Short arm 3 link...

I was thinking about this and does sound kinda stupid. But has anybody thought about replacing all of the rubber bushings in the front control arms and replacing them with hard joints and then taking out the passenger side upper control arm, I know it wont flex much more but it will take alot of stress out of the front end right...

That would be a 4-link.


And I know of at least a couple people that have run it this way.

Considering the track bar, think im going to try it in a few months..

Gaius said:

That would be a 4-link.


And I know of at least a couple people that have run it this way.

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Yes, that would be a three link. You don't count panhard bars, just leading and trailing arms.....or control arms.

recycledxj said:

I was thinking about this and does sound kinda stupid. But has anybody thought about replacing all of the rubber bushings in the front control arms and replacing them with hard joints and then taking out the passenger side upper control arm, I know it wont flex much more but it will take alot of stress out of the front end right...

Click to expand...

Plenty of folks are now running 3 link front ends, and there has been quite a bit of discussion on it. I run a mid-arm 3 link, and the main reason originally was to eliminate the axle wrap that the rubber upper arm bushings allow. On an XJ 4 link you have to use rubber in the upper links or it will bind and break something. But, besides the axle wrap, a frequently wheeled rig with real good flex will wear out those upper arm bushings, allowing even more axle wrap. I wanted solid upper arm joints, which meant going to a 3 link. A 3 link will flex more than an XJ 4 link because there is no resistance or binding of the upper arm working against the other arms, and it will put less stress on the joints like you mentioned.

At issue with a 3 link is that there is no room for breakage of a link or a mount. With just one arm holding the rotation of the axle in position, if a suspension link or mount breaks it might not be pretty. I would not trust the stock mounts, since I have seen them all break, and I wouldn't trust a stock upper control arm, since those things can collapse when you're running both of them. Going to a 3 link is a good option if you are redesigning the front suspension and are changing mount locations. I wouldn't just pull one arm off.

Goatman said:

Yes, that would be a three link. You don't count panhard bars, just leading and trailing arms.....or control arms.

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Maybe that's where TJ guys and XJ differ.:dunce: It's generally called a 5 link, because there are 5 links locating the axle (5 points). Jeep themselves call it a 5 link. I just built a triangulated 4 link in the rear, getting rid of the track bar. A 3 link in my eyes it a triangulated upper or lower with one mounting point on one end, and two other links.

Tomato, tomahto I guess.

thats because TJ guys are yuppies and have everyone else build their shit

Uh, okay.

Gaius said:

Maybe that's where TJ guys and XJ differ.:dunce: It's generally called a 5 link, because there are 5 links locating the axle (5 points). Jeep themselves call it a 5 link. I just built a triangulated 4 link in the rear, getting rid of the track bar. A 3 link in my eyes it a triangulated upper or lower with one mounting point on one end, and two other links.

Tomato, tomahto I guess.

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The definition I used is out of a race car guide to chassis engineering, where they only count the links that run fore and aft. Since that's how the experts define it, I don't think it has anything to do with whether we drive an XJ or a TJ.

:cheers:


More on definitions.

Some call a long arm that has only one upper arm (one side) running from the lower arm to the axle a 3 link, it is not. It is still a radius arm design, it just has a radius arm on only one side, and it uses a panhard bar.

A triangulated 3 link, where the upper arm runs from two attachement points on the frame to a single attachment point on the axle, is still basically a triangulated four link. The geometry and handling are identical to a triangulated 4 link with the two upper arms mounted wide at the frame and close at the axle.

A 3 link has a single upper arm, one attachment point at the frame and at the axle, which only controls axle torque, and two lower arms which locate the axle, and a panhard bar.

Good info, Goatman.

BTW, were you the yellow tubed XJ with the group that met up with Erik and a TJ the year before to run Fordyce? If so, I was in the TJ. Pleased to meet ya.
:cheers:

tealcherokee said:

thats because TJ guys are yuppies and have everyone else build their shit

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More like that whole east coast/ west cost deer point rating... west counts one side, east caounts everything...

tealcherokee said:

thats because TJ guys are yuppies and have everyone else build their shit

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Say hello to my new sig quote.

Gaius said:

Good info, Goatman.

BTW, were you the yellow tubed XJ with the group that met up with Erik and a TJ the year before to run Fordyce? If so, I was in the TJ. Pleased to meet ya.
:cheers:

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Yeah, that would have been me. :wave:

So, how's the TJ, or are you driving an XJ now?

TJ is a weekend wheeler now. Starting to chop it up.

I've had the 1998 XJ for about 5 years, it's been the girl's DD and parts getter. Now I'm getting it ready for the Rubicon/Fordyce trip again this year, should be on my 35s and longarms. It'll be the last week in August, Erik may be tagging along.

well i didnt plan on just pulling one of my stock upper control arm but to put a johnny joint on the top mount and get a set of Rock Krawler upper arms... but here is a question right now I have a set of Rubicon Express lower super flex control arms with rubber bushings at the frame end and super flex joints at the axle.. would these be ok or should I buy something with johnny at both ends?

recycledxj said:

well i didnt plan on just pulling one of my stock upper control arm but to put a johnny joint on the top mount and get a set of Rock Krawler upper arms... but here is a question right now I have a set of Rubicon Express lower super flex control arms with rubber bushings at the frame end and super flex joints at the axle.. would these be ok or should I buy something with johnny at both ends?

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They should be OK. It's just a matter of how long the rubber bushings last, and they may last for along time. I had a set of those arms a long time ago, but I wore out the rubber bushings, so I got a set of Currie arms with JJ at both ends and I'm still running those arms (well, they're a little longer now).

Since you already have them, I'd use them for now, unless you're just upgrading everything.

Prothane makes a bushing kit that includes upper and lower bushings. These are much more solid than stock rubber joints and can be used in the RE arms. You just need to burn out the rubber ones to reuse the outer steel sleeve.

Also, you should be able to install a RE Superflex joint into the arm to replace the rubber bushing.