bushbasher Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 So heres what I'm working on for the front end of my car: Crossmember moved 3" forward, with suspension arms angled back 2". Why? So that the axles from the front diff can clear the stupid ea82 suspension design, and my steering shaft angles will be nice, while extending my wheelbase about 1" so my tires won't rub, and for a better front overhang. Control arms eliminated: Instead of running control arms (the rods) back, I am turning the suspension arm into an a-arm with the other mount point on the front of the crossmember. This is to eliminate the mess of all those spacers in the back for the control arm mount. Also, with my messing with the crossmember placement, the control arm mounts wouldnt line up. No more bent control arms or travel limitations for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyrally Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 way too much free time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted August 13, 2004 Author Share Posted August 13, 2004 I can't think of a better way to spend it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 subyrally's just jealous. so am i. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWX Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted August 13, 2004 Author Share Posted August 13, 2004 Sure, be back in a sec or 2... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWX Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Sweet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted August 13, 2004 Author Share Posted August 13, 2004 OKay I added 2 more pics to my gallery. I dunno if youve seen the pics I already had on there. http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=129 Okay, so in the front, you can see the lift blocks moved forward by drilling new holes through the frame rails 3" forward. Also, you can see the beginnings of a front a-arm mount. Also the diff is jacked up in there but far from straight. Not much to see really as far as progress, theres ALOT more to do. I hope I can get it rolling by the end of the month. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Okay, just so we're talking the same terminology here. You're talking about the rod that goes from the lower arm, back towards the tranny mount right? Ifso, thats more commonly known as a reaction rod, but has many names too. The arm from the engine c'member out to the ball-joint is the control arm. It would be an "A"-arm, or wishbone if it had 2 inner mount points instead of one. We on the same plane of thought here now??? I'm deep into thoughts and design of eliminating the strut itself, and going with an "A"-arm on the top, with a coil-over shock setup. Just don't like the idea of fabbing a bracket for the strut to keep proper camber angles while going with a 10" or more lift. But that's just me..., and I'm doing the same thing you are, or simular to it. Nissan T-case, 10"-12" lift, Yota 6-lug rims, ER-27 W/DR-5spd, 4.11 Diffs at both ends. The Mods list keeps growing as things become, "available", to me. Think I'm calling it quits at a 31" tall tire though.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted August 13, 2004 Author Share Posted August 13, 2004 Okay, yes, the control arm and reaction rod are being replaced by an a-arm with the original control arm mount used plus a new one fabbed in the front of the crossmember. I too wanted to do a double a-arm setup but the amount of work and the suspension geometry headaches are too much for me. I just want to get this thing moving, its been down for months. The 2 a-arm mounts are on the same plane. After I've driven the car around and worked out other bugs that may come up I'll make some 9" travel struts for the front and some 10" travel coilovers in the back. That should help keep the wheels on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Okay, I got you BB. I hear you on the headache part............... Think I need another beer now. Ifin my set-up works out, I sure will post on it so others can atleast look it over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted August 14, 2004 Author Share Posted August 14, 2004 Finished mounting the crossmember forward, tested out my steering setup... with the crossmember relocation, and rod welded between the 2 ujoints of the ea82 coupling, my angles are as good as stock. That was one thing that was worrying me, now its a load off my shoulders. Woohoo, real progress today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 Okay, got some pics of what I'm workign on. It's still in progress, just tacked etc. The a-arm is simply a control arm taken from the other side of the car (to put the reaction rod in the front) And then cut and rewelded to angle backwards. Then the reaction rod is bent and welded to a bushing from a rear control arm. I still need to brace the a-arm, and I think I'll brace the crossmember as well to keep it from flexing. Pics: http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=129 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88HatchMonster Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 That was clever using the opposite side control arm and reusing the reaction rod. I'm in the process of reinforcing my hatchback's control arms, too. I cut the bottom plate off the underside of the control arm and fit a length of 1" box tubing from the bushing to the ball joint hole. Next I'm gonna weld a 1/4 plate on the underside for some serious overkill reinforcement. I'm also going to fit some 1&1/4" box tubing over the length of the reaction rod, since that's pretty bendy, too. I was going to fab up an a-arm set up on mine too, but I think this will be plenty strong enough. I actually kind of wonder if I'm not better off w/ a weak control arm since those are easier to bend or replace than frames or crossmembers...but oh well, I guess I just figure something with 29" swampers should get a little tougher running gear than the average car... It's neat to see someone else working on similar issues though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subarubrat Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Bushbasher Excellent work! I replaced mine with Heim joints and no more travel issues. Those are some big hooters in your photo alblum... http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/photos/data/500/129102_0273resize.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 yep, old hooter's a beauty alright. We let her go, but she comes back and sits on the fence post and waits for food Thanks for the compliments. I probably would have just used the normal setup if not for the fact that I needed control arms that swept back unlike a regular ea82 arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Is that a rear diff you are using for the front of the car? If it is, wouldn't it be spinning in reverse since the pumpkin is now backwards? I would think you would need reverse rotation gears to put a read diff in the front. Maybe not, I know I have taken toyota rear 7.5" diffs, and put them into the front before. Sorry, I am drugged up. I have the flu. How did you mount it there? Are you planning on making some sort of skid plate for the diffs, and t-case. They hang pretty low it appears. Nice work any ways. It looks good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bushbasher Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 The car is sitting lower than final ride hight. My front diff should be about a foot maybe 13" from the ground, and the rear is at 15", but I might redo my rear diff mounts to drop the diff down 2". This will give me better cv angles again, which would put me about the same as the front at 13". My plans are to get the mig working on aluminum and do a full belly pan out of some 7075 I have lying around. But I'll worry about that once it moves again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iluvdrt Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 ok, thats not bad, it looked a lot lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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