 link.

I also tend to shy away from long arm kits that have left & right mounts that bolt to the frame rails separately, (no cross-member connecting everything together).
I believe Rock Krawler, Full Traction & Poly Performance are all like this.
That being said, I did see a few threads where people were beating the dog poo out of their Poly Performance kits & said they held up well, one guy was using his with the TNT (non LA) cross-member I believe. The bent arms used in that kit look good for ground clearance, but dang that thing is expensive! ..considering it comes with no type of skid plating.
Thats also the problem I had with Claytons Y-link kit, its basically just a OEM style cross-member with no skit plate built in at all.. I cant find Claytons 4-link kit, do you have a link by any chance??

The BDS kit has a pretty wide cross-member that gives better protection than stock.


And an optional T-case skid plate that bolts up nicely (sold seperately).



Some good shots from this thread.




Honestly the arms look a little bit dinky to me, & I dont like that they are straight instead of being bent to increase ground clearance like the Poly Performance arms are, & the mounts could be tucked up in the cross-member like TNT does theirs. The arms look kinda skinny but I think I might have read somewhere that they were actually solid & not tubing.. May be wrong though.


This guy got hit by a truck & rolled 3 times on his, says they are fine & waiting to be put on a new rig.

http://bds-suspension.com/blog/?p=2054

Heres a link to TNT's upgrade kit......
http://www.tntcustoms.com/Jeep_Cherokee_XJ/Suspension_Upgrade.aspx

Hellboy006 said:

I dont want a 3-link on this rig, I just dont like the idea of having only one mount up top.. & with all the highway miles this thing is gonna get I'd just rather go with a 4 link.

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I thought the same thing before I got it, but the new upper axle mount and all the joints are super beefy. I recently added a basic ballistic fab truss that tied into the UCA mount making it very strong. I've put probably 10k road miles on the 3-link setup so far.

Hellboy006 said:

I also tend to shy away from long arm kits that have left & right mounts that bolt to the frame rails separately, (no cross-member connecting everything together).
I believe Rock Krawler, Full Traction & Poly Performance are all like this.
That being said, I did see a few threads where people were beating the dog poo out of their Poly Performance kits & said they held up well, one guy was using his with the TNT (non LA) cross-member I believe.

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Haha, that is me. :shhh:






I've seen multiple rigs on the forums with BDS kits and they seem to work very well. Their warranty is awesome too. Thing is they are just as expensive as Full Traction and Poly. I just decided that since a 3 link flexes better than a 4 link, I'd try it out. Plus Poly's kit was pretty new, so I wanted something different. I was going to get the BDS or TnT kit also, but this seemed like a happy medium between the two of them, but still came from a legit company and used lots of strong parts.

i love my bds kit. flexes great. i had major issues with the flex joints at first but they changed the material they used and i have had an issue with that since. the only other thing is i cracked one of the lca mounts on the crossmember. it sounded like i had a bird chirping under my jeep. i couldnt figure it out for the longest time. it made me totally crazy.

That Froelich kit looks pretty stout, a whole lot like the BDS kit imo.

sunburned said:

Haha, that is me. :shhh:

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Yep! Thats you! Lol, I saw your thread on another forum, that rock rash speaks for itself! Not to mention those missing teeth on the ring gear, ouch!
Thanks for the pics, I like those arms! What size lift is on your rig in the pics?
That 3-link mount is definitely beefy..

i love my bds kit. flexes great. i had major issues with the flex joints at first but they changed the material they used and i have had an issue with that since. the only other thing is i cracked one of the lca mounts on the crossmember. it sounded like i had a bird chirping under my jeep. i couldnt figure it out for the longest time. it made me totally crazy.

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Cracked one of the LCA mounts??? That's not reassuring..
Where was the crack? Along the weld?
How did BDS take care of the situation? Send out a new crossmember?

cracked along the weld. bds told me i had drive the crossmember 50 miles to their nearest authorized dealer so they could look at and order me a new one. i pulled the crossmember off and rewelded it myself. at the time the jeep was my dd so i couldnt take it off. most companies, you send them a picture of the damage and they will send you a new one along with a return label to ship the old one back.

I have the BDS kit and love it, I only had an issue with my trackbar mount that was installed incorrectly. But they sent me a brand new one and haven't had any issues since

Hellboy006 said:

Yep! Thats you! Lol, I saw your thread on another forum, that rock rash speaks for itself! Not to mention those missing teeth on the ring gear, ouch!
Thanks for the pics, I like those arms! What size lift is on your rig in the pics?
That 3-link mount is definitely beefy..

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I have an RE 4.5" lift kit with a 1" spacer in the front, but big winch and bumper as well. Lots of tools in the back too. Not positive what the actual lift measurement is.

i'm in the debate between the clayton 3 link and the bds 4 link myself. gotta pull the trigger soon. i'm not so worried about flex as i am about strength and drive-ability. my rig is mostly for camping and expedition use.

Go with clayton

RoyalXJ said:

cracked along the weld. bds told me i had drive the crossmember 50 miles to their nearest authorized dealer so they could look at and order me a new one. i pulled the crossmember off and rewelded it myself. at the time the jeep was my dd so i couldnt take it off. most companies, you send them a picture of the damage and they will send you a new one along with a return label to ship the old one back.

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That doesn't sound like very good warranty fulfilment or customer service..

I have an RE 4.5" lift kit with a 1" spacer in the front, but big winch and bumper as well. Lots of tools in the back too. Not positive what the actual lift measurement is.

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That Poly kit looks like it has really good arm to ground clearance at that height..

i'm not so worried about flex as i am about strength and drive-ability. my rig is mostly for camping and expedition use.

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Same here

Go with clayton

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Can anyone verify that Clayton makes a 4-link now?
Can someone supply a link?
Can you use a skid plate with the Clayton kit?

Hellboy006 said:

Can anyone verify that Clayton makes a 4-link now?
Can someone supply a link?
Can you use a skid plate with the Clayton kit?

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call clayton. they might be able to do something for you. not interested in their 3 link?

sunburned said:

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1047457&highlight=clayton

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Thanks for the link Sunburned. Lots of good info there, Clayton's skid plate looks good too!

call clayton. they might be able to do something for you. not interested in their 3 link?

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Although that 3-link is definitely beefy, I'd still rather have a 4-link if given the choice.

I emailed Clayton asking if they sell a 4-link & this is what they said..

"Yes we do it's just the same parts mirrored to the right side. There is a
tall mount that welds to the axle tube. There isn't enough triangulation to
not run a front track bar and you will need to move the exhaust on a 4 liter
6 motor."

As beefy as their products are I think if your gonna go with Clayton there's really no
reason to go 4-link instead of 3-link unless your gonna be doing some serious high speed
off road stuff.

I don't think I'm gonna go with Clayton because Id really rather not have to do any welding..
I'm thinking we will probably just go BDS or maybe Poly.

Just an FYI, while the Poly 4-link is completely bolt on, the 3-link is not. It's not a lot of welding, but you do have to cut off the stock passenger side UCA mount on the axle to weld on a new stronger piece like I showed in my pics. IMO, some type of truss is also a good safety measure to prevent the axle tube from spinning since all the force is on that one side.