Rear lower control arm mounts and shock mounts relocate (1 Viewer)

[Jordan345]

I pulled the trigger on 35's today. I got a great deal on 315 75 16 Hercules Trail Digger MT's locally. 5 tires, new, all in tax and mounting/balancing etc for 1100.. I was able to get the price down about 300 dollars from original quote. To do this as many of you know, i have to install 1 inch lift kit, which includes all the spacers, grade 8 zinc plated hardware, steering shims etc to eliminate rubbing from Jonesy's offroad.. This simply context to the original title thread.

While i had this up on the hoist, i was looking at the rear axle and i have suffered a bit of a bent lateral arm (hard lateral impact sliding into a rut), the shock mount bolts are a bit beat up and the control arm mounts off the axle hang sooo low.. i don't like the design for hanging up on everything. the lowest point should be the pumpkin. I had already welded 1/4 inch plates to where the rear LCA mounts to the frame, but i think this whole lca thing and shock mount thing needs a redesign.

I was thinking getting high clearance lca's, but i still have the mounting position that catches on rocks. Instead, i'm going to cut off the lca brackets both on the frame and on the axle and relocate the axle bracket higher up so it doesn't hang up, and put new stronger brackets on the frame. I'll then build the Lca's out of dom with johnnie joints for a strong set up that stays out of harms way.

i'll do the same thing with the shock mounts, which mean i have to rid myself of the n74l. I'll raise up the shock mount to on the axle and not below it, then figure out a custom rear shock to retain the travel for my 2.5 inch lift.

The brackets and control arms will be made up all zinc plated from TMR Customs.. Highly regarded fab shop among the jeep crowd, located in newmarket ontario. I'm still on the fence with the shock mounts as i do want to go to a valved remote resevoir for the 100 series from Slee. changing the bracket location to higher up would render the offering impossible.. perhaps i'm overlooking something simple. We'll start the fab work on the bars next week and should have the body lift in by then. once everything is prepped and ready for 35's, i can slap them on.

Anybody else think about cutting these off and relocating them?

 

[AimCOtaco]

You do realize that you're planning a HUGE change in suspension geometry right? Ever designed a 4-link before? The links are down low for a reason (actually lots of reasons). The location of each link point serves a specific purpose in allowing the designers to achieve a balance of desirable features. They are balancing travel, pinion angle curve, change in wheelbase, lateral shift, squat, dive, etc, etc, etc. It's a really hard system to design to work well at all speeds while maximizing articulation and minimizing adverse handling affects.

The shock mount is more simple but if you want shorter shocks you will also have much shorter travel. If you want them generally the same only moved up then the top of the shock will have to move up into the cabin.

 

[ENGINE er]

In.

 

[Jordan345]

You're right, it is a huge change. I have enlisted professional help to scope this out; one being a metal fab/suspension designer for custom rock rigs, and the other a landcruiser specialist/guru. We are simply at the investigatory stage, with the rear custom lower control arms parts being ordered for fab. If i keep brackets where they are, they'll be replaced with beefier ones to the same basic spec but in the same place, with the control arms made from dom and johnnie joints. If they are to be moved up the two inches to sit in front of the axle instead of below it, they'll be different length. I'm very much on the fence, but dislike the extra 'stuff' hanging down and looking for an alternate. There are other considerations to think of besides what you have relevantly listed, i.e. insurance before i make this decision. i'm assured it can be done but need to really careful on what i'm sacrificing.