resharp001

I appreciate your comment. Just to be clear.....the "old mount" is now 1/4" thick Artec.....so by itself it is pretty dang beefy. Considering the MC bracket is intended to simply sandwich the old 1/8" factory bracket and be held in place by 2 bolts (one through where the shock would be with a spacer now in place, and one from the bottom), I was thinking a good weld along that one red line in post #2, accompanied with a bolt from the bottom, and still a bolt through the mount (like one typically would). So, welding a 3/16" to 1/4" seems like it would be solid. I was originally thinking welding it all alot where the MC meets the Artec, but I now think that would just be major overkill.

I don't think I'd be asking any more than if the MC bracket was simply bolted to a factory bracket, but that's why I've thrown the question out there for opinions. I'm definitely getting off the standard road map a bit and in edging in to the fabing arena with the issue. I'm not a fabricator myself, so trying to just think things through logically.

Thanks for pondering the issue.

TheDirtman

Since you can cut and weld Installing a mount like this https://www.ballisticfabrication.com...t-bracket-axle would be what I would recommend. It also turns the bolt mount so your shock eye rotates on the bolt and not the misalignment. I understand trying stop save a couple bucks and cutting and grinding brackets is not may favorite thing to do but later on when you are looking at it you will wish you did it right the first time. This bracket is also much stronger then what you have there.

resharp001

Thanks Dirtman. I value your opinion on stuff like this. I'm kinda stuck in regards to making it work right now I think. I actually just had these Artecs mounted at the same time I replaced LCA brackets and added truss. It was kind of an all-at-one-time job as there is so little room to work on those shocks mounts. The real issue more so than re-orientating the mount was not being able to outboard the new shock mount enough as the gussets on the rubi axle were limiting that process. So, now I'm just trying to make the best of the situation. I agree that the bracket you are suggesting is a stronger solution for one wanting to flip the mount 90*; however I would have still been limited in my outboarding capability due to the gussets. I realize all of this is self inflicted pain stemming back from just having too much travel in my shocks .....and now I've kicked that can so far down the road it's hard to leave it alone.

Nothing is simple on my jeep....like pounding a square peg in a round hole. One thing always leads to another as the learning curve continues. The battle of trying to build an axle vs. buying aftermarket is just difficult in general. crazyeyes:

Thanks for taking the time to respond. I like that bracket in general and it's a great suggestion that hopefully others will run across.

TheDirtman

Not only does that bracket change the mount by 90 degrees it also pushes it out away form the C gussets to give your shocks body more clearance. On a factory axle tube it should move the center of the mount out about 4" from the face of the axle. I went back and measured and my initial numbers were wrong from memory. I can't speak for the Artec mount bit it does not look like it give you the clearance.

I get you on moving stuff any little change in anything in my suspension feels like a complete rebuild.
Another reason for tons is the extra width you get from them. I can't believe the amount of people that buy a PR44 and get it in the factory width when they are better off getting one that is 2"-4" wider then stock to give more room for brackets and eliminate/reduce the need for wheel adapters.

resharp001

It drives me crazy when people don't follow up on threads, so ...... welded this bracket on the red line in the pic on 2nd post of this thread. Guess we'll see. It's bolted across, bolted from the underside, and welded on the one side. If it fails I'll report back and will return to the drawing board. I think if it fails, it will be the MC bracket due to how I had to cut it rather than the Artec mount. Live and learn....

JK_BUB

I have heard of issues with the MC brackets on axles with the shock mounts already offset causing interference with the brake caliper. Have you taken a look at that?

resharp001

The new shock mount I had welded on couldn't be outboarded much at all cuz the gussets wouldn't allow for it. They are maybe 1/4" further out than factory, so not much at all. If they were really outboard where some of the aftermarket axles have them , I could see an additional bracket getting in the way of the caliper.

resharp001

Following up on this......fix appears to have held up to Hot Springs Off Road Park. So far so good.

karls10jk

Thank you for following up on this. I have the same mounts and just installed MC's new style which got me looking over my mounts. I'm looking at doing something similar to what you've done. If we're honest, I'm already too deep into the jeep to think about pulling pieces if it were to ever sell so what difference does it make in adding the bead across the bottom?

resharp001

I figured one bead easy to grind off if need to remove them for some reason as well.

Little confused on your set up. You have the artec mounts as well and are in the same boat that the MC brackets won't fit around em?