Mounting lower links on a yj inboard at cross member

[Heartburns26]

Hey I am in the process of mounting my lower links for a three link, the lowers are gonna be triangulated inboard and mounted the the trannny cross member

My Question is, will the lower link and the drive shaft hit each other where they cross? during down travel , They will be crossing about 4 inches in front of the cross member,but if I recall they travel on the same plane so I think I'm ok

the lower link is about 48 inches and the drive shaft is about 42 inches

I have about 3/4 of an inch of clearance from the drive shaft and
lower link where there intersect

Seems to me I'm ok but dom is not cheap I don't want to redo it

[Heartburns26]

Here is my sweet drawing that i made to help this question out.

I just want to make sure that they dont get closer together has the suspension droops

[Heartburns26]

Well according to my 2 broom sticks that i just used for a demonstation they do not get closer unless your are traveling like 3-4 feet then they get alittle closer but it seems with only 16-17 inches of throw its fine

[G.C. Bandit]

And something else to consider is your engine and tranny mounts. If they are worn out that driveline is going to get real close or hit when your in reverse.

[Heartburns26]

Originally Posted by G.C. Bandit

And something else to consider is your engine and tranny mounts. If they are worn out that driveline is going to get real close or hit when your in reverse.

Engine and tranny mounts are both brand new.

So should i re think my inborad mounts?

If i mount them closer to the Frame side of things my tires are gonna hit my links and i wont be able to turn at all.

[Heartburns26]

This is my crossmember

The best spot will be in the center of it

Im not building a new crossmember it took a long time to make that thing

[cavaliers1323@aol.co]

Not to be a dick, but you should ask these questions in your build thread. How many threads do you have going now?

[the freeak]

How are you attaching that to the frame?

The torsional loads on the cross member are going to be pretty high for such a "short" (front to rear) attachment point.

That's not very clear is it?

What I'm getting at is that the cross member on my XJ has about 12" of plate on the bottom of the frame rail to resist the twisting forces of the control arms.

[Heartburns26]

Those were my thoughts exactly but I'm kinda new to this and my buddy who's helping me explained it this way

your only as strong ad your weakest link and my hiems are gonna have 5/8 inch bolts in them and the crossmember is gonna be held in by 6 5/8 bolts

So in that case it makes sense but I wanted to built some kinda lateral bracing front to back to help that out

I would Like to hear other thoughts about my crossmember mounting

also we are using grade 12 bolts which are very. Very very strong

[the freeak]

Grade TWELVE? where did you find them?



You better sleeve the frame with heavy wall tube, or those bolts will rip right through.

And I still say make the frame connection longer front to rear... spread out the load.

[Heartburns26]

We have them at the shop I'm working at they use them on oil rigs

[Heartburns26]

Does a traingluated three link work ok with a drag link?

Or will it bind like a traingualted 4 link with a drag link?

[the freeak]

Check the links in my sig... both builds are using Triangulated lowers/ single upper with track bar/ drag link.

[Heartburns26]

I'm just not sure if we should do the triangulated lowers on my three link to the center of the cross member or just coming like 3 inches off the inside of the frame on each side for the lower links

We are In the shop now pondering this with some test pipe seeing how it all works

[the freeak]

Neither of my builds have the lowers CLOSE to the middle, both are separated by about 15-20 inches.

But that's what worked for ME, your build may require something different.