Would these joints work in the control arms?

[concretejungle]

Thinking about replacing the OME offset bushings with these when i get the slee caster plates. Do you think i should put them in all of the bushing positions, only in the rear of the arms, or only in the front of the arms?

http://www.offroadindustries.com/suspension_parts/polyflex.htm

I think that would allow you to take off the front sway bar at the trail head and get some real nice flex without over stressing the plates.

 

[Arsenal]

ive been contemplating a similar setup to get some more flex up front, curious if anyone here as ever used such a product on their 80.

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Alex, these look like they will allow rotational flex, similar to a "johnny joint", but that is not the "problem" in the 80-series front suspension. The bushings in the front suspension need to be very compressable to allow the center of the bushing to approach the edges hole. I don't know if that makes any sense. Just imagine disconnecting the frame end of one of the arms, and pulling down on it with all your might. Think about what the bushings are doing and how they're deflecting. That is the same thing that is happening when the suspension is flexing. I've often wondered what would happen if one were to remove one of the 4 bolts connecting the 2 control arms to the axle. This would leave the rotational control of the axle up to one arm, but would alleviate the inherent bind in the system.

Ary

 

[clownmidget]

wait until...

you can do it right...










shamelessly stolen from Shawn's thread

 

[HZJ60 Guy]

JohnnyJoints!

That's what I use.



TB

 

[concretejungle]

Clown, that looks cool and i'm sure it's quite functional, however, i'm trying to keep the stock arms. So i was thinking these would work very well in the rear of the arm.

 

[Tools R Us]

The "problem" is the four bolts on the axle end binding and the arms running into the brackets on the axle. Not an easy "fix" with the stock arms or with any arms that retain the stock bracket?

 

[clownmidget]

Yeah, Concrete, I was just busting on your thread since it's just a problem you're more or less forced to live with until you can make some major changes.

As Ary & Kevin point out the two front mounts to the axle will bind up against the brackets even if you had no bushings at all. You could get arms like Christo's and then cut them and have them rotate like the old Outback arms did but that's not too cheap!

That's why I think you're better off tweaking other things on your truck and not getting too worked up about the front arms until you really have figured that is the true limiting factor to getting more gonzo. Of course that's just my opinion - I'm done with my front arms until I can do the 5-link.

Cheers and good luck with it though
Mike R.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

You could get arms like Christo's and then cut them and have them rotate like the old Outback arms did but that's not too cheap!

Mike R.

Mike I have the arms you speak about and its only corrects 1/2 of the binding issuse the other 1/2 is the pan hard.

 

[robbie]

The old rotating outback arms did not lend that much more fles to the situation, In MHO it is a waste of time and money to install a rotating joint in the front arm. The benifit did not overcome the cost. As for the bushing again I do not think you would gain that much more flex out of those bushing. Just removing the sway bars do not increase flex as much as ease of flex.
Doing something like Action jackson is the way to go to increaase flex and still control the axle. good luck robbie

 

[concretejungle]

Thanks for the replys. Crap, doesn't look like these will do much. I still may stick one in the rear of the arm since the OEM bushing is cracking and needs to be replaced anyways.

Sounds kinda cheesey, but if you hold your arms out in-front of you and pretend that your left and right hands are your wheels and your arms are your control arms, it just seems that as the right arm goes up, and your hand twists to stay parallel with the left hand (wheel) at that moment i notice my right arm twisting. Just seems like one of those bushings would help free things up a little. Might not mean an extra 4 inches of travel or anything, but it may reduce the stress on the arms and such. Just a thought, thanks again.............

 

[Arya Ebrahimi]

Alex, you are right, your arms do twist a little, but more importantly your HANDS twist. Grab a broom handle, lock your arms, elbows, and wrists and give it a shot. One or both of your hands will rotate around the broom handle. Guaranteed. That is the inherent problem of radius arms...

Ary

 

[fzj80kidpen]

So what is the weak point?
What is going to break?
My guess is the bracket just bends.
I realize this is about articulation and flex but when it pushed to hard what usually gives?