This is what I’m leaning toward minus the 3 link

 

You should mount the struts on top of the axle. Does not look like much of a stretch?

 

I’ll stretch it 8”. Can I mount the struts on top of the axle with the upper control arm mounts in the stock location?

 

Move the control arm mounts, I can't believe you are going to do a stretch and 37's with factory axles. From that photo it looks like you have a bout a 2" stretch, if you are going 8" the strut is not going to fit in the hole you have in the frame and the axle is going to hit the new cross member you installed unless you are going to be really tall with the lift.

 

This is not my rig. I’m using this idea but at 8”.

Move the control arm mounts how? I’m keeping the 5 link.

 

Thats good to hear, that guy did a ton of poor work for really no gain.

I would just go with a 3 link then, like you were originally thinking. I know I recommended against it earlier but I would rather have the shocks mounted up top and on a factory width axle you just don't have the room for all the brackets. I would get a bridge from genright as theirs work with either a 3 link or triangulated 4 link should you ever think about changing in the future.You are also going to help yourself and make things easier if you find a rear axle that is at least 68" WMS (70" would be best for 37" tires) it will give you more tube to work with as far as mounting the shocks in their proper orientation without loosing so much room in the tub.

 

Why are you against mounting the struts behind the axle with a five link? Should I be concerned about the drivability of a three link on a daily driver?

 

It places the whole weight of the jeep on the lower shock mount which will cause a load in the control arm joints. Putting the mount on top places the weight of the jeep on the axle and wheels.

 

HUH? The weight will be on the axle and wheels, regardless. Only potential differences is a minor amount of torque placed on the axle, but that's minimal at best. Many coilover setups place the mount lower on the housing for packaging with little ill effect.

 

I guess my wording was poor. Yes the weight is on the wheels and axles. By placing the bracket on the rear of the axle the weight of the vehicle will force the axle to want to spin the pinion up on the rear and down on the front. This puts more stress on the control arm joints creating more wear and making it harder to remove and replace control arms. Placing the mount on top of the axle eliminates this loading of the control arm joints and will also give you better clearance for the body of the strut or coil over when in extreme articulation. In single shock set ups (including cloistering overs) I recommend doing it this way. With a dual shock set up placing shocks on both sides of the axle helps the issues of the load on the joints but does not eliminate it. The only drawback to mounting on top is that you need to raise the upper mount which typically requires a shock hoop and sometimes cutting into the tub.

The behind the axle and under the frame mounting like some companies use are done simply so you don't have to modify so much (or any) of the frame and tub, it works and allows people that don't know what they are doing to run coil overs but is not an ideal way to set up. I would also argue that mounting the shocks higher and as wide as you can on top the axle will give better stability and less body roll with a high upper mount that tilts in around 15 degrees.
On a factory axle this is tough to do or you end up loosing a lot of room in the rear tub as the upper have to be way inside of the tub.