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  • #1

    Control arms

    Ok, here is the decision at hand. What do I want to use for the ends of new control arms? bushings or Heim joints? The lowers will be fixed, uppers will be adjustable. If I go with bushings throughout, how is everyones feelings about phenolic vs poly? The arms themselves will be 1.5" x .250 DOM for the uppers, and either 1.5 or 2.0" x .250 DOM for the lowers . I might press a length of the 1.5" into the 2.00" for the lowers....but I think that will be overkill considering they are going to be "short" arms (OE length).

    The jeep is a '03 TJ/rubicon, sees the trails 2 or 3 times per month, but realistically "rock time" vs "pavement time" is pretty low, probably around 5 - 6% is on the rocks, the rest is hardpan.

    Any thoughts?
    olllllllo <--- If you can read that, roll me over!

    Price is soon forgotton, quality is not.

    KG6OWO
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  • #2
    Re: Control arms

    Originally posted by goodtimes
    Ok, here is the decision at hand. What do I want to use for the ends of new control arms? bushings or Heim joints? The lowers will be fixed, uppers will be adjustable. If I go with bushings throughout, how is everyones feelings about phenolic vs poly? The arms themselves will be 1.5" x .250 DOM for the uppers, and either 1.5 or 2.0" x .250 DOM for the lowers . I might press a length of the 1.5" into the 2.00" for the lowers....but I think that will be overkill considering they are going to be "short" arms (OE length).

    The jeep is a '03 TJ/rubicon, sees the trails 2 or 3 times per month, but realistically "rock time" vs "pavement time" is pretty low, probably around 5 - 6% is on the rocks, the rest is hardpan.

    Any thoughts?
    Here are my thoughts:

    If I were building the arms, I would put Johnny Joints or RE Cartridge joints in them. Might as will, if your building new ones. If your set on bushings I wouldnt go with Poly. They are stronger and wont wear out as fast, but they wont flex as good as stock bushings. Maybe a JJ in one end and a bushing in the other.
    [COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
    SAVE JOHNSON VALLEY!!! - CLICK HERE
    Ya Savvy?

    Motech Performance

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    • #3
      Johnny Joints all around gets my vote. That's what I did on my rear 4-link setup. Fixed JJ's at the axle, and adjustables at the frame.

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      • #4
        How much grease do you go through? And who's joints are you running? How much noise and vibration are you getting transferred to the frame? I hear people complaining about them alot, but I have to wonder if those people wouldn't be better off with a mini-van.
        olllllllo <--- If you can read that, roll me over!

        Price is soon forgotton, quality is not.

        KG6OWO

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        • #5
          Originally posted by goodtimes
          How much grease do you go through? And who's joints are you running? How much noise and vibration are you getting transferred to the frame? I hear people complaining about them alot, but I have to wonder if those people wouldn't be better off with a mini-van.
          That is why I suggested one JJ and one bushing. The JJ would do the flexing and the bushing for the nosie and vibration.
          [COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
          SAVE JOHNSON VALLEY!!! - CLICK HERE
          Ya Savvy?

          Motech Performance

          Comment

          • #6
            Originally posted by Dukes69
            That is why I suggested one JJ and one bushing. The JJ would do the flexing and the bushing for the nosie and vibration.
            That is the way I am leaning. A RE sf joint on the axle end, and a rubber bushing on the frame end (for the lowers--opposite for the uppers). I have heard of some people having problems with the JJ's coming apart under side loads, the RE joints have a threaded side plate that is retained by a snap ring, so they don't suffer from the same problem. Unfortunately, the cost is running up pretty damn quick! By the time I am done, it might cost me less to just go buy the 4.5" RE kit, especially when you consider that I am not going to be running any extream trails with the heep (meaning the RE 4.5" SF kit would work just fine for my intended use).
            olllllllo <--- If you can read that, roll me over!

            Price is soon forgotton, quality is not.

            KG6OWO

            Comment

            • #7
              I greased them up once and they're holding just fine. I don't hear any noise, or feel any vibration from the links. Just an FYI, a JJ can flex a total of 15* Running a JJ at one end and a bushing at the other just isn't an option for me. My rear axle flexes a total of 27*. With JJ's at each end, I get a total of 30*

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              • #8
                When the JJ runs ouf of flex then the bushing starts to flex. Well either the bushing or your weld will flex . . . lets hope the bushing will. Thats assuming you get all 15* out of the JJ.
                [COLOR=blue]Chris[/COLOR]
                SAVE JOHNSON VALLEY!!! - CLICK HERE
                Ya Savvy?

                Motech Performance

                Comment

                • #9
                  BTW, 15* is worst case. If you add a washer on each side of the JJ, you'd get more out of it. I just figured I was getting 30*, so I didn't need to mess with any of that.

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