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Some of this was covered in my Jeep Surgery thread, but I'll be going into further detail in this thread.
This wishbone suspension design has been around for a long time and has a bad rep because of the ghettofab versions that are out there.
I saw it as a simple, strong way to kill any axle wrap I had in the rear of my CJ7, and set out to do it as cleanly as I could.
This is the CJ7 after I finished. Running 37's at stock height(when measured from axletube to bottom of frame rail). 108" wheelbase.
Here are a couple pics of the joint I used. It's a custom piece that a buddy of mine made a short production run of. There are no more to be had. Made from 3" 4130 round stock, 1" shank.
This is what I used to mount it to the crossmember, 1/2" steel. Takes a long damn time to holesaw through 1/2" steel. Was welded on both sides.
For the crossmember, I'd originally intended to use 2x4x.120 wall tubing with a couple of doubler plates, but I went with 2x4x.250 wall tubing instead. Simpler, and less to worry about bending down the road. This rig's gonna end up with 44's or better.
Another thing I could have done differently was the frame windows. I probably should have just cut windows in the inside of the framerails, instead of all the way through. Could have doubler-plated the inner windows also. I may add some 3/16" flatbar to strap the area where the framerail's thin around the top and bottom of the x-member. Here's a shot of the crossmember being sleeved, and the windows I cut in the frame to slide it through.
Here's a shot of the x-member slid through the frame, and a shot from the opposite side after it's been welded, showing the 2x4x.120 wall gussets I used to brace it on each side. You can't see it at this stage, but there is also a brace that is directly behind where the joint attaches, it bolts the crossmember to the flat skidplate. Getting the D300 in there is a bitch.
This wishbone suspension design has been around for a long time and has a bad rep because of the ghettofab versions that are out there.
I saw it as a simple, strong way to kill any axle wrap I had in the rear of my CJ7, and set out to do it as cleanly as I could.
This is the CJ7 after I finished. Running 37's at stock height(when measured from axletube to bottom of frame rail). 108" wheelbase.
Here are a couple pics of the joint I used. It's a custom piece that a buddy of mine made a short production run of. There are no more to be had. Made from 3" 4130 round stock, 1" shank.
This is what I used to mount it to the crossmember, 1/2" steel. Takes a long damn time to holesaw through 1/2" steel. Was welded on both sides.
For the crossmember, I'd originally intended to use 2x4x.120 wall tubing with a couple of doubler plates, but I went with 2x4x.250 wall tubing instead. Simpler, and less to worry about bending down the road. This rig's gonna end up with 44's or better.
Another thing I could have done differently was the frame windows. I probably should have just cut windows in the inside of the framerails, instead of all the way through. Could have doubler-plated the inner windows also. I may add some 3/16" flatbar to strap the area where the framerail's thin around the top and bottom of the x-member. Here's a shot of the crossmember being sleeved, and the windows I cut in the frame to slide it through.
Here's a shot of the x-member slid through the frame, and a shot from the opposite side after it's been welded, showing the 2x4x.120 wall gussets I used to brace it on each side. You can't see it at this stage, but there is also a brace that is directly behind where the joint attaches, it bolts the crossmember to the flat skidplate. Getting the D300 in there is a bitch.