RC long arm upgrade help please.

[rickypistols]

i have a 98 xj 4.5'' lift, 242 tc. i had alot of trouble mounting the the cross member and had to tap all the holes on the bottom of the frame rail to 7/16th and modify the CM to fit around my exhaust. PTA!!

so i now have the CM mocked up and in place. i had to pull the tranny over toward the passenger side to get the mount studs to line up with the holes. RC told me on the phone that this was normal. but i am worried that it is not normal since my exhaust now slightly rubs on the frame rail. i know that my exhaust is a little out wack to begin with so im not to worried about that. what i am worried about is the position of the driveshafts the dont look as straight as they did before. has anyone had this problem with this upgrade?

i also have a centered mount that looks like it might remedy the issue and keep the transmission in the same place. should i bolt it in or leave it?

i am going to pull the old out tomorrow and cut the brackets. i have herd that people have been having problems getting the arms in and having to use a come a long to pull them into position. this seems excessive to me. and i cant find a proper write up of how to properly install them. should i jack up the body to take all the tension out of the coils or leave the jeep on the ground?

 

[clydefrog]

I have the RC LA kit. Didn't have the issues you are having. I run a custom 2.5" exhaust for my LS motor though so cant comment on the factory exhaust not fitting. Rear drive line is slightly offset, I am running an 8.8 so the pumpkin is a bit to the passenger side anyway so it wasn't a problem for me.

Do you have pics?

 

[dan1977p]

I had the same offset hole issues you do on the crossmember. Depending on who you talk to, they had different crossmembers for manual vs auto. I ended up getting a manual trans mount to make my auto line up properly and get rid of the contact my exhaust was making. It also has a built in 3/4 or so inch drop that wasn't advertised that also changes the exhaust alignment.
I'd check your motor mounts too, just to make sure one isn't blown causing things to angle to one side or the other.

 

[rickypistols]

Thanks guys the exhaust I have is a 2.5" with a full length pacesetter header which gave me mucho problems installing cause it didn't fit properly and pointed straight up to the floor I had to work some wizardry with the tube bender so the exhaust ended up riding close to the frame rail. I can figure something else with exhaust it was just the trans mount not lining up that worried me. Motor mounts are new and in good shape.

 

[ArBrnSnpr]

I have a 4.5" lift and run the RC long arms.

I had tons of issues getting things to align. The proper application of pry bars, straps, jacks and the like got it all to fit.

I've had it on for about 3 years now and haven't had any more issues though.

If I did it over again, I would go with a company that offers a more service-friendly cross member.

The way this set up is designed makes me scratch my head!