Help me with some 3 link questions

Georgia Mike

Georgia Mike

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Flowery Branch,GA
So I think I've just decided to do a 3 link instead of copying the factory setup. So I'm looking into the Barnes 4wd kits and I'm trying to decide on my real needs. They offer two kits:

1-1/4" heims:
http://www.barnes4wd.com/Three-Link-Suspension-DIY-Kit-1-14-Chromoly-Heims_p_182.html

And one with 7/8" heims:
http://www.barnes4wd.com/Three-Link-Suspension-DIY-Kit-78-Chromoly-Heims_p_212.html

I don't ever foresee going to anything bigger than 37's, and I'm going to stay at 4.5" of lift, or as close to it as possible.

So my question is, will the $130 difference between the two be worth it, or will 7/8" be strong enough? I'm thinking the 1-1/4" kit would be the way to go, but I have a habit of overthinking things sometimes :doh:
 
Do the 1.25" heims. Ive seen 3400# buggies bend the 7/8 heim shanks. My wife's jeep is built with 1.25" heims in the lowers and 3/4" in the upper. I would do it again that way in a heartbeat
 
7/8" is not strong enough for lowers.

they would work for the upper, although they will wear faster.

1.25" all the way around makes it easier for spares sake and will ensure that they don't wear as fast.

fwiw I personally hate heims for links. 1.25" Johnny Joints are far superior and you can get 1" shank ones to make the upper smaller since it doesn't need to be as beefy.
 
rockclimber said:
7/8" is not strong enough for lowers.

they would work for the upper, although they will wear faster.

1.25" all the way around makes it easier for spares sake and will ensure that they don't wear as fast.

fwiw I personally hate heims for links. 1.25" Johnny Joints are far superior and you can get 1" shank ones to make the upper smaller since it doesn't need to be as beefy.
Click to expand...

I thought about the rebuildable joints, too. I'm going to check into them for sure.

Lowrange2 said:
1.25" heims for sure.

If you end up ordering that, make sure you call Brian.
Click to expand...

Yep, already contacted him about it. :thumbup:
 
Ok, Brian got back with me on a price, and it's doable. Now I'm considering upgrading to the Enduro Joints instead of the heims. The only thing with that is that I can't find much on them for real-world use reviews since they only seem to have been out for a couple years now. They do look solid and I haven't read anything bad about them yet, but one post I read did state that the "design is very similar to several existing joints that don't have great long-term durability...." so that makes me wonder a bit.


That being said, I don't mind telling you guys that all of this is making me feel like a total newbie :looney: Up to this point all of my suspension "systems" have either been complete aftermarket bolt-ons, or some cobbled together crap I came up with as I found the pieces to make it what I thought I needed at the time. So you guys will just have to bear with my questions as I pick your more experienced brains.
 
The main thing I'd look for in a joint of any kind is it's ability to be rebuilt and parts availability.

I've been on the same set of Rock Krawler joints since I installed the kit in 2008. Granted, I might have but 3,000 miles on them since new. They are still night and tight.

On a trail rig, I'd run heims. On something I was going to drive on the road a lot I'd go with a combination of rubber joints and flex joints.
 
Personally I don't screw around with anything other than the original Johnny joint from currie. They are the original and mine have well over 50k miles on them without rebuild and I rarely grease them.
 
Lowrange2 said:
The main thing I'd look for in a joint of any kind is it's ability to be rebuilt and parts availability.

I've been on the same set of Rock Krawler joints since I installed the kit in 2008. Granted, I might have but 3,000 miles on them since new. They are still night and tight.

On a trail rig, I'd run heims. On something I was going to drive on the road a lot I'd go with a combination of rubber joints and flex joints.
Click to expand...

Good points. I've always considered 1 hard trail mile as the equivalent of roughly 100 on road miles, so that's pretty good all things considered. I haven't done all the research, so I'm not certain on their replacement parts for the joints, but I do know they're adjustable so they should also be easily rebuilt and their design looks as though no specialty tools would be required to do so. That being said, I'd have to be realistic and say that the thing will most likely be an 80/20 rig. 80 on trail & 20 on road so I'm wondering if the extra cost would be better spent on other parts and just go with the heims. I know that the creature comforts idea was thrown out the window quite a while back so a harsher NVH isn't gonna bother me that much haha

rockclimber said:
Personally I don't screw around with anything other than the original Johnny joint from currie. They are the original and mine have well over 50k miles on them without rebuild and I rarely grease them.
Click to expand...

That's pretty impressive. I just looked and it seems that the JJ is comparable in price, so it's definitely something I need to consider if I do decide to go with a rebuildable style joint.
 
the price gets better once you figure you will never replace the ball or the housing. the only thing that wears are the bushing halves. at ~12$ to rebuild each joint once every couple of years its a lot better than a 50$ heim.
 
Does anyone have a good link to a 3 link calculator? It seems as though every link I find for one is no good any more. Even the links that I found in Pirate threads seem to be no good any more.
 
PM me your email. You know Brain at HD off road has a 3 link kit......
 
Yeah we've been swapping PM's back and forth about the kit. As for the calculators, while I was searching I came across that same thread on Pirate. Unfortunately all of the links (verizon) are now dead.
 
Ok, I'm debating now on the frame side link mounts. The Barnes kit comes with the normal mounts, but I'm kind of liking the HD Offroad Engineering frame side's mounting technique. Seems like it's quite a bit stronger than the Barnes style. The only drawback to the HD Offroad set is a lack of adjustability on the upper link should the need arise, plus the upper link mount is limited to 2" width, whereas the Barnes setup allows for 2-5/8 or 2". What size upper link & joint are you guys running?
 
I run Curie joints all around.
 
What size are they? Do you run a smaller upper? I'm just wondering what I should do here since everything I've read says there's a lot of stress on the upper in a 3 link, but the HDO bracket is set up for a smaller upper joint! than the Barnes.
 
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