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Project Long Arm

builder said:
Goatman ran thee king of the hammers race last year with a 3 link front and rear.placed extremely well. and i am sure he will run it again this year.
Click to expand...
you just need to make sure that you have your mounts welded on properly and they work awsome
 
my bad, as I was aware plenty of rigs run the poly performance 3 link.
though I'm more into the rocks than the desert so it'd be easy for me to get that wrong.
 
If I had the kind of money and shop that this guy has I would have all custom made parts just like he has. I have the skills to build this kind of stuff but I am POOR. Because of this I have to make do with what I can get. You wouldn't believe all of the ideas floating around in my head for a Cherokee but it takes bank to make them a reality. I don't question anybody's choice of parts for their ride. People choose based on their individual situation. I enjoy taking a less than perfect setup and coming up with a way to make it reliable and functional. I have had very good luck implementing my ideas so far. Yeah, I have broken some parts (some very spectacular breaks---Rock Garden) but I have also rigged things up to get home and improved the things that broke. This sport requires a great deal of ingenuity if you push your rig hard like me. There is always a better system out there but it is not always in reach. I have very few bought parts on my rig. I have made more stuff for it than I have bought. This is difficult because it takes a lot of time and I always find myself working with less than top quality metal and used, sometimes broken parts. It is the work that it takes to make this stuff come together that draws me to this sport. I like a good challenge. So to those who ask "why didn't you buy XYZ part", I hope I have answered your question.
 
maybe I'm misreading...
but you'd rather buy a suspension system that isn't gonna work exactly right cuz you'd rather fix it then spend the same if not less and buy something that'll work a ton better...
is that what you said?
 
Jimbo_1321 said:
maybe I'm misreading...
but you'd rather buy a suspension system that isn't gonna work exactly right cuz you'd rather fix it then spend the same if not less and buy something that'll work a ton better...
is that what you said?
Click to expand...
Dude, I'm too f'in POOR to buy the stuff I would like to have so I make the best of what I can afford. Is that clear enough?
 
Jimbo_1321 said:
maybe I'm misreading...
but you'd rather buy a suspension system that isn't gonna work exactly right cuz you'd rather fix it then spend the same if not less and buy something that'll work a ton better...
is that what you said?
Click to expand...
to go with johns theme, you might not know the feeling of buying something that will work OK then modifying it so that it works better than the top of the line product off the shelf and is half the price, oh wait, if you modified your jeep Cherokee for performing off road then may be you might know that feeling, the Cherokee is fairly capable, a Rubicon Unlimited is better but a built Cherokee is even better still!
 
I know that feeling of building a jeep.
sorry you didn't get the kit you wanted.
what are you doing to make it work like it should?
 
Jimbo_1321 said:
maybe I'm misreading...
but you'd rather buy a suspension system that isn't gonna work exactly right cuz you'd rather fix it then spend the same if not less and buy something that'll work a ton better...
is that what you said?
Click to expand...

Did someone mention Rusty's. :paperwork
 
Jimbo_1321 said:
I know that feeling of building a jeep.
sorry you didn't get the kit you wanted.
what are you doing to make it work like it should?
Click to expand...
I am relocating the upper control arm rear mounts. I am considering lengthening the upper control arms and building some custom rear mounts since I can do this cheaply.
 
jeeperjohn said:
I am relocating the upper control arm rear mounts. I am considering lengthening the upper control arms and building some custom rear mounts since I can do this cheaply.
Click to expand...
I have decided to extend the upper control arms and fab up some mounts that will go onto the cross member. This will be the best compromise I can make while not costing me much. I will post up some pics after I get it done.
 
I made the mounts for my upper control arms and welded them to the crossmember tonight. The next and last step is to lengthen the control arms. I plan to do that probably this weekend. The rear mounting point will be almost exactly in the same place as the lower control arms but about 2" inboard. Is this an ideal setup? No, but it will be significantly better than what I have now and it will only cost me about $40 and my time to do. It should eliminate brake dive and minimize caster change with suspension compression. I won't narrate the pics this time, here they are:

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I got my upper arms extended to a total length of 35 1/2" today. I didn't take any in process pics due to time constraints but I will post up some pics of the completed job. Now my upper and lower arms are almost exactly the same length and the frame side mounts are separated by about 1 3/4" vertically. I expect much better road manners and no brake dive. I hope to eventually make some shock hoops for the front and rear to allow much longer shocks to take advantage of the increased articulation ability of the long arms.
 
Last night I took my springs out and flexed the suspension to check for any possible binding or clearance issues and I discovered that the driver's side UCA hits the driveshaft when the driver side is compressed and the passenger side is drooped. I considered my options and decided to put some triangular plates on the mounts at the axle end to raise the UCA 1 1/2- 2" to clear the driveshaft. There is room for the arm so it won't hit the floor boards when fully compressed. I believe this will be the last mod needed. Too bad I am not rich so I could just buy a system already engineered :D
 
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