3 link diy?s

It’s not foam*.

Can’t edit posts, I don’t pay anymore.

getting a better look at this before deciding on a cross section. does anyone have a ball park of how much lift will keep the upper arm from contacting the floor pan? at ride height bump stops wouldnt allow much of any travel to prevent this.

ha im trying to have my cake and eating it to keeping it lcog and 35s.

Great conversation.

I dont think I'd be scared to make all links out of square.

This 2" .25 wall.

I think I saw mention of 120 wall. For sure don't use 120 on lowers. My pickup has 120 arms and accidentally been through rocks and offroad conditions.
Both lower links are dented and bent. That was only one outing where we ended up stranded coming home during a storm with wash outs taking culverts out of the maintained gravel rd we came in on.
Granted thts under a Cummins with hammer down in drastic situation.

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My lower links are .25 dom tube and both are bent from crawling over rocks.

Shit. What's the next size up 375

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I never got to wheel mine before I sold it as a project, but I used 1.5" x 0.25" wall DOM sleeved with 1.75" x 0.120" wall DOM for the LCAs. No, real world durability information from me, but consensus was that 1.75" x 0.370" is plenty for smaller tired rigs.

I really like the sleeving method for the fact that each of the tubes can be used for plenty of other things around the jeep. I used 1.75" for extra parts around the jeep (e.g. - cage add ons, rock slide kickers, etc.), and I used the 1.5" for steering linkages and UCAs. Depends where you buy your metal and what lengths are required at purchase.

My arms are .120" Chromoly and only have scratches after 17yrs.

The Toyota guys run square tube for their driveshafts!

Evan03 said:

Shit. What's the next size up 375

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I'm also on ton's and 42's and H1 double beadlocks. A lot of weight on the end of long lower links. You might be fine with 35's I just wanted to share my personal experience.

I have the Dirtbound 3-link at 3.5" of lift with stock axle side UCA mount. It works, but the UCA bent a 1" tunnel in the floorboard. It's not noticeable through the floor mat

jrmyers said:

I have the Dirtbound 3-link at 3.5" of lift with stock axle side UCA mount. It works, but the UCA bent a 1" tunnel in the floorboard. It's not noticeable through the floor mat

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ha, yeah im not wanting that scenario to play out. self clearancing with the only upper arms doesnt sound good lol. Im not sure how much lift ill need to prevent this if I even can, the links will be quite parallel with the ground if I can stay under 4.5".

does a fixed joint make any difference what side its on axle vs body or a mix of either.

I had planned fixed to axle, flex to body lowers, but the Uppers
i was going to use a press in axle JJ/ fork and maybe fixed body side.


thoughts?

My claytons LAs on my ZJ has the jj body side and rubber dura whatever on the axle side.. my XJ 3 link I’m redoing has JJs both sides for lowers, iro flex joint pressed in to axle side diff ear and a JJ to body. This should allow for maximum articulation with a fairly smooth ride. Maybe not as smooth as the claytons, but smoother then the heim joints it had previously. My 3 link had rubber body side, but after the inner sleeve bonded to the bolt and I had to cut it out, I decided to never want to do that again... hence JJs

I've done them both ways with very little difference in anything.

Little difference in ride quality as well as flex? Or little difference in having JJs in one end vs the other? If all things are equal (obviously JJs articulate more; probably negligible on an RTI ramp) id give JJs the win on hpq long the last, ease of replacing (rebuildable), and strength. Greasable is a plus and Ive never seen a properly maintained JJ sieze, heims will and bushing sleeves will to the bolt

ShoeterMcgav said:

My claytons LAs on my ZJ has the jj body side and rubber dura whatever on the axle side.. my XJ 3 link I’m redoing has JJs both sides for lowers, iro flex joint pressed in to axle side diff ear and a JJ to body. This should allow for maximum articulation with a fairly smooth ride. Maybe not as smooth as the claytons, but smoother then the heim joints it had previously. My 3 link had rubber body side, but after the inner sleeve bonded to the bolt and I had to cut it out, I decided to never want to do that again... hence JJs

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ill also probalby use the iro press in joint, i assume you did the 1/2 bolt?



im 100% doing 2x2 lower arms, Im completely undecided what I want to use for the upper arm, other than Dom will be likely for floor clearance. what is the minimum i.d. O.D. wall tube you all would suggest for the upper?

im not sure i need .25, ide like to, but thats a lot of room I could save.

I agree with not wanting the upper arm to self clearance... Seems like extra wear on a VERY important part of the suspension...
Have you thought of calling iro to see if you could buy just the upper link since it has the bends to clear the pinion yoke and the floor? The upper arm is 1 5/8 by .25 wall. May save you some trouble...

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4x4JeePmaNthINg said:

ill also probalby use the iro press in joint, i assume you did the 1/2 bolt?



im 100% doing 2x2 lower arms, Im completely undecided what I want to use for the upper arm, other than Dom will be likely for floor clearance. what is the minimum i.d. O.D. wall tube you all would suggest for the upper?

im not sure i need .25, ide like to, but thats a lot of room I could save.

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tube gets its strength from diameter more so than wall thickness. since the upper shouldnt be seeing impacts you can afford to lighten it up. 1.75"x.120 " is plenty. for the a 3 link, the upper needs to be hard joints at both ends... no bushings, enduro joints, etc.

as far as clearancing the floor... bump stop the hell out of it, or deal with it. multiple people now have said that its not even noticeable. your beating a dead horse.

VAhasnoWAVES said:

tube gets its strength from diameter more so than wall thickness. since the upper shouldnt be seeing impacts you can afford to lighten it up. 1.75"x.120 " is plenty. for the a 3 link, the upper needs to be hard joints at both ends... no bushings, enduro joints, etc.

as far as clearancing the floor... bump stop the hell out of it, or deal with it. multiple people now have said that its not even noticeable. your beating a dead horse.

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Why a hard joint, I plans a press in my on the pumpkin/ my upper frame side? Pretty much all kits have something similar?

I'm a fan of shooting the horse once the stick breaks I guess lol. I'll have to see about the tunnel.

on a 4 link with panhard or radius arm with panhard there is inherent bind in the system. for those designs, a bushing on the upper control arm is NEEDED.

example... a radius arm or 4 link, when articulated, drivers side compressed, passenger side drooped. the driver side arm/arms are trying to roll the pinion down while the passenger side is trying to roll the pinion up. if the system was entirely hard joints, the bind would find the next weakest link.

any easy way to visualize this... make a peace sign in both hands and point them away from you. now you have your upper and lower links. roll one wrist up and one wrist down. you can see how the left and right hand side are opposing each other. a busing is needed to combat these opposing forces.

remove one of your upper links/index fingers and now you have a 3 link.

now, on a 3 link, the single upper is solely controlling all of the axles rotation. you COULD run a bushing on one end or both, but its not needed with the bind remove from the system. and because the link is controlling all of the rotation, you will blow out a bushing very quickly from torque loads (braking, 4wd, etc).

ive even seen the PTFE liner in an FK heim wear out and cause a bit of slop in the heim very quickly. i always recommend non lined heims for the upper, keep them lubed and they keep quiet. Johny Joints have a bushing in them like an enduro joint if i recall correctly. you may find yourself tightening them more often than desired. obviously depending on your usage, your results will vary.

a couple more notes...

any easy way to visualize this... make a peace sign in both hands and point them away from you. now you have your upper and lower links. roll one wrist up and one wrist down. you can see how the left and right hand side are opposing each other. a busing is needed to combat these opposing forces.

remove one of your upper links/index fingers and now you have a 3 link.

Click to expand...

doing this quick visualization also explains why im a proponent for putting the upper link on the drivers side. if you put it on the opposite side of the diff, the upper link has a tendency to roll the pinion down when the drivers side is droop/passenger side compressed, and up in the opposite scenario. you are better off controlling the pinion explicitly.

do the finger thing if you need help seeing it.

now, on a 3 link, the single upper is solely controlling all of the axles rotation. you COULD run a bushing on one end or both, but its not needed with the bind remove from the system. and because the link is controlling all of the rotation, you will blow out a bushing very quickly from torque loads (braking, 4wd, etc).

ive even seen the PTFE liner in an FK heim wear out and cause a bit of slop in the heim very quickly. i always recommend non lined heims for the upper, keep them lubed and they keep quiet. Johny Joints have a bushing in them like an enduro joint if i recall correctly. you may find yourself tightening them more often than desired. obviously depending on your usage, your results will vary.

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a lot of manufacturers do a lot of different things. doesnt mean they are right.

keep in mind usage. not every vehicle is used the same. some never leave pavement.
- i bent 2"x.25" DOM lowers and wouldnt run anything other than 7075 aluminum. square stock may be plenty for you.
- im a firm believer on heims at both ends of the upper. a JJ pressed into the housing may do you fine. if you find yourself tightening it more than you would like... the remedy is to cut it off, install a truss, and use a different joint.