hodgepodge79

Well, after having my alignment get knocked out again, I replaced a lower ball-joint, tie-rod end, both adjusting sleeves, and idler arm. I also removed all the camber adjusting bolts and applied a heafty dose of anti-sieze.
I also decided, I would finally install a brace between the rear, lower control-arm mounts. I looked at Downey, Total Chaos, and Sonoran Steel. They were all way more that I was willing to spend. So, with $5 in steel, two hours of cutting and tacking, and $30 for welding, I got my own brace installed.
It is 1"x3"-.25 angle on the ends, 1.5"-.25 pipe, and a section of 5.0"-.25 pipe to clear the rear portion of the diff.

hodgepodge79

I liked the look of pipe, but not the bend (downey,TC). And 3.5x3.5 square pipe is pretty overkill (and I had some 1.5" pipe available). So I came up with something combining both designs.

ChickenLover

Looks good. After installing my truss (downey), I haven't had a single alignment issue.

FredTJ

Mmmm, you welded it on, and, from the looks of it, welded it pretty solid.
You 'll have fun if you need to remove your diff for anything.

Were it me, I would have made the angle pieces weld on, like you did, but have them bolt to the main bar itself such that it would be a relatively simple matter to remove the bolts and drop and the brace.





Fred

drew303

I think he still get the dif out.. Theres enough room there (well it'd be tight) to pull it back off the front hinge and drop one side out, then the other and tilt er up, down n out..


Just saying so the guy doesnt go knock is head into the wall thinking he effed up lol..

nice brace tho =)

Red3.slow

Would you consider making one for me?

norcalsvx

looks like that will work

DaveInDenver

It does look like a really nice brace.

It will be a pain to get the diff out, but I think if you take the front cross member off, it won't be too bad. Might actually make it easier, set the back of the diff on the cross member and lift the front.

MudHippy

I was considering scaling down the Sonoran version to 2x2x1/4(or 3/8) for the one I'm building. There's a twist, literally, in my concept. Meaning I'm toying with the idea of having the square tubing rotated 90*, to look like a diamond tube when installed, you might say. With a corner toward the ground instead of the flat edge. I think it should be less likely to "hang-up" on stuff, plus a tad harder to bend if impacted from below. I dunno...

I like yours though. Looks like it'll do the job nicely.

DaveInDenver

Makes sense, I bet both ways will hang up one way or the other in the right case. I think the reason to clock it the way Sonoran does would be to give you a flat spot to mount a skid plate. This is my plan, to drill and tap the Sonoran brace to accept skid plates.

hodgepodge79

Thanks for the compliments. And yeah, it is welded SOLID.

hodgepodge79

I really considered having it bolted in (weld tabs to the drop-down horns and bolt to the tabs), but the distance on the pass. side is so short, that there really isn't much room to have a bolted joint between the cut-out and the end plate.

BTW, I removed the diff today to begin the install of my Aussie locker. I was a bit tight, but came out pretty gently due to the rear of the diff being supported by the brace. Another 1/2-inch clearance under the diff would have been perfect. I guess if I ever have to cut it out, I'll reinstall it a tad lower.

Oh yeah, I can lift the front end of the truck off the ground with the jack under the brace, but it was hard getting the jack that far under there. Don't know why I would ever need to. Although, I know that if I ever get hung up on a rock, it will hold!