Dragging johnny joints and control arm brackets on rocks

[Spudcannons]

Hey guys,

I was cleaning the mud and rocks ect out of my frame rails and control arm mounts ect and found I was draggin the lower frame side control arm mount and johnny joint on some rocks. Has anyone had an issue with beating up their johnny joints and fram side control arm mounts on rocks?

[Hoodoo Man]

I snapped a control arm heim on a rock on the trail does that count? It was a freak accident mind you.... with a 4" lift and 35s your JKU is similar to a 3" lift and 33s on a TJ.... If you can find skids for them and such it wont hurt but line choice and awareness of where the parts of your jeep will come with time. not sure how long you have been offroading but I still sometimes drive by brail and thats hard on your Jeep...

[Baseshakers]

At least in my LJ I don't worry about it. The mounts get banged up constantly, and the only thing I do is bend them back straight sometimes. Never had a frame side lower mount fail. The Johnny joints also get mashed, and they are fine. Honestly not something I'd worry about, it happens when you play in the rocks.

[Spudcannons]

"At least in my LJ I don't worry about it. The mounts get banged up constantly, and the only thing I do is bend them back straight sometimes. Never had a frame side lower mount fail. The Johnny joints also get mashed, and they are fine. Honestly not something I'd worry about, it happens when you play in the rocks."
- I was thinking it wasn't a big deal but wanted to check. The control arm brackets are 1/4" steel and the Johnny joints are pretty huge I think they are about 3" maybe more on the lowers.


"with a 4" lift and 35s your JKU is similar to a 3" lift and 33s on a TJ"
-I would hope it would do better than that. I get the breakover angle would be similar but the wheelbase must make it a better climber just drag the belly a bit more. Especially since the TJ starts a whole lot lower and would lose a lot of the travel due to bump stopping to stop rubbing the jk lift I have does up to 12" of wheel travel with springs or so they say but that seems like a reasonable claim with the crazy flex they have

[Hoodoo Man]

"
-I would hope it would do better than that. I get the breakover angle would be similar but the wheelbase must make it a better climber just drag the belly a bit more. Especially since the TJ starts a whole lot lower and would lose a lot of the travel due to bump stopping to stop rubbing the jk lift I have does up to 12" of wheel travel with springs or so they say but that seems like a reasonable claim with the crazy flex they have

I am refering to break over angle. overall the lift and tire combo is a very good one and you shouldnt get too high centered on the trails we run as a lot of them are stock friendly. But if you are following someone on harder trails in a tj on 35s with a 4" lift they will likely get less hung up is my point... Not suggesting going to bigger tires etc just an observation and comment on line choice to avoid breaking and bending things you may not want to break or bend...

[Spudcannons]

Thanks! That winds up being mostly an issue with crests and hill tops? Or ledges rocks and everything sticking up?

[Frank]

As you get experience you will get better at picking a better line. The 4 door is always going to have more break-over angle issues than a TJ. My CJ is now almost as long as a YJ/TJ at 93" Im at 90ish ! Much more stable than the 80ish it started with. Just have to drive a little smarter. Learn as you go. FjR68

[Spudcannons]

I calculated the break over angle and it sits at ~55*. 2*arctan(2*16.2/116) You must have lots of ground clearance 21+ inches? 2*arctan((2*23)/93)=~90