Raising lower control arm brackets?

I'm in the process of building a new front axle and was wondering wrt the lower control arm brackets whether they could be raised to sit level with the axle tube rather than hanging below it. This is to allow (1) better control arm angles with short arms and a 5.5" lift and (2) for better ground clearance.

I've seen pics of someone doing it before, but it doesn't seem common practice. It that because there are some inherent issues with doing it, or because most people opt for the RE or TNT bracket kits?

Its going to depend on the suspension your using.If its a 4-link it will effect the geometry!

If you raised the upper mounts an equal amount, your geometry would remain correct. It would have the same effect as drop brackets. You would probably run into clearance issues up top, though.

RCP Phx said:

Its going to depend on the suspension your using.If its a 4-link it will effect the geometry!

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X2
Also, not only would it throw off the geometry, but by moving the mount up, you also have to mount it about 2" or so farther behind the axle center line. Basically by using the stock frame mounts and "regular" short arms, the axle would move 2" forward. Not that a 2" stretch is a bad thing, if your ready to get a new DS, do a bit of cutting, etc...etc... If you didn't move the axle side upper back as well, the pinion would rotate.. a lot!
The pics you've seen are probably from a custom long/mid arm build. There are several of these setup this way.....mine will be.

TRSCobra said:

If you raised the upper mounts an equal amount, your geometry would remain correct. It would have the same effect as drop brackets. You would probably run into clearance issues up top, though.

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Just add 2"-3" of bumpstop. It has been done before and works great. The axle gets pushed forward about 3/4" with aftermarket arms. With bigger tires this is desired anyway.

i raised my lower control arm brackets on my axle, and I also raised the upper mounts the same distance. it has worked well for me. the same benefit of drop brackets, with the additional benefit of added ground clearance.

here's a few pictures.

i used the Currie brackets, flipped them upside down and switched sides...they are about 2.5" higher





raised UCA mount





i wouldn't raise just the lower brackets, because it will screw up the geometry

WOW thats sweet, where did you get those UCA mounts??? The truss is from TNT Customs, right?

JNickel101 said:

WOW thats sweet, where did you get those UCA mounts??? The truss is from TNT Customs, right?

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yes, the truss came from T&T.

i built the UCA mounts

gorman said:

I'm in the process of building a new front axle and was wondering wrt the lower control arm brackets whether they could be raised to sit level with the axle tube rather than hanging below it. This is to allow (1) better control arm angles with short arms and a 5.5" lift and (2) for better ground clearance.

I've seen pics of someone doing it before, but it doesn't seem common practice. It that because there are some inherent issues with doing it, or because most people opt for the RE or TNT bracket kits?

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Check out this link

Jeffs HP D44 build at MadXJ

The axle has been in use since '01 and has held up great. Jeff has wheeled all over the country with it.

Here's a pic of his mounts

Thanks for the heads up on lengthening the upper control arm mountings as well to keep the geometry in tack - I didn't think about that.

I will be building custom control arms as part of the axle swop so I will be able to accommodate the differences in control arm length the repositioning of the control arm brackets would require.

Interpid, thanks for the pics about the upper bracket fab - it's actually easier than what your final (very professional looking) product look like.

It also seems like you've cut open your JKS controls arms...what have you done there?

I found the pic I referred to previously - here it is - this was a medium arm build and the upper and lower control arm mounts on the body were also altered.

TNT, thanks that is exactly what I was looking for!! It does seem however that his upper brackets are stock height?

gorman said:

It also seems like you've cut open your JKS controls arms...what have you done there?

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i had pulled apart 2 JKS lower control arms while wheeling





JKS was nice enough to send me 2 new ones to replace the 2 I broke, but I decided to make sure the new ones would not pull apart like the original 2 did, so I added a half sleeve to the top.

gorman said:

TNT, thanks that is exactly what I was looking for!! It does seem however that his upper brackets are stock height?

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He made a jig that fit the stock axle and lowered the axle in the jig. The mounts are located just like stock ones, just higher up on the axle.

Read the link, it shows how it was done.

IntrepidXJ said:

i raised my lower control arm brackets on my axle, and I also raised the upper mounts the same distance. it has worked well for me. the same benefit of drop brackets, with the additional benefit of added ground clearance.

here's a few pictures.

i used the Currie brackets, flipped them upside down and switched sides...they are about 2.5" higher

Click to expand...

Look at you smart guy! LCA mounts and skids all in one.

karstic said:

Look at you smart guy! LCA mounts and skids all in one.

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yeah....i have my moments :laugh:

IntrepidXJ said:

yeah....i have my moments :laugh:

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On those currie brackets, was the radius the right size for your axle tubes? And is that a D30 (i'm not good at IDing axles). I picked up a set of currie brackets, and the radius is too large for my D30's axle tubes, and I wasn't sure if it was normal or if I got a bad batch.

spectacular. Sorry to bump an old thread but im excited and wanted to subscribe :anon:

I came up with this idea on the crapper a month or so ago and have been searching different key words trying to see if it had been done before. I figured it had since i'm not THAT smart and i'm glad to see it has.

I'm sitting at 4.5" and 35s and my mounts are real beat up. The idea came about when i wanted to cut off the shock mount and move it down to run a longer 12" shock without more lift, and when i was looking at it I figured I could move my LCA up a few inches to gain clearance and flatten out the angle. Of course UCA mounts would have to move up and back as well. I didn't see a clearance issue for them with my theoretical location. It'd probably push my axle foward those couple inches i'd like as well

My ride isn't too bad, but it could be better. I don't like the drop brackets too much and I'm not a long arm fan, seems this would get my angles closer to stock, get my mounts replaced, allow me to run longer shocks, ect without adding any more of that pesky height.

I did all this after getting sick enough of smashing my drop brackets on tons of rocks. I did not run into any clearance issues, and had no problems bolting steering, trackbar, driveshaft, etc back up with the amount of front stretch doing this provides. No issuses with the taller UCA mounts either. I used fixed length RE lowers for 4.5" of lift and adjusted the uppers to get my caster in spec. It rode way better than short arms and had way better clearance than drop brackets. It was pretty sweet.

The only issue I ran into was that I welded the passnger's side upper mount on top of my Ballistic truss which is only 1/8" thick at that spot. I had seen a few done this way and figured it was OK. After a few runs, the passenger's side upper link was starting to crack off due to the inherrent binding stresses in a four link (all four arms had a bushing on one end and a flex joint on the other.) The better way to build it would have been to build a VERY stout mount that went all the way down to the axle tube... But I built a mid-arm three link instead. In hindsight, the three link (with raised lower axle brackets) was one of the best build decisions I've made.

All of the older posts in this thread seem to cover all the things you need to consider before doing this. I can get pics if you'd like, but they won't look much different than Intrepid's. Good luck, it was a fun project... But maybe give going right to a three link some consideration.

I'm in negotiations to snag a spare housing and I need to regear anyways so I'll have a bare stock housing.

Plan was to Jig it so I would know where my new mounts were to go and make the passenger side upper extra beefy and go all the way to the tube and wrap at least half of it. I'd need to build a small truss over the pumpkin to run the driver side upper. After those two were built I would truss the rest to add some structure and firm up the mounts a little more.

I also will be useng fixed 4.5" lift arms, at ~5" or lift, so it will push the axle foward a bit, and I'll do math to move the uppers back the appropriate amount, but i'll have to get some adjustable uppers to diam in the castor when i'm done.

Hopefully hacking into it soon

I have a LPD30 you could use to set the jig up if you need it flexjay