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About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arms
http://www.lostjeeps.com/forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=89029		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  casm [ Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:02 pm ]
Post subject:  About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arms
At 123,000 miles, the CRD's suspension is more shot than I'm willing to deal with for much longer. Having to replace that is a good excuse to lift it a bit, as well as to take care of some maintenance items that make sense to do while I'm in there.

This vehicle is 97% daily driver, 3% tow vehicle and light-to-moderate trail runner. The main goal is a little more underbody clearance without compromising on-road manners. To that end, here's what's been ordered so far:

- OME 1.5" lift, HD springs at both ends, long-travel shocks in the rear
- JBA lifted KJ upper A-arms
- Moog strut mounts
- Moog greasable lower ball joints
- Moog inner & outer tie rod ends (outers also greasable)
- Raybestos R300 brake discs
- Raybestos semi-metallic brake pads

I've used OME suspension before on XJs and really like it. I'm willing to trade off some ride quality for the added load capacity of the HD springs - they're mainly wanted for towing and cargo hauling, but figured I may as well do both ends in case I ever picked up a bumper and / or winch.

Anyway, I'm torn between two choices on the rear UCAs. Choice #1 is the Iron Rock Offroad Short WJ Adjustable A-arm and WWDiesel's mounting bracket. Choice #2 is JBA's KJ Tri-Angulated 4-Link.

There is a significant price difference between the two. However, this is a case where I'm willing to spend the money if, in the longer term, it makes sense to do so.

What I'm mainly interested in is hearing from anyone with the 4-link installed as to how road manners (particularly when towing) are. While it should improve articulation over the boomerang setup that the stock UCA uses, this one is going to mainly stay a DD and not be pushed hard in the dirt, so I'm not sure that I'll see much of a benefit from it. That said, if it works better for towing, I'm more likely to be talked into it.

Also, are the rear lower control arms likely to need replacement at 1.5"? I doubt it, but since the bushings are shot on the current set I'm going to have to figure something out on those as well.

I'm looking to pull the trigger on the rear control arms either tomorrow or Monday at the latest so that everything arrives next week, so any ideas between now and then would be extremely helpful.
Author:  APC9199 [ Mon Jul 16, 2018 12:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
Stick with the Ironrock. The 4-link is way overkill for what you're doing. Just make sure you replace the rear lower control arms. There is a recall going around for the RLCA's right now, so you may get an OEM set installed for free from a dealer if you're lucky.
Author:  casm [ Mon Jul 16, 2018 7:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
APC9199 wrote:
Stick with the Ironrock. The 4-link is way overkill for what you're doing. Just make sure you replace the rear lower control arms. There is a recall going around for the RLCA's right now, so you may get an OEM set installed for free from a dealer if you're lucky.


Thanks for the heads-up on the recall; going through the change-of-ownership hell with FCA so that I can get the notification I'll need in order to hopefully get them replaced under the recall.

Spoke with IRO today, and they were happy to sell me the UCAs without the bracket, so ordered that plus one of WWDiesel's KJ brackets for it. That's everything I need; boxes should start showing up in a day or two!
Author:  Myke [ Mon Jul 16, 2018 11:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
I'm working on a set of adjustable lowers with duraflex joints. Stock length and a long arm set.
Author:  casm [ Tue Jul 17, 2018 7:22 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
Myke wrote:
I'm working on a set of adjustable lowers with duraflex joints. Stock length and a long arm set.


That would be rather nice :) Got any photos of the prototypes?
Author:  u2slow [ Fri Aug 03, 2018 3:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
I've got the KJ up to about 3" lift (rear is 2" spacers plus coilover overloads). LCA's were updated on a recall. JBA's extension bracket on the UCA.

The next iteration is most likely going to be IRO's WJ arm, and a truss on the diff to mount it properly.
Author:  casm [ Sat Aug 04, 2018 8:16 am ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
u2slow wrote:
I've got the KJ up to about 3" lift (rear is 2" spacers plus coilover overloads). LCA's were updated on a recall. JBA's extension bracket on the UCA.

The next iteration is most likely going to be IRO's WJ arm, and a truss on the diff to mount it properly.


I'll put in a recommendation for WWDiesel's UCA mount; PM him for more details, but I have one and it is beefy.

Note: work on my lift won't start until the 8th, so neither it nor the IRO UCA are on the KJ yet. As a result I have no in-use experience with the combo at this time, but it is an extremely solid piece.
Author:  tommudd [ Sat Aug 04, 2018 12:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: About to lift, trying to figure out the rear control arm
Running the JBAs bolt ons on two of my KJs lots of miles no issues
Don't need or what adjustable lowers, lots of headaches unless going way high ( over 5 inches )
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