PDA

View Full Version : Fabbin Adj. LCA's for XJ



ridgerunner97
08-18-2009, 05:50 PM
Have my xj up 3in with a rough country lift. Any idea how to go about measuring to determine how long i need to make my new arms? This is new to me and any help would be great. Plan to use heims/bushings in them cuz shes my DD. Also round tube not square. Only other thing was can they be straight like the stock ones or bent?

gonecheenin
08-18-2009, 05:56 PM
Have my xj up 3in with a rough country lift. Any idea how to go about measuring to determine how long i need to make my new arms? This is new to me and any help would be great. Plan to use heims/bushings in them cuz shes my DD. Also round tube not square. Only other thing was can they be straight like the stock ones or bent?

You want your arms to be long enough to set your caster @ 6.5-7.5 degrees.

The way I did that in the past was to have my alignment checked, take that caster reading & figure out how much I had to add.

Then put angle finder on bottom of diff, take reading. Then push lower arms out until I added the difference I had from the alignment numbers.


Straight or bent has to do with flex clearance. bent ones allow more flex before they contact the axle brackets, but I'd assume they are weaker.

tjblair
08-18-2009, 05:56 PM
Don't use heims on a dd try johny joints instead. Heims will be rattling in no time.

ridgerunner97
08-19-2009, 05:08 PM
I'm new to this but if i use a bushing in one end, rubber instead of poly, and a heim in the other will that not keep vibration, noise to a minimum but also keep it flexy? My plan is to do this on the cheap by taking the top links from a farm tractors 3pt hitch and cutting them using slugs inside the existing tube and welding tube in between the ends to make them the proper length. The welds will be of high quality my buddy is a hell of a welder so i'm not too concerned about strength. What do you guys think of that? BTW i would replace one of the heim ends on the top link with a rubber bushing, almost like a spring shackle type connection.

XJchris98
08-19-2009, 05:21 PM
My plan is to do this on the cheap by taking the top links from a farm tractors 3pt hitch and cutting them using slugs inside the existing tube and welding tube in between the ends to make them the proper length.

no

Krod
08-19-2009, 05:22 PM
No heims for DD use. No real exceptions to that. Especially a ****ing tractor joint...avoid that shit at all costs

ridgerunner97
08-19-2009, 05:32 PM
Easy boys easy! haha they take a f***load of abuse well thats why i thought id throw it out there. So wat would you guys do? use rubber bushings on each end? I'm trying to do this uber cheap, but well thought out. They need to flex well and handle a beating, but also i want it to soak some nvh up, don't have to be as quiet as an oem piece but u know wat i mean.

Krod
08-19-2009, 05:37 PM
Easy boys easy! haha they take a f***load of abuse well thats why i thought id throw it out there. So wat would you guys do? use rubber bushings on each end? I'm trying to do this uber cheap, but well thought out. They need to flex well and handle a beating, but also i want it to soak some nvh up, don't have to be as quiet as an oem piece but u know wat i mean.

Buy a cartridge style joint (johnny joint, ballistic, RE, etc...). The tractor links are seriously not meant for street driven vehicles...hence the TRACTOR part. Not to mention you'd have to find a way to build a stepdown bushing from whatever the tractor joints ID is, to the stock XJ 9/16" LCA bolt holes already on your rig.

OR since you're not building a full LA setup, just buy some adjustable control arms meant for the rig and save yourself the hassle of piecing together crap. Control arms and suspensions are not the place to be "uber cheap"


Its the old rule of 2/3
CHEAP
RIGHT
QUICK

...pick any two ^^

XJchris98
08-19-2009, 05:40 PM
Easy boys easy! haha they take a f***load of abuse well thats why i thought id throw it out there. So wat would you guys do? use rubber bushings on each end? I'm trying to do this uber cheap, but well thought out. They need to flex well and handle a beating, but also i want it to soak some nvh up, don't have to be as quiet as an oem piece but u know wat i mean.

Are you making 4 new control arms? Or just 2?

For the lowers, I would suggest a johnny joint and rubber bushing combo. This way you'll still have some flex, but it wont feel like a mack truck going down the road. You could do rubber bushings at both ends, but your going to lose some flex that way. Look at RE's superflex arms vs. their super ride arms and you'll see what im talking about.

For upper arms, you only need to worry about one side. The axle side already has the bushings, so again you can either use a johnny joint or a bushing.

Like KROD said, you dont want to use heim's on a DD, especially ones you cut off a lawn tractor. Your building something thats going to be doing 50+ down the highway, not 5 and below in your backyard.....please use common sense.

And P.S; some proper grammar would be nice :069:

gonecheenin
08-19-2009, 05:45 PM
Yeah, though I might be willing to run tractor joints on a pure trail rig (A REALLY low buck pure trail rig that is), there's no way I'd even consider it for on road!
Them things wear out quicker than a porn stars Vahjayjay



Check out Rubicon Express's builder parts.

http://www.rubiconexpress.com/BuilderParts/

They have stock style bushings & weldable mounting sleeves for pretty reasonable money.

ridgerunner97
08-19-2009, 05:50 PM
Well they are not off of a "lawn" tractor per se. They are off the monsters that actually do work not cut someone's lawn and pull a garden cart. They handle thousands of pounds in certain applications with different attachments that is why I was going to use them. Anyhow I was also going to make a stepdown for the link no problem. Thanks for the input I'll look into all of the suggestions, problem for me is once again a thin wallet. Thanks guys, I'll let you all know what I decide to do.

gonecheenin
08-19-2009, 05:54 PM
Well they are not off of a "lawn" tractor per se. They are off the monsters that actually do work not cut someone's lawn and pull a garden cart. They handle thousands of pounds in certain applications with different attachments that is why I was going to use them. Anyhow I was also going to make a stepdown for the link no problem.


Breakage isn't the issue, their actually pretty strong if you can safely modify the acme threads to work with the arms they would be attached too.
Completely sloppy & banging around like hoodlums @ a crack party in 15 miles of driving is the issue.

Plus the fact that once they wear so far, they will slide sideways off the ball requiring some sort of washer style retainer on both sides even for trail use.

ridgerunner97
08-19-2009, 05:59 PM
I didn't think about the retainer aspect, thanks guys for the input, i'm learning and with the help of members on here Ive got plenty more to learn!

Krod
08-19-2009, 06:24 PM
i didn't think about the retainer aspect, thanks guys for the input, i'm learning and with the help of members on here ive got plenty more to learn!


:023:

tjblair
08-19-2009, 07:38 PM
These.
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/263quot-Heavy-Duty-Ballistic-Joint_p_1226.html
or these
http://www.ballisticfabrication.com/30quot-Ultra-Duty-BALLISTIC-Joint_p_1507.html
heims will bring the SUCK on a DD
You can get away with useing a JJ at both ends. My long arms use this set up, but it will prolly be a little cheaper with bushings at the upper end. I would also make the lowers fixed and the uppers adjustable, they don't both need to be adjustable.

oldschoolyotaguy
08-24-2009, 06:26 PM
tractor links do take abuse, but they're more based on constant load (not a lot of rapid movement that would come with road use)... id go johnny joints, they can also be taken apart and cleaned, reassembled and greased, whereas heims just wear out and need replaced...which in the end, costs more.... use google, theres more than a million write-ups to be found on the web

and document it n post pics best of luck...any questions, feel free to pm me