Ordered long arms, but questions about what else I need

KevinG said:
Awesome. Thanks! I probably would have been able to see that for myself as the delivery just got to my house. I'm probably going to tackle one end in a week or two. Have a Friday through Sunday off then. Did you guys exhaust flip, delete or use flex pipe?
Click to expand...

I had a custom section bent and welded up.


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KevinG said:
Awesome. Thanks! I probably would have been able to see that for myself as the delivery just got to my house. I'm probably going to tackle one end in a week or two. Have a Friday through Sunday off then. Did you guys exhaust flip, delete or use flex pipe?
Click to expand...

I cut mine and flipped it.


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TrainWreck618 said:
I cut mine and flipped it.


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Click to expand...

Not too tough to do? I have a puny miller stick welder at home that I had assumed I could do the exhaust loop with. I also got a flex pipe just in case. I have seen in other threads that people used it and took it to an exhaust shop later.
As far as the brackets for the LA, I have planned to bolt in and then get burned in a day or two later. I have another vehicle to drive, so I don't have pressure or a timeline to live and die with. We do have pretty good welder here at work that I can use, but don't want to tie up a bay if I can't get it done by the time we open the next day. I'm a planner, and am horrible with pressure.

wjtstudios said:
I had a custom section bent and welded up.


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Click to expand...

That sounds interesting. Still has the same amount of exhaust routing, just in a different place?
 
KevinG said:
I totally get that. In all of these threads, I see people like Ddays and wjtstudios that have them, love them and use them. I have seen a few other people that have short arm (insert mfr. here) and said "I wish I would have just gone long arm to start". I can't find the guy that said, "geez, I wish I would have stayed on short arms. $2500 and they hang up on anything bigger than a speed bump, plus the ride is so nice that I get sleepy driving it"?
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Well as it happens, I do know a guy in the latter category. Not so much that he wishes he stayed with short arms, but more that he commented that his high clearance long arms didn’t add enough benefit to justify the expense. He was thinking about changing to something even more radical, like a Genright set up. Of course, this fellow has a lot more money in his rig than I’d ever put into mine.

After the several instances over the years where I’ve thought long and hard about long arms, I’ve always come back to the conclusion that *for me* the benefits don’t justify the cost. But of course reasonable people with different needs and resources can and have come to the opposite conclusion.

Any way, if you go that route, please let us all know how it worked out for you.


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KevinG said:
Not too tough to do? I have a puny miller stick welder at home that I had assumed I could do the exhaust loop with. I also got a flex pipe just in case. I have seen in other threads that people used it and took it to an exhaust shop later.
As far as the brackets for the LA, I have planned to bolt in and then get burned in a day or two later. I have another vehicle to drive, so I don't have pressure or a timeline to live and die with. We do have pretty good welder here at work that I can use, but don't want to tie up a bay if I can't get it done by the time we open the next day. I'm a planner, and am horrible with pressure.



That sounds interesting. Still has the same amount of exhaust routing, just in a different place?
Click to expand...

Not too hard to do at all, a stick welder is probably going to be a lot easier to get to the top of it. Just cut it parallel.

I drilled the holes for the front control arm brackets and bolted them up, but said screw it on the rears... too much work. Just clamp them down and weld them on.


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fiend said:
Well as it happens, I do know a guy in the latter category. Not so much that he wishes he stayed with short arms, but more that he commented that his high clearance long arms didn’t add enough benefit to justify the expense. He was thinking about changing to something even more radical, like a Genright set up. Of course, this fellow has a lot more money in his rig than I’d ever put into mine.

After the several instances over the years where I’ve thought long and hard about long arms, I’ve always come back to the conclusion that *for me* the benefits don’t justify the cost. But of course reasonable people with different needs and resources can and have come to the opposite conclusion.

Any way, if you go that route, please let us all know how it worked out for you.


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Click to expand...

That makes sense and sorry if I came off like a prick before. It just seems like more people fall in the first category. I havent heard or seen where someone was like your friend.
Where I am at is a big part of it. I'm stuck with stock control arms with 30k on the stock bushings that are on the way out, a driveline that is going to be a problem at some point, plus on top of that I am just ready for a change. I could go $1682 to get adjustable short arms, or $1000 more to get long arms. They literally delivered them today and will be sitting outside our garage if I can ever get off work. Don't make me question my decision!!!:)
I will probably start on it in a couple of weeks. I'll update here with pics.
 
TrainWreck618 said:
Not too hard to do at all, a stick welder is probably going to be a lot easier to get to the top of it. Just cut it parallel.

I drilled the holes for the front control arm brackets and bolted them up, but said screw it on the rears... too much work. Just clamp them down and weld them on.


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Click to expand...

Thanks. That's reassuring. I was thinking that I would start in the back. My work schedule is kind of weird, but basically have two on, two off, three on, three off. I have planned the night before one of the "three offs" to pull the gas tank, get the jeep up in the air and have everything plugged in and ready to go the next morning. I read that the plug in stuff would be better than battery. Then after my wife and daughter are gone start cutting off brackets. I have a bunch of cut off wheels and blades for the recip saw, and I have an air hammer and compressor. I'm just hoping that everything goes smooth.
 
KevinG said:
Thanks. That's reassuring. I was thinking that I would start in the back. My work schedule is kind of weird, but basically have two on, two off, three on, three off. I have planned the night before one of the "three offs" to pull the gas tank, get the jeep up in the air and have everything plugged in and ready to go the next morning. I read that the plug in stuff would be better than battery. Then after my wife and daughter are gone start cutting off brackets. I have a bunch of cut off wheels and blades for the recip saw, and I have an air hammer and compressor. I'm just hoping that everything goes smooth.
Click to expand...

Yeah definitely pull the gas tank. I used a sawzall to cut the brackets off really quick and then used a grinder to clean the cuts up. The front was easier than the rear to me, but overall it’s really not too bad.


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I needed to have a custom exhaust section made - a local shop did it but this was for the synergy kit. Without it, the exhaust was slightly vibrating against the control arm mount.
 
TrainWreck618 said:
Yeah definitely pull the gas tank. I used a sawzall to cut the brackets off really quick and then used a grinder to clean the cuts up. The front was easier than the rear to me, but overall it’s really not too bad.


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Click to expand...

Front easier than the rear? Maybe I'll start there then instead. When I got home last night, I almost started tearing in to it because I have this weekend off. I have another weekend off in two weeks. I am definitely tackling at least half of it then. I saw on one of the threads that someone is driving around on just the front half for the last year or something. I'm hopeful that I can get the other half buttoned up in the next week.

feederic said:
I needed to have a custom exhaust section made - a local shop did it but this was for the synergy kit. Without it, the exhaust was slightly vibrating against the control arm mount.
Click to expand...

It looks like the Synergy brackets are fairly similar, so thanks for the feedback. :thumb: I hope the Synergy kit's working well with your coilovers. Coilovers are next on my list.
I had a Currie/Savvy suspension on my LJ, I'll be sticking with johnny joints
 
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KevinG said:
Thanks. That's reassuring. I was thinking that I would start in the back. My work schedule is kind of weird, but basically have two on, two off, three on, three off. I have planned the night before one of the "three offs" to pull the gas tank, get the jeep up in the air and have everything plugged in and ready to go the next morning. I read that the plug in stuff would be better than battery. Then after my wife and daughter are gone start cutting off brackets. I have a bunch of cut off wheels and blades for the recip saw, and I have an air hammer and compressor. I'm just hoping that everything goes smooth.
Click to expand...

TrainWreck618 said:
Yeah definitely pull the gas tank. I used a sawzall to cut the brackets off really quick and then used a grinder to clean the cuts up. The front was easier than the rear to me, but overall it’s really not too bad.


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Click to expand...
Looks like you'll have your hands full. I had 2 4" angle grinders. And 2 floor jacks. 2 of each really helped. Also if you haven't got any go buy 30 or 60 grit flap disks for your angle grinder. They are way faster than grinding wheels. Wish I had figured this out when I did mine. Grinding wheels took forever to clean things up.

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Hey! I have seen parts like that before! :cheesy:

Let me know if you need anything or have questions.
 
Also... FYI... The Magnaflow loop delete kit doesn't work either. I bet you can guess how I know...

I ended up using parts of that delete to make it work. Kinda looks like one of the pictures above.
 
I did most of the work with cutoff wheels and flapper disks.

The worst part for me was the rear CA bracket on top of the frame. Not much room to work. If you can get the corners started you can flex the bracket back and forth until it falls off.
 
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