Control arm positioning

[quadna71]

control arms - stock are bushings at both ends, but most aftermarket ones are a combination of the clevite bushings, JJ's, adjustable-preload cartridges, or heims.

now, depending upon the lift manufacturer, some have the bushings at frame and cartridge at axle, some have the other way around, some have heims at both ends, and some have cartridges at both ends.

i currently have heims at both ends (leave that alone) and am starting to build arms that will most likely have bushings at one end and cartridges at the other. my dilemma is which to put at which end. it would seem that ride quality would place the bushings at the frame end...but that thought is purely based on intuition. on the other hand, the majority of combination arms seem to put the bushings at axle on the front and bushings at the frame in the rear. why is that? can you tell if an induced bind (through articulation) would be more severe with the bushing at one end compared to the other?

my jeep will be taking up on-road miles more than ever now with my other DD sold, so i am planning on including the bushing on at least one end of the arm. please give me any advice you have or opinions you have on why to put the different ends at either position of the control arm.
thanks!
chris

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by quadna71
control arms - stock are bushings at both ends, but most aftermarket ones are a combination of the clevite bushings, JJ's, adjustable-preload cartridges, or heims.

now, depending upon the lift manufacturer, some have the bushings at frame and cartridge at axle, some have the other way around, some have heims at both ends, and some have cartridges at both ends.

i currently have heims at both ends (leave that alone) and am starting to build arms that will most likely have bushings at one end and cartridges at the other. my dilemma is which to put at which end. it would seem that ride quality would place the bushings at the frame end...but that thought is purely based on intuition. on the other hand, the majority of combination arms seem to put the bushings at axle on the front and bushings at the frame in the rear. why is that? can you tell if an induced bind (through articulation) would be more severe with the bushing at one end compared to the other?

my jeep will be taking up on-road miles more than ever now with my other DD sold, so i am planning on including the bushing on at least one end of the arm. please give me any advice you have or opinions you have on why to put the different ends at either position of the control arm.
thanks!
chris

The easy way to solve your problem is to use the Currie JJ's. Weld the barrel style on one end and use the new one piece on the other with a tube adapter.

[quadna71]

when you say the new one-piece...are you meaning the forged ones with the zerk on the barrel? i would prefer those instead of the greasable bolt. i think the 2.5" version would great on the lower arms at the axle...but not sure about my lower arm frame mounts - they may need to be the 2". i'm definitely limited by my current mounts. combine that with my fab skills (zero - don't even own a welder let alone can use one effectively) and it leaves me at the mercy of trying to make things work as they are.

aside from possibly strength, are there advantages to having one end fixed instead of adjustable at both ends? i would think that being able to just rotate the arm would be great for dialing in pinion angles/tank clearances.

i'm only getting the parts needed for building the lower arms. once i've proven to myself that i can get them built properly i'll press on and make upper arms. so far mc-car seems to have the best pricing on the tube inserts and redrock is showing me the best price on the JJ's. any other places to try? i'm gonna call up mr. supplee shortly and see what he can do for me with the currie items.
thanks again for the expertise.
chris

[mrblaine]

Originally posted by quadna71
when you say the new one-piece...are you meaning the forged ones with the zerk on the barrel? i would prefer those instead of the greasable bolt. i think the 2.5" version would great on the lower arms at the axle...but not sure about my lower arm frame mounts - they may need to be the 2". i'm definitely limited by my current mounts. combine that with my fab skills (zero - don't even own a welder let alone can use one effectively) and it leaves me at the mercy of trying to make things work as they are.

aside from possibly strength, are there advantages to having one end fixed instead of adjustable at both ends? i would think that being able to just rotate the arm would be great for dialing in pinion angles/tank clearances.

i'm only getting the parts needed for building the lower arms. once i've proven to myself that i can get them built properly i'll press on and make upper arms. so far mc-car seems to have the best pricing on the tube inserts and redrock is showing me the best price on the JJ's. any other places to try? i'm gonna call up mr. supplee shortly and see what he can do for me with the currie items.
thanks again for the expertise.
chris

The 2.5 is plug and play for the lower mounts on both ends and the bolt is 9/16" which requires no drilling to use.

It's desireable to have one end welded only from the aspect of a smooth transition from the arm to the joint so you don't get hung. Also, jam nuts aren't fond of being drug through the rocks and have a bad habit of coming loose if you do it often enough. Not to mention that they become difficult to re-tighten after the rocks re-shape them to a new size.

If that's not a concern, by all means build them similar to the skyjacker lowers. I ran that style in the rocks for a long time with only the minor issues I've mentioned.