GreenJK07

Ok guys, I have been hearing about removing one of the upper control arms for the front axle to 3 link the suspension system. I am wondering if anyone has experience with this or had done it. I was thinking about possibly doing so, as I am 3 linked in the rear and am looking for more flex in the front. My jeep is not a daily driver and is trailers to the parks and places I go wheeling.

Specs on my rig:
-2007 2 door
-Rock Krawler 2.5 flex with Rock Krawler 3 link conversion in the rear
-37 super swamper M/T
** running factory upper control arms in the front with adjustable lowers **

frankie945

The factory upper mount wont hold up long nor the bushing on the axle side if you decide to go that route. Rk uses there long arm mount for that single upper link. If you stay in the 12" shock travel range any 3 link wont make a difference in flex. Ive 3 linked and 5 linked my old jku and I preferred 4 link with Panhard over the 3 link in the front.

My Old 1 ton jku with 40s flexing out on 12" coilover's front and rear with 3link rear and 5 link front.

GreenJK07

Awesome! Thanks for the info! Rig looks sick! I am getting some good flex but wanted to find out more about it.

2climbbig

I am not sure I completely agree with the comment about the stock 4-link. If I put a JK on jacks, remove the shock, and brakes off of one side, I have to apply a lot of force to remove a spring with a 3 inch lift. This tells me that the control arms are binding. That set up had about 9 inches of travel. So, there is binding at 9 inches of travel. That said, a jeep on jacks does not reflect forces applied to the axle when off roading. So when one wheel is stuffed into the wheel well, there may be a downward force to the other end of that axle that may overcome the binding. There are several components that do deform and could allow for full articulation. I just don't believe you will see it every time.

Basically, to summarise... If one side of the axle is drooping and the other side is not being stuffed into the wheel well, then I don't believe you will see full flex. If you are stuffing one end, then the other side should see full flex due to the additional forces.

If you want to do a 3 link, I also recommend you beef up the upper mounts and the upper control arm and make sure you are using a heim type of joint for the additional flex. You have a single point of faliure with a 3-link and the last thing you want is the upper link to fail on your front axle.

Maertz

i ran 12" travel on a the stock arm locations but with rod ends each side and had no bind. A 3 link wont help there either imo. I personally am not a 3 link guy, if they fail its a bad day... If i ever finish my build and redo anything it will be removing my 3 link front and going single triangulated

planman

Rock Krawler has a double sheer weld-on bracket for a passenger side 3-link. If it is not run on an aftermarket axle, it would be a good idea to tie it into a truss that connects both tubes to the center section.

This summer, I am going to upgrade my 2 dr to the RK Pro kit that includes this bracket. I don't like the push-pull bind in my current front 4 link. It destroys the Johnny Joints in the front upper axle side of my Rock Jock 60 housing. I'm not concerned about failure of a properly designed and built 3 link on the trail. The RK Pro kit has large joints and solid arms.

Here are pics (not mine):

GreenJK07

Thanks for the information guys. I am going to just truss the upper control arm bracket I am going to use and build a control arm using heims. Here is a pic of the axle now.

kjeeper10

I believe Currie did something with their latest build.

Maertz

yeah if you make a new upper and remove the other side that should be fine.

GreatWhite JK

Im running a 3 link (RK) front and rear working go so far.