drop brackets

[Lowrange2]

hell, new ones are 305.00

 

[Begster]

Get stiffer shocks.

The spring on that side is a little bowed from a heat/straighten/weld on some plate fix job to the LCA mount on the axle. The body rolls to the right on left hand turns, and stays pretty straight taking right turns, so I think that has a little to do with that. I do need stiffer shocks probably as well, and longer ones.

 

[Begster]

Get stiffer shocks.

The spring on that side is a little bowed from a heat/straighten/weld on some plate fix job to the LCA mount on the axle. The body rolls to the right on left hand turns, and stays pretty straight taking right turns, so I think that has a little to do with that. I do need longer shocks probably as well, and as you said stiffer ones, espeically since I put that ARB on the front.

 

[boise49ers]

I think you mean Trailmaster...

Yep he did. I have the same set up. Trailmaster Drops with RE support brackets. You will want adjustable control arms too if you are going to off road it.

 

[cablesmurf]

Yep he did. I have the same set up. Trailmaster Drops with RE support brackets. You will want adjustable control arms too if you are going to off road it.

Your statement confuses me...why do you need adjustabe arms? RE sells the kit with fixed arms.

 

[gorman]

How much are the Trailmaster drop brackets?

 

[87manche]

intrepidXJ has(had?) drop brackets and 33's and wheeled the piss out of everywhere you could think of. He never mentioned the brackets being a problem.

 

[XJumpmaster]

I have DBs and braces on 6" lift with adj. uppers and lowers. The only reason I went with DBs is because I already spent a bunch on the control arms. If you are going to go TnT eventually, wait on the lift and save for the TnT. Much cheaper in the long run. IMHO

I've smacked the crap out of my DBs and just scraped the paint. No worries!

 

[DaJudge]

I have them with 5" of lift with fixed RE lowers and adjustable TNT uppers. What a difference in the ride! I have never hung them on anything. They are worth the money IMO!

Glen

 

[Begster]

Ya I also forgot to mention when I hit, nothing happened to them, just a little paint chipping.

I have RE adjustable lowers, but thats because when I went to replace my front axle, the LCA bolt on the axle side siezed itself in the Superflex joint on my fixed RE CA's on one side, and the superflex joint on the other wouldn't even move.
When adjusting the control arms, I put them basically to the same length as the fixed RE arms.

 

[sjkimmel99]

You can still get the Trail Ready drop brackets, and use the RE support braces with them. The trail ready are around 1/2 the cost of the RE.

Call these guys up and ask about Just the lower and upper drop brackets.
http://rockymountainsusp.com/index.html

You'll need to order the 4 pieces that make up the drop brackets plus some associated hardware (or you can get that separately.) The part numbers are from the TM JXJ34 lift kit:

Qty Description

1 Left Lower Bracket (XJLR-D)
1 Right Lower Bracket (XJLR-P)
1 Left Upper Bracket (XJUR-D)
1 Right Upper Bracket (XJUR-P)

These parts are $188.68 from Rocky Mountain Suspension.

The rest is hardware (see the pdf instructions for how it goes together.) I didn't ask the guy at RMS about these but would guess they're also available if specified. He said the parts are shipped from TM anyway. Some of the quantities may need to be adjusted (18 3/8 washers?) after you carefully read the instructions.


2 1/2 x 4-1/2 NC Bolt (12412CHHC)
2 1/2 Locknut (N12CL)
8 3/8 x 1-1/4 BC Bolt (38114CHHC)
2 10mm x 90mm Bolt (10M090H150)
2 10mm Locknut (N10MSL150)
8 3/8 Locknut (N38CL)
18 or so 3/8 Flat Washer (W38F) (probably only need 4 for the DBs.)
2 2-1/4 Spacer (23)
2 10mm x 80mm Bolt (10M080H150) (threads into nut in body?)

Instructions from the JXJ34 kit describing install of the TM DBs:
http://www.trailmastersuspension.com/instructions/JXJ34.pdf

 

[outlander]

R.E screwed up when they shipped my lift so I have a drivers side drop bracket brace for sale if somebody is looking to do some fab they could use this drivers side as a template to fab up the passenger side....$15.00+shipping

 

[boise49ers]

Your statement confuses me...why do you need adjustabe arms? RE sells the kit with fixed arms.

Well you will see when you put on the drop brackets and are flexed out a lot that it puts a lot of force on the drop brackets. It'll work OK with out, but with adjustables you relieve a lot of that and get more flex. Not a whole lot, but you do get more. I started with Stock control arms and bent one on a trail run, then went to Rancho non adjustables. It broke a drop bracket off, but I didn't have braces. I went with braces and adjustables after that and have had zero issues for a few years now.

The farthest picture below with the Red XJ, My sons gives you an idea how much torque the LCA's can put on the brackets.

 

[XJedi23]

Can you / is it advisable use DB with Adj Upper control arms and fixed lowers?

 

[cal]

Can you / is it advisable use DB with Adj Upper control arms and fixed lowers?

I do just that.

When I had stock axle bracketry, I had to have my uppers set as short as they would go, and I was just barely in spec.

 

[boise49ers]

Can you / is it advisable use DB with Adj Upper control arms and fixed lowers?

You would be ok if you have the braces. You won't get as much articulation. Plan on adjustable LCAs at some point.
I have lower adjustables and stock uppers.So they still flex because of how they are made.
I do 835 on an RTI on a 30 Degree ramp.

 

[XJedi23]

I went to install a set a week or so ago and the boomerang parts of the brackets were not drilled properly and I didn't have the right tools to open up the hole. Has anyone else had that trouble?

It seams odd to me that the CA lengths would change. Dont they drop evenly?

 

[cal]

You would be ok if you have the braces. You won't get as much articulation. Plan on adjustable LCAs at some point.

Explain that.

Adjustable lowers, except for some lower end ones (tera, rusty's) have a jam nut to stop the arm from articulating on the threads (as that will kill them pretty quick). Given the same ends - lets say RE, superflex at the axle and rubber at the bracket - fixed vs adjustable will have the exact same flex - as its an aspect of the bushings and not the arms.

 

[cal]

I went to install a set a week or so ago and the boomerang parts of the brackets were not drilled properly and I didn't have the right tools to open up the hole. Has anyone else had that trouble?

It seams odd to me that the CA lengths would change. Dont they drop evenly?

You have to put EVERY bolt in before you tighten the first one down. It takes some massaging to get all of the bolts in - tight fit, but I've not had them not fit, except on really really trashed jeeps. Sometimes the holes for the braces dont line up - but I havent me two XJ's yet with the same dimensions.

The lower and upper arms arent the same length - as your axle goes through its motion, the pinion angle changes. When you have arms intended for a ~4" lift without drop brackets and add them, suddenly the uppers become a little long (they are the shorter of the pair). Its not really enough of a difference to worry about - but its there. You can run fixed lowers and adjustable uppers, just be prepared to crank them down more than you expect.

 

[Gojeep]

As above, never tighten a single bolt until you have every one in loosely first.