Rough Country drop bracket install w/ pics

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

I picked up a set of the new control arm drop brackets from Rough Country the other day and thought I would do a short write up for anyone who is interested in them. To start with I installed these on my 93XJ that had the Rough Country 6.5" X-Series lift on short arms. The short arms have been fine for the type of wheeling that I do, but the road manners were a bit harsh, so getting a set of drop brackets seemed like the logical choice for my rig. To start with, here is a pic of the components that came with the kit.


The directions were fairly basic, but needed just slight clairification on a couple of items. I would not suggest a beginner to try this at home with limited tools. Now granted I had the fortune of using an overhead hoist and air tools, it made the install go much smoother and faster then expected. Fisrt I started off by removing the wheel and the control arms from the "frame" side.


Next we installed the main body of the control arm drop bracket and the "boomerang" shape bracket for the upper control arm to mount in. Now this is a part that the directions were not overly clear on, so the best way I can explain it is that the small "dog eared" tab goes towards the bottom and it runs convex (curved away) from the frame.



After these items were mocked up, we tightened them down before we had installed the control arms back in them. This is where we got a bit to excited with the airgun and overtightened them causing it to be a hard fit to get the lower control arm back into the bracket with the adjustment shoe installed. We simply corrected this by backing the pressure off of the bolt and the control arm slid easily into place, and we re-torqued everything once the arms were installed. He is what it looks like with the upper and lower installed in the brackets before installation of the back brace.



Next we installed the braces that run on the back of the drop brackets. These installed just like the directions indicated. They are bolted to the back of the brackets by using the 2 bolts that extended out of the alignment shoe and then they have (2) 3/8" self tapping bolts that you have to drill an 11/32" hole for before you can screw them into the frame rail. This was an easy item to do to finish up the install.

[Cherokeekid88]

AWESOME! how do they do? have you driven it yet? I was also thinking of getting some.

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

I know that some people are going to wonder if the reinforcement bracket goes back far enough. I was curious about that my self, but since I have rock rails that run right behind these braces, it works out great for my set up. As far as road manners, it is night and day difference. I am very pleased with the product and the quality of craftmanship is great. I can say that Rough Country has really stepped up their quality and it is good to see that they are still putting attention to the XJ market. Here is the completed install pic.


I removed my rock rails for the installation of the brackets b/c I was unsure if they would clear or not. They do clear.

[x2elite]

How much were they after shipping and everything? I am thinking that I must have these! Its either these, or long arms, and the wife will probably like the price of these much better.

[Daedalus454]

Approximately how far down do these brackets drop the control arms from the stock position?

[Mopar It]

aint on the site for rc

[tclapp_88]

Originally Posted by Mopar It

aint on the site for rc

they aren't on there yet, they were just released a few days ago. look here on page 10 i think: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthrea...921218&page=10

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Originally Posted by x2elite

How much were they after shipping and everything? I am thinking that I must have these! Its either these, or long arms, and the wife will probably like the price of these much better.

Under $200 since your a member. Check out the vendors forum and Jason (GRIMUS99XJ) has a pic and price posted over there.

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Originally Posted by Mopar It

aint on the site for rc

Yeah I know. The price and pics are in the Vendors forum. RC should have them available on their site pretty quick from what I understand. Just contact Jason (GRIMUS99XJ) and ge can get ya all the details ya need.

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Originally Posted by Daedalus454

Approximately how far down do these brackets drop the control arms from the stock position?

I'l have to measure that after I get off work. I'll post back later on that question.

[GRIMUS99XJ]

They should be on our site today our web guy has been out sick for a few days. Feel free to contact me if you have any Questions

[GRIMUS99XJ]

Originally Posted by XJ&TJ4ME

The directions were fairly basic, but needed just slight clairification on a couple of items. I would not suggest a beginner to try this at home with limited tools. Now granted I had the fortune of using an overhead hoist and air tools, it made the install go much smoother and faster then expected. Fisrt I started off by removing the wheel and the control arms from the "frame" side.


Next we installed the main body of the control arm drop bracket and the "boomerang" shape bracket for the upper control arm to mount in. Now this is a part that the directions were not overly clear on, so the best way I can explain it is that the small "dog eared" tab goes towards the bottom and it runs convex (curved away) from the frame.

We have added a few pics to the instuctions to help with any confusion on the boomerang brkt

[XJ&CHZ4ME]

Just got the new updated instructions faxed to me by Jason. The new instructions are much more user friendly and address the upper control arm "boomerang" mount.

It is good to see that the guys at Rough Country are on the ball and have addressed this already.

[89xj]

interesting, i didnt realize that the RC brackets also drop the mounting point for the upper control arm.

does anybody know if the RE drop brackets drop the upper control arm. it looks like the RC brackets drops the lowers about 3" which still leaves the lower arm at an angle. i believe the RE brackets drop the arm about 4".

[IGOCOMMANDO]

RE brackets drop both arms almost 4.25"