Duff extended radius arms

[leggo]

Yippee!!! I just got my James Duff Entended Radius Arms.
I cant wait to put them on! I will be posting my installation here any questions, comments or requested pictures. let me know.

 

[Lead]

Let me know how those work out. I just got what came with the suspension kit.

 

[leggo]

They are on!

i just put them on yesterday after work.
they look soooo good. it took longer to do then I had estimated, then again what doesnt!!LOL
The only problems I had putting them on was getting the correct spacing on the new tranny crossmember, cause every trucks spacing is a little different by nature. im in the process of uploading pictures now. But it might take a few days till you see them cause of the big weekend.

 

[Brett]

Congratulations!

I know you'll like this setup. I have been running around with mine for quite some time now. I have been really impressed thus far. I think the Duff arms are far superior to anything else on the market.

I also had a heck of a time putting on the arms. It took an extra hand and a little finese to get them into place.

Let's see a write up on them.

 

[leggo]

Install Pictures

Heres some pictures of the install. I have more detailed pictures, I decided not to clutter up the thread with so many pics. If you are interested in seeing them I can e-mail them or send you to my photopoint to look through them. Unless the moderator says its o.k., I will post them all. E-mail me for picture info.
O.K. here we go:
Picture one-
This was my Explorer before the install.Note the old Rough Country drop bracket and crossmember these will be permanently removed. And the Transmission mount crossmember (not shown)will also be removed.

Picture Two-
This was after everything that needed to be taken off was removed.The axles were held up by two pieces of 4x4 lumber blocks.

Picture Three-
Once the old was removed I placed it on the floor and took this picture to show how different the stock arms are from the Duff set-up. Notice how long they are! Hopefully these will give me plenty of drop! I also forgot to put the old tranny crossmember in the picture next to the new one, what a difference!

Picture four-
This is the new arm bracket mounted in place. This is mounted in the same holes where the tranny x-member was.I had to drill 4 holes for the entire install.Please dont pay attention to my rigged brake cable!! LOL

Picture five-
This is the final product! That wasnt so bad. The only thing I had a problem with was filling in the gap and mounting the crossmember, I also had to weld on two adjustable bump stops because the new shock mounts stuck out too far and were rubbing the inside of the rim when I turned the wheel all the way.

 

[RobbieJ]

What do you think about the Shock mount? On mine if I tighten the lower shock bolt all of the way the shock smashes up against the radius arm the first time I tightened the shock I smashed the side of the shock. It really reduces travel. I've been thinking about moving the shock mount to the top of the radius arm to allow for full wheel travel. Robbie

 

[rockylaurence]

I LIKE IT!

It looks like J/D provided Caster adjmnts also. I had to Fab. additional drop blocks on my SkyJacker arms to get Caster in specs. Are those arms good for a 4" lift only?

 

[Randall]

How similar in length and peformance are the duff arms compared to the extended radius arms for a superlift 5.5 lift? I just ordered the 5.5 without the extended radius arms with my money from christmas, thinking that I could add the extended arms later. But if these will work with the 5.5, I might try them instead.

 

[Brett]

Robbie and others,

I have the Duff double shock loop on mine. It actually moves the shock outwards so it does not smash up against the radius arm.

 

[RobbieJ]

As far as the dames duff radius arms and a 5.5 inch superlift go. I'm waiting on my 5.5 superlift and I WILL be using the james duff radius arms. I may have to refab some brakets or something but I'll get it done. I'm also going to relocate the front shock mount to the top of the radius arm. The James duff arms are longer and stronger then the superlift arms.

 

[leggo]

Just looking at the pictures for the arms I figured the duff arms would be better, but it wasnt till I held one in my hand did I realize I had made the right choice. I know superlift has made alot of kits in their day but James Duff definetely takes the cake when it comes to the Explorer/Ranger!

The tech. guy at duff said that the arms will work with stock height to 4" lift. If you have the 5.5" I imagine that you can fab. in some drop blocks to go between the frame and the ext. arm bracket. I would contact duff before doing this though, maybe they have dealt w/ this before.

As far as the shocks go, I have pretty large size shocks and mine do not touch the arm, but they are close. I am afraid that once I do some riding that they might start touching, so i am going to buy the hoop double shock mount.
(Does anybody know of any other companys that sell these so I can compare pricing and Quality?)
Robbie-did you try to put a spacer between the shock and the arm? I think 5/8 washers will go over the stud?

I dont know if I would mount the shock on top of the arm, because I think it would severely limit the length of shock you can use and one way or the other you wouldnt be able to flex without messing up the shock or bottoming out on it. If youre looking for a cost effective fix I would think you can buy the double shock mount and just use one shock to save money? Ask them, but I dont see the harm.

Sorry so long...

 

[Randall]

You would have to get all new shocks with the double shock hoop, because I believe that thye require longer shocks to use.

 

[leggo]

I realize that you would have to purchase longer shocks I just was wondering if he could use 1 shock per side. Instead of two until the next two were purchased?

 

[Brett]

leggo,

the double shock hoop is very well built - just like all the other duff products. This weekend, I removed the forward shock. I rubbed real bad on the front shocks at full turn, they got in the way of my superlift extended brake lines, I had a hard time fitting my new JKS swaybar disconnects, but the most important reason was because my wife didn't like the stiffer ride.

 

[chad]

I have the James Duff lift and the dual shock mounts. I just ordered the longer radius arms and have not had any problems with clearance of any of the shocks yet. The dual shock setup could be used with one shock but that shock will need to be about an inch to an inch and a half longer than what you were using before the hoop. Since I will be switching over to new shocks soon I will have some shocks left over. All four of the front shocks, I also have a set of single front shocks from the 2.5"lift. If anyone is interested in the shocks I will make them a deal. I just got done visiting James Duff in person and I can tell you that those guys really do care about their products and all of the people that work there take their work seriously. How long did it take for you guys to put the arms on? I am going to be doing some more work on the front so I know it will take me a while but what was your experience? There is another company that makes dual shock kits I think it is K-bar-S with their kit you can use up to three front shocks. I looked at both and found the James Duff to be a better product.
If you have any questions email me at chadwilts@hotmail.com
Chad

 

[BExplorer]

Wish...

It was on my wish list to Santa, but he did not bring any extended radius arm. Was I a bad boy??? Seriously it looks good, and I'm sure it is tought just by the looks of em.

 

[leebo]

Hold off on anything from K-bar-S. They are right now sitting back redoing some of their items for the explorer and in my mind are getting ready to make a run at James Duff. They are located here in Las Vegas and are located in a great looking shop.

 

[93SPORTIOWA]

hey chad ?

you said that you have 2 single shocks for a 2.5 lift what kind are they and how much i would be very interested please let me know