...sorry...another build thread...

REVROK said:
Go for it this time my friend use a Jams 54 kit with a Dana 50 r&p and you can use 35 spline
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Yah I agree. this wasnt planned. I just ran all the numbers when I saw this 44 and realized it would be the same cost as fixing my 30 (after selling my 30 parts, steering, rims , long arm kit, ill practically break even) and way stronger. I think the Jana 54 isnt a bad idea, but id also like to still build a 60. If I blow up this 44 R&P any time soon the rig will be sitting on time out for a while.
 
Jon what side did you decide to put your upper on? and I know you love a good truss will you be trussing it? also why go through the trouble to make a spare upper. usually the failure with arms wont be the arm itself, but instead the brackets ripping off the axle from not being burned in strong enough. other than that I'm officially jealous. I can't wait to swap a 44 front into mine
 
it already has a mini truss over the pumpkimn. ill be adding some steel to tie that into the uca mount, and then tie the uca mount to the coil bucket, and tie that into the knuckle and the trackbar mount.
im not making a spare upper , its already made. im cannibolizing my rear 4 link parts to save money right now. Yah itll get trussed, but not until the mounting points for the 3rd link and trackbar are determined, as well as coil buckets.
 
May I offer an opinion?

blondejoncherokee said:
im using 1.25 hiems for the lowers, 7/8" heims for the uppers, and ill build a spare upper arm for a trail spare of course.
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Build the upper strong and you won't need a spare. If it fails you have more to worry about than a link. I'm building mine with the 1.25 heims and was going to use 1.75 x .120 wall tube (don't really need thick walls if it doesn't hit anything) but once I found that I had plenty of clearance I decided to use 2.0" x .250, same as my lowers.

steering and trackbar is all 7/8 hems and 1.75x.250 wall tubing.
pretty beefy. ill be centering the coil buckets on the axle, and after measuring the 30 is offset forward about 2", so by centering it, i should have a 2" stretch, which should be nice.
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1.75 x .250 is way overkill for track bar and steering and it might create clearance issues depending on how your bracketry and steering geometry is set up. At least step it down to 1.5" x .250, which is plenty beefy and still overkill by many standards.

lowers will be flat , between 29" and 35" long, coming off the bottom of the frame to level with the lower mounts on the axle, outboarded a hair probably , but straight, not triangulated . the upper will be around 26" long.
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I would make the upper a little bit longer than the lowers. This helps keep the pinion pointed at the up at the transfer case when the driver side droops.

Good luck!
 
EricsXJ said:
May I offer an opinion?


Build the upper strong and you won't need a spare. If it fails you have more to worry about than a link. I'm building mine with the 1.25 heims and was going to use 1.75 x .120 wall tube (don't really need thick walls if it doesn't hit anything) but once I found that I had plenty of clearance I decided to use 2.0" x .250, same as my lowers.


1.75 x .250 is way overkill for track bar and steering and it might create clearance issues depending on how your bracketry and steering geometry is set up. At least step it down to 1.5" x .250, which is plenty beefy and still overkill by many standards.


I would make the upper a little bit longer than the lowers. This helps keep the pinion pointed at the up at the transfer case when the driver side droops.

Good luck!
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I pretty much agree with everything you said eric, im pretty exicted to see you post up on my thread too!
. Ive read so many 3 link threads on cherokees on pirate and naxja this week and so many guys get away with 7/8s for uppers.
And im still using the 2" .250 wall tub on uppers and lowers. I shouldnt have posted about the spare link. My rear upper links already have the bungs burned in at 26" so I am jsut going to use those, and I figure might as well carry one as a spare.

the reason I want to make the upper shorter than the lowers, its to keep caster as the suspension cycles. im aware of the pinion issue with a shorter upper,

as for the steering, the guys at RS talked me into 1.75 x .250 wall. Im hoping it fits or ill be bedning it.
 
blondejoncherokee said:
I pretty much agree with everything you said eric, im pretty exicted to see you post up on my thread too!
. Ive read so many 3 link threads on cherokees on pirate and naxja this week and so many guys get away with 7/8s for uppers.
And im still using the 2" .250 wall tub on uppers and lowers. I shouldnt have posted about the spare link. My rear upper links already have the bungs burned in at 26" so I am jsut going to use those, and I figure might as well carry one as a spare.

the reason I want to make the upper shorter than the lowers, its to keep caster as the suspension cycles. im aware of the pinion issue with a shorter upper,

as for the steering, the guys at RS talked me into 1.75 x .250 wall. Im hoping it fits or ill be bedning it.
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Yeah a lot of guys use 7/8" heims for the uppers and they "should" be strong enough...

I understand your reasoning about the shorter upper, but then again I don't. It really depends on what you are building it for. Go fast/racing applications benefit from having consistant caster. In a rig like most of ours that are built for general trail use and slow rockcrawling, pinion angle is way more important than caster change in my opinion. My reasoning is that when you are at extreme flex you will be going about .5 to 2 miles per hour. Caster changes mean nothing at those speeds. You won't even feel or notice any change in handling from the driver seat.

Just my 2 cents :)
 
ya I have to agree with that. I might be able to flip it around and run 26" long lowers and a 35" long upper.
 
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7/8" heims are strong enough... but there isn't as much surface area on the race, so they don't last as long generally.

stick with the same size all around and you only need one spare (each thread direction)

definitely get the upper and lower closer to the same length. and X2 what eric said, you won't notice the caster change, pinion angle trumps caster.
 
cool thanks guys, then ill stick with close to same length uppers and lowers, and possibly have the upper a bit longer. Right now, I am thinking 26" lowers and maybe a 28-30" upper. centering the coil buckets with those lowers should push the axle forward 2-3". What I am most worried about it getting a good length on track bar, and making sure the trackbar clears the drag link

. Ill probably start with the 7/8s hiems for the uppers since they are paid and in the garage, but move quickly sometime soon to the 1.25 hiems
 
blondejoncherokee said:
cool thanks guys, then ill stick with close to same length uppers and lowers, and possibly have the upper a bit longer. Right now, I am thinking 26" lowers and maybe a 28-30" upper. centering the coil buckets with those lowers should push the axle forward 2-3". What I am most worried about it getting a good length on track bar, and making sure the trackbar clears the drag link

. Ill probably start with the 7/8s hiems for the uppers since they are paid and in the garage, but move quickly sometime soon to the 1.25 hiems
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good call.

if you run the coil buckets to the back of the axle, you can set the panhard up like this





as far as the heims... grab a set of wide misalignment spacers for the 7/8" heims from ruffstuff... that way when you switch to 1.25" ones you won't have to change any mounts ;)
 
ya I was at ruffstuff for like an hour on saturday, got everything but the 2 5/8 misalignments, thought i did though, maybe he forgot to throw em in the box or something. thats the plan.

I grabbed the RR offset coil buckets, I was think about shifting them back like that to make more room for the trackbar.

I already plan on making everything with 3/4" bolts, all with the wider misalignments, so in the future it will be easier to swap out.

keep the good advice coming, thank rockclimber its a huge help. Ill mock it up with the offset coil buckets and see where everything sits, and see if it all clears. I might have to move the frame side trackbar mount forward on that one too.
 
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Nice bud, glad to see its coming along.
Great advice from these guys, only thing i really have to add is use all fine thread bolts and mark them and the nut with white paint.

I'll try and come by and help out soon, what days are you planning on wrenching? Going to norcal rock races?
 
when are the rock races? I should be helping you with your rig man, how is it coming along?
 
hey rock climber, what size tube are you using on your steering and trackbar??

Ill probably end up moving the frame side trackbar mount forward a bit.
 
blondejoncherokee said:
hey rock climber, what size tube are you using on your steering and trackbar??

Ill probably end up moving the frame side trackbar mount forward a bit.
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It was all 1.5" .250 wall stuff. In hindsight, the panhard would be better if it was a bit smaller diameter, I could cheat the front axle forward a bit more if it was.
 
ill be camping at a buddies duck club otherwise I would be there.

got the 4" back spaced rims, they clean calipers and knuckles, which is nice. it seems some 4.5" would clear as well, so I might order those next.
 
blondejoncherokee said:
when are the rock races? I should be helping you with your rig man, how is it coming along?
Click to expand...

Its pretty much ready, alt is charging at 14.4 volts, brakes are hooked up and work but then I found out it had two different hubs and caliper won't bolt up on one side so I need to find one ifs hub this weekend.
 
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