TJ/LJ Short arm control arm suspenstion question

Tech11

Tech11

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2007
Location
Greensboro
I was reading in JP magazine about STUFF and somewhere in there it mentioned about suspension lifts, long arms vs short arms and all that. What got my attention was it mentioned removing an upper control arm (they preferred removing the passenger upper control arm) to get more/better flex out of a short arm lift up to/under 4 inches.

They mentioned that when flexing the control arms and in opposition to one another and just fighting them selves causing all kinds of havoc, and whatnot and this could actually ease up on some bushing under the jeep.

My question is, REALLY? Has anyone done this? Would you need a limiting strap or something like that? I can't find a set up like this anywhere on the web, well 3 links but that's not the same, IS IT?
 
I too read that article and there is no way i would do it, I think the axle would twist under load and be a diaster. almost seems like a typo to me. No, I have never seen this done.

Leaving all 4 on where they are suppose to be works just fine.
 
I haven't seen the article but here's my take on it.
It should work just fine. As long as you have a panhard bar I see no real problem with it. They make a good point in saying that it'll extend the life of control arm bushings. Most Jeeps based on the 5 link platform ie. XJ MJ TJ LJ use 4 short links and a panhard bar. The problem with that setup is that the uppers are triangulated towards each other at the axle and the lowers are slightly triangulated towards the frame. This is good for tighter handling on the street but flexing causes problems. Triangulating the links any makes the axle try to move in a vertical path up and down. A panhard bar makes the axle swing slightly left to right as it cycles up and down. These two forces fight each other and the control arm bushings suffer from it. By eliminating one of the uppers you take away some of that bind. I'm assuming they say to take off the passenger arm strictly because the drivers side mount is cast into the diff housing and much stronger.

I'm not saying go out and take one of your uppers off I'm just trying ot explain their logic behind it. Short arms flex fine and still drive decent as long as you don't get too high. It should make bushings last longer but I doubt noticeably.
 
I don't see a problem with it as long as you have aftermarket uppers. The factory uppers.....well all the control arms are pretty chessy and I'd want some added strength to handle the extra load.It's really no different than a regular three link except the control arms are shorter. It's got to get rid of a ton of bind and pressure in the suspension.
My guess is they want it do stay on the cast housing for strength and for pinion angle change throughout articulation. I bet if you tried it you would be really happy with it as long as you have quality parts and your brackets are in good shape.
 
Back
Top