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So I have the new jeep under the old jeep's suspension. I have clayton longarms front and rear. It looks like the axle is a little too far back in the wheel well comapred to my last one and I am thinking about lengthening the arms a little to clearance the wheel well better. Just to give me a reference what is the wheel base of some of the other clayton longarmed ZJs? Also just to make sure I measure correctly, wheel base is measured from center of hub to center of hub right?
Yup. Center to center of hub.
A stock ZJ is 105.9" -- so about 106". Mine is currently at 108", but that's because the high clearance brackets in the rear pushed back my axle 2". My front is centered in the wheel well. Honestly, it doesn't really matter as long as rubbing is minimized or eliminated -- which is usually accomplished by pushing the front axle forward a little bit with some trimming of the front part of the fender. Whether your wheelbase ends up at 106" or 109", I really don't know that you would notice much of a difference honestly.
You want to make sure you don't extend the control arms too far, or else there won't be enough thread engagement in the joints (I don't know off-hand what that limit is -- may want to contact Clayton's and ask them). There is also a limit to how far your front axle can go forward due to the steering and trackbar (without modifying them), but I'd imagine you would run into the first problem (thread engagement) before reaching that limit. You could also lengthen your control arms by cutting and sleeving them, but from my web-wheeling, that doesn't really seem to be necessary until you are at 40" tires...
Last edited by SirFuego; 01-30-2012 at 10:51 AM.
The reason I am asking is I was rubbing the 35s just turning the wheel driving on a slight incline (on the road, no flexing) and the pinch seam was cutting the tire. So I pounded the pinch seam with a BFH, and now with wheel at lock, the tire is only about 1/4" to 1/2" from rubbing still. SO I want to move the fornt axle forward about 1/2" to make sure this isn't a problem once I get it on the trail. I was just looking for a reference to see if my wheel base was really that much shorter than everyone else's.
Once you fold over that pinch seam, you can start wailing on the surrounding sheet metal to push it back even further. So just swing harder or find a bigger hammer if you want more clearance. Although putting your front axle forward is only going to help your approach angle, so some combination thereof might work for ya.
I believe I am at 109". I know my rear axle is pushed back about 2"
Hey Clay, did you cycle the suspension with the springs and shocks removed? This is the easiest way to check all of your clearance issues before hitting the trail. I made the mistake a few years back of not doing this prior to hitting the trail with a new setup and it cost me an MT/R.
I haven't cycled the suspension fully yet, this is just on flat ground with springs and shocks turning the wheel left to right.
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