uca/ bag bracket ?

i just started my fronts tonight and got as far as tryng to figure measurements for botom plates and bags and such. one thing i was noticing and a little leary of was that it looked to me that the uca and the upper bag plate will hit. is this true? my bottom plate is centered on the lca and about 1" over the lower ball joint. i have a 5/8" spacer to get the plate up over the BJ. thanks!
dale

Hey bro it will clear. Here is a very educational link on one way (the most common probably) of doing the front.


I know that a few of us (myself and Bodied 2600zx (Josh)) have done it a bit differently. Here is the link to my build and Josh's.
Josh's Build ---->

My Build ----->

If all else fails I am sure the likes of Tre or Dev or Chris (CL) or Linn (Immortal 1) and several others on here will be able to help with it.

ya, i went through that link and bgdb26k's build and dropped90's build and seth's mazda build. but noone really had any pics of the control arm over the upper plate. i did alot of measuring and came to the conclusion that it won't even hit when aired up, but just wanted more info
.
thanks
dale

Generally speaking, the upper bag mount (when done correctly) will be mounted low enough that the uca will not pivot down far enough to hit it (which is probably what you just figured out). Something else I read in what you posted above is that "my bottom plate is centered on the lca and about 1" over the lower ball joint. i have a 5/8" spacer to get the plate up over the BJ". Most of the lca setups I have seen have the lower bag bracket right on the lca, and just behind the bj (see tubin & dubin's build thread - he has a pic of his lca). By raising the bag mount up, this also raises your upper bag mount which may cause an interference. By having the lower bag mount to far out on the lca (over the bj), this may also move the upper bag mount to far out - again more possible interference. I believe Jeff (JMZ and others) have notched the frame directly below the uca mount to allow the bag to sit closer to the pivot point of the lca.

Hope this helps some.

when i had the lower plate just a hair over the bj, it would get the bag too close to the frame when when lca raised all the way up. thats why i moved it out. i thought it would work just right with the plate where i started with it. the back side of the plate is on the lca. i did opt to mount it that way.

What size bags are you running in the front? Pics of your set up will help also.

Yes I notched not only my frame (Thanks for the idea Josh) and nothced my LCA to set the bag plate lower. In the end this will allow me to not only obtain more lift, smoother ride, better looking LCA, but also my UCA will be able to be stronger as I do not have a bag plate right under it. Yes I am adding gussets/supports to the Upper bag plat but shouldn't have to worry too much about my UCA mount.

sounds like you are running into the issue i have. my lower bag bracket sits right above the ball joint. i have alot of clearance between the bag and the frame. my old truck had issues with rubbing there and i focused too much attention on getting it away from it that i actually went alittle overboard and went too far away. issue with that is that i dont have as much lift as i should and at full lift my upper control arm locks out on the upper bag bracket. i know its wrong but my truck goes up and down and the bag doesnt rub....dont judge me..lol

LOL Nice Mikey. More than what I can say about mine. LOL I guess if I use the jack I can get it to go up and down.

Basically what Mikey is saying there are more than one way to do this mod.

i am running RE 6 up front. what i did was find a good start point for the lower plate. then i jacked the lca up. knowing that the bag is 6" round, and 3" compressed i went from there. at this point i figured that i would neede to move the lower plate out. then i tacked a pc of 3" sq tube to the lower plate and jacked the lca up.i est. with my finger the back space for the bag in the compressed position. when i did that i lowered the lca back down. with this set up it pushed the lower plate out over the bj. i know the ultimately you want to keep the plates even with each other. i do have my lca notched. i guess if i put the lower plate back closer to the frame, it will move the upper portion of the bag closer to the frame. will a little rubbing be ok? i mean i guess i wont be driving with it completey laid out.?