Newbie front suspension question

[wrecked]

So I'm tired of my standard Ford radius arm setup. It doesn't flex too well(new shocks would help), but I was looking at the Rubicon Express TJ(?) long arm kit and thinking of making that work on the XJ. Any ideas on how well it would work, if it would work, and if there would be any problems as far as drive quality goes and such?

I drew a sample to give an idea.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

 

[XJ_ranger]

IIRC the RE TJ kit would have arms for the rear that are far to short to use on your XJ... and that is waisted cash....

what about the RE LA kit for the XJ? maybe a thought there?


also remember that the kits for thoes axles bolt to the factory d30 mounting points, so you would have to replicate them on your axle...

and the way to make YOUR radius arms flex is to extend them, re-enforce them, and mount them farther back.

maybe put a bend in them to keep some ground clearance...

search for Farmer Matt's radius amr thread - good read.



going from ford radius arms to homebuilt radius arms at the same length - regardless of how it all mounts on the axle - should all flex the same - if it is all mounted at the same point on the frame...

think about it...

 

[Goatman]

So I'm tired of my standard Ford radius arm setup. It doesn't flex too well(new shocks would help), but I was looking at the Rubicon Express TJ(?) long arm kit and thinking of making that work on the XJ. Any ideas on how well it would work, if it would work, and if there would be any problems as far as drive quality goes and such?

Any help would be great. Thanks.

Search around, it's been done many, many times.

 

[OT]

IIRC the RE TJ kit would have arms for the rear that are far to short to use on your XJ... and that is wasted cash....

What about the RE LA kit for the XJ? Maybe a thought there?


Also, remember that the kits for those axles bolt to the factory d30 mounting points, so you would have to replicate them on your axle...

And (BTW, never start a sentence with 'And') the way to make YOUR radius arms flex is to extend them, re-enforce them, and mount them farther back.

Maybe put a bend in them to keep some ground clearance...

Search for Farmer Matt's radius arm thread - good read.



Going from Ford radius arms to homebuilt radius arms at the same length, regardless of how it all mounts on the axle, should all flex the same, if it is all mounted at the same point on the frame...

Think about it...

I fixed it for you.

 

[wrecked]

I have searched around a bit, however I get confused by all the different link setups. Theres the ford style radius arms, then there are Jeeps radius arms(if I recall), theres 3-link, 4-link and all that. It confuses me.

 

[FarmerMatt]

Some of the info is dated, but here's a write that I did quite some time ago. It's got the info on how to extend the stock ford arms. They work realy well & I'm still running the same arms & same joints now.

Early Bronco Axle Swap

Here's a thread where it shows a different way of extending the stock style arms. Same principals, just a little different way of getting there.

CAT thread

 

[Bent]

I fixed it for you.

Who let this crusader out of the den?