Clayton Off Road Manufacturing | TJ Long Arm Install and Review

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Clayton Off Road Manufacturing TJ Long Arm Review

If you are like many TJ owners out there, you have been wanting to upgrade to a long arm suspension. Clayton Offroad Manufacturing offers a very complete, trail and competition tested system designed for the TJ owner. It includes everything needed for a complete install. All of the components are hardcore beefy and the control arms come with Johnny Joints already installed and ready for punishment. The kits can now be had with springs, shocks, track bars and the like if you aren't just doing an upgrade.
The kit arrived within a week of ordering. It came in 3 boxes weighing around 70lbs via UPS. The kit included frame mounts for the control arms, the rear axle bridge for mounting the rear uppers and all 8 control arms that are the heart of this kit. Instructions did not come with the kit but were easily downloaded off their website.

The first order of business is to get everything ready for the kit. It is easier just to pull the rear axle instead of trying to do all the work with it under your rig. Remove the shocks, control arms, track bar (which you can toss in the trash after this kit is installed), sway bar and exhaust. You could start in the front if you wanted as opposed to the rear. That's completely up to you. We figured since there was so much more to do to the rear that we would do it first.

This is what your rig should look like after disassembly of the rear suspension. The transfer skid, exhaust after the cat, and rear control arms are all scattered around your shop. some modification is required to the skidplate but we will get to that later.

on the rear axle, a Ford 8.8 in this case, you need to remove some of the old brackets to make room for the axle truss. The upper control arms brackets, the sway bar brackets and the track bar bracket all get the grinder. Just grind the tubes smooth in these areas and you are ready to weld the truss on. Did I mention how beefy the truss is? It is NOT going to break. Ever. It's certainly "hardcore".

Now it's on to the lower control arm frame brackets. I won't go into a ton of detail here. although, the instructions do have some good suggestions on making this task easier. Basically you just want it to appear as if the old frame mounts were never there. Again on this one, your grinder is your friend.

At this point, You should have an even bigger scrap pile on your shop floor. In this photo you can see all of the old and new stuff. Once you have reached this point you are actually much closer than you think to being done.

On the 8.8 the vent tube and the truss create some issues. One option is to relocate the vent tube by welding the factory location shut and re-drilling and re-tapping for a new location. The second option, and the one we went with, was to clearance a small area on the truss for the factory vent tube to clear. You should be able to barely make out the modification in the picture. It is on the bottom of the left side of the truss.

Now it's time to start putting the long arms on. This step of the procedure is fairly easy. we probably only spent an hour putting all 8 arms on. Be sure and always refer to the instructions as they leave no guess work. They are clear and concise.

As I mentioned earlier, some modification is required to the skid plate for it to be re-mounted. The corners of the skid plate need cut away as to provide clearance for the new frame mounts. Your trusty old grinder will make short work of this. A couple trial fits may be necessary to get it just right.

Here is a shot of the front after completion of the install. Make sure your axles are centered and that your pinion angles are correct. This may take a couple tries but all and all isn't too much trouble. Also be sure and paint any unpainted metal surfaces as to prevent corrosion.

The next step is to weld the frame brackets in place. The instructions clearly define where these go and the best way of getting them located. Always make sure your weld surfaces are very clean and prepped properly. You certainly don't want a bad weld in this area. If you are not confident enough to pull this part of the install off don't hesitate. Get a qualified welder to do this for you. It is only about a half hours worth of welding so it shouldn't cost you an arm and leg. That is assuming everything is already tacked in place and ready to be welded. If it isn't tacked in place add another hour to your welding time.

Remember to grease all the Johnny Joints and double check that everything is tight and ready for action. You are going to want to flex it out to make sure everything is working properly and that there are no issues. Also, make sure the wheelbase is correct and not too short or too long. You may have issues with your brake lines not being long enough. One of the issues we found on our TJ was that the rear drooped so much that we had to put a limiting strap on the center of the differential so that the driveshaft wouldn't bind.

Here are some flex pics with the kit installed. Anything over 1300 ramp score is more than enough flex for a hardcore TJ. The drivers tire in this shot is 42" off the ground.

Here is a close up of the same shot. The on road ride is miles better than with a similarly lifted TJ with short arms. Small bumps are not as harsh and big bumps are much more tolerable. I firmly believe it actually rides better now than when it was new.

The guy standing next to the TJ is 5' 11" tall. that should give you some indication of how this kit actually works. Now for the real test...

After a year or so of wheeling this kit hard, it has not had one single issue come up. It works as perfectly and quietly as it did from day one. The massive box tubing on the control arms doesn't even flinch when smacked down hard on the rocks. The truss, brackets, arms and joints are still as good as new.

If you are in the market for a "Hardcore" suspension consider the Clayton Offroad Manufacturing kit. Adam and Clayton are both great guys with excellent customer service and hardcore wheeling in their blood. For more information contact Clayton at: (203)757-0339
or
Visit them on the web at: www.claytonoffroad.com