Daily Driver, Go Where I Want To Build

As part of this project, I switched to Currie bump stops. For my purposes, I am only installing the shortest configuration, the upper replacement jounce and the lower pad. It turns out that this thickness is a perfect match to the track bar as to the Johnny Joint reaches the end of it's travel. Again, this is putting the up travel at about 5.75 from ride height.
20200215_201520.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: BuildBreakRepeat
The axle needs to be centered. I used Blaine's gunsight method. This was checked and adjusted several times as I moved the axle forward.

Mark center on the axle by measuring between the factory sway bar mounts. This should be 39.5". Center is the white mark left of the diff. Also measure and mark center between the lower bumper bolts. Locate the front body mount bolt.

Use magnets to hang two plumb lines from the center mark between bumper bolts and the body mount bolt.

20200215_172522.jpg


Line up both strings and see where the white mark on the diff is. Adjust the track bar at normal ride height until the white mark is behind both strings.
20200215_172603.jpg


The axle is as centered as it will ever get.
 
jjvw said:
Currie's bend matches the diff cover interference right at the moment the JJ runs out of travel. At the same time there is plenty of room for the raised Currie tie rod. Far more room than the MC.
Click to expand...

Even after the press bend?
 
With Currie bumps, the Currie track bar and 10.7" shocks missing a bit of their up travel right now, this is where my half worn 33 sits at full stuff, full steering lock.

20200216_142023.jpg

(This is the driver's side, but close enough to compare)

20200216_143718.jpg


20200216_143658.jpg


Previously with extended factory bumps and MC bar.
20190524_224416.jpg


20190524_224556.jpg


20190524_224305.jpg


20190524_234053.jpg


With the Currie setup, even though the full bump up travel has been slightly reduced, the flex has actually increased a bit due to the profile of the bump stops compared to stock.

The shocks now have a bit of room to compress. I will be adding a cup washer to the upper mount up move that into down travel and add a bit more upward flex. Look back a few years here and I did something similar.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: JMT and tworley
Hopefully I have shown that while MC allows about 3/4" more up at full bump, a full Currie setup has more potential for flex with a small compromise in bump stop extension.

A very important thing to understand with my setup is that the upper shock mount has been raised about 1.375". If your shock mounts are in the factory position, the tire cannot be raised as high as mine does and that extra potential travel from Metalcloak cannot be used. Meaning it is entirely pointless.

Remember that 5.75" up travel measurement? Something I figured out last year is that the amount of reasonable flex allowed by the stock axle with 35x12.5 tire at ~3.5” back spacing is 11". Any more and the inner sidewall is mashing hard into the spring and shock mount. If we agree that the preferred shock travel bias is about 50/50, then that 11" travel shock on relocated mounts is going to have about 5.5" of up travel. Currie knows this and designed their track bar and bump stops to not be limited by a properly installed 11" travel shock on relocated mounts but not have much excess unusable travel.

Currie understands something.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: BuildBreakRepeat
Why did I bend the track bar and push the axle as far forward as the stock platform allows?

Mostly because of this.
20200216_150031.jpg


I was able to test fit a brand new 35" MTR. Even after the mini stretch, this is what a 35 does at full stuff and not quite full lock. The tire hits the rear wall. The bump from the battery/ABS tray needs to reduced and the section below that need to be moved backwards. This rear wall is far more significant than raising the hood line.
20200216_145327.jpg


Here is a view from above.
Full stuff, not quite full lock.
20200216_153612.jpg


Ride height, full lock.
20200216_153735.jpg


This doesn't matter on an RTI ramp, but in order to steer during flex while crawling an obstacle with this much up travel, the rear wall of the fender needs to be moved away. The MCE fenders take care of what happens above. Moving the axle forward that small amount makes the miserable job of modding the rear wall a bit easier. This is why the smart people just do a full GenRight highline and don't screw around with trying to keep some semblance of a stock looking front end.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JMT and BuildBreakRepeat
Another thing that Currie understands is that a heim joint should not be laying flat at the frame side track bar mount. The one on my MC bar started up develope slop within 15k miles partly due to dust and road grit getting into the bearing surfaces. MC sent me a free replacement, which I installed after about 30k miles. It was quite loose.

A Johnny Joint is a tightly sealed joint. The outer race being preloaded against the ball keeps the bearing surfaces from being contaminated. While the joint moves, the race also wipes the ball clean like a squeegee, unlike a heim.
 
jjvw said:
Why did I bend the track bar and push the axle as far forward as the stock platform allows?

Mostly because of this.
View attachment 140937

I was able to test fit a brand new 35" MTR. Even after the mini stretch, this is what a 35 does at full stuff and not quite full lock. The tire hits the rear wall. The bump from the battery/ABS tray needs to reduced and the section below that need to be moved backwards. This rear wall is far more significant than raising the hood line.
View attachment 140938

Here is a view from above.
Full stuff, not quite full lock.
View attachment 140940

Ride height, full lock.
View attachment 140941

This doesn't matter on an RTI ramp, but in order to steer during flex while crawling an obstacle with this much up travel, the rear wall of the fender needs to be moved away. The MCE fenders take care of what happens above. Moving the axle forward that small amount makes the miserable job of modding the rear wall a bit easier. This is why the smart people just do a full GenRight highline and don't screw around with trying to keep some semblance of a stock looking front end.
Click to expand...
There are other reasons to do a high line fender. We do them with 35's when we do coilovers and can do more uptravel under articulation with stock axles.
DSC_4772.JPG

Top of tire is above the fender line. If you measure from the regular top of fender line to the raised top of fender line, it is far more than 2.25".

DSC_4774.JPG

That is also with a Currie track bar.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nickgsjeep, JMT and jjvw
mrblaine said:
There are other reasons to do a high line fender. We do them with 35's when we do coilovers and can do more uptravel under articulation with stock axles.
View attachment 140946
Top of tire is above the fender line. If you measure from the regular top of fender line to the raised top of fender line, it is far more than 2.25".

View attachment 140947
That is also with a Currie track bar.
Click to expand...

How long are the CO's?
 
If I'm reading things right on mine, with the Currie bumps in their shortest position and 11s split in half, I am expecting to have the tire rise about an inch above the stock hood line.
 
Are you bending the bar to reorient the JJ's range of motion? On mine, it allows just enough droop to pull the coils out without much effort. Some of that movement could be put on the upward side and not be missed with COs as far as disassembly is concerned.
 
BuildBreakRepeat said:
The one where pictures were never produced of metal cloaks “35”s fit at full stuff lock to lock”? Even though it was claimed?
Click to expand...

That one too. The one I'm referring to is MudB8 and Unlimited04's big collection of track bars and full bump pics. The title is something like "what fits and what hits". Many of us went with the MC bar because of it. It has a lot of good tech, but there are some faulty conclusions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: BuildBreakRepeat
jjvw said:
Are you bending the bar to reorient the JJ's range of motion? On mine, it allows just enough droop to pull the coils out without much effort. Some of that movement could be put on the upward side and not be missed with COs as far as disassembly is concerned.
Click to expand...
No, we just usually bump the bend out around a large diff. Other than that, no special sauce, just tweak and adjust.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jjvw
One other tidbit about the Currie bar that makes it better than MC and others like it is which end the adjustment is placed.

Because Currie put the adjuster on the axle side next to the bushing, the entire rest of the bar can be twisted to fine tune the position within the mess of steering links and the axle. Any bar with a heim joint at the frame side cannot do that because the bushing on the other end self centers almost the entire bar.
20200215_151314.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: tworley and Vasq
Top Bottom
Back