Opinions on control arms...Metalcloak - Clayton - Rusty's

[ryanlsmith]

Happy with my Core 4x4 stuff so far. Seems like great quality, and overall the fitment has been perfect or close to perfect. I went with their T4 complete set (steering, front/rear track bars, front/rear UCA/LCA). I installed everything except the control arms (need help with those). Only issue I ran into was the adjustment nut on the pitman end of the drag link hits the brace that the joint mounts to because my lift isn't enough to require the ball joint to be extended out very far. And on the axel side of the track bar, the joint is a bit too large (wide) and isn't able to clear the hole that already exists in the brace, so per their advice I had to open up the hole a little with a grinder.

In any case, because of the results so far and their recent sale, I got their (new?) T4 front/rear end links to finish it all off.

Speak of the devil…

edit: Seems like I got some wrong hardware or there was a design change. There are 8 bolts and nuts, but the rear top bolts go into a fixed factory nut, not one that you torque down. Unfortunately the factory bolt is too short and the provided bolt is a different thread pitch.

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[Wheelin98TJ]

Its still a hard urethane, it cushions better than metal as metal is not elastic at all, but its not rubber soft as urethane cant bounce back like rubber. JJ will always have more NVH than a rubber bushing, now is that 5%, 10%, 50% more and will you notice is all up for questions.

Not sure it is accurate to call it a "hard urethane". I don't know where it lands on the durometer scale and I'm sure Currie does not want to share this info. But John Currie describes it as a softer urethane.

 

[darkhorse13]

Synergy Mfg are my vote. Super beefy, maintenance free joints and you DON'T have to drop an end to adjust them. That's huge when you are getting a front end alignment (saves you and the tech time) on the rack or setting rear pinion angle.

 

[Rusty PW]

I had Johnny Joints on my PW. Never notice an increase in NVH because of the MT tires.

 

[mcoutu06]

Thank you to the OP for including us in the mix. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions about our products.

As a note, Metalcloak, too, is Veteran owned... @Matsonian spent 12 years in the US Navy.

That is awesome! 8 year Navy Veteran here!

 

[hjdca]

Yup. I just check my torque now and then when I finish wheeling.

Note: It is easier to get a paint pen and mark all the bolt and nuts. Then, just a quick look at everything, and you instantly know the status.

 

[hjdca]

Clayton front lower control arm with brake extension bracket. Note: That arm and those skids have been scraped up now and painted. The arms do not dent at all. This pic is old.

 

[DocMike]

Of course. But I do it for the peace and quiet. So if it takes an hour.....

Note: It is easier to get a paint pen and mark all the bolt and nuts. Then, just a quick look at everything, and you instantly know the status.

 

[DocMike]

I'm running that same bracket. It's a nice set up.

Clayton front lower control arm with brake extension bracket. Note: That arm and those skids have been scraped up now and painted. The arms do not dent at all. This pic is old.

 

[WanderingTrail]

I'll talk longevity of the Clayton arms. I have a set that I originally installed on my 07 JK and then moved them to my 12 JK. 15 years and about 130k miles later I just rebuilt all the rear Johnny Joints because I was hearing a squeak. 3 were in perfect condition and probably didn't need to have new bushings installed. 2 suffered from lack of greasing, these two were always hard to grease, but the ball joints werefine after I cleaned off the bushing debris. The last one was just worn out, but once again the ball was fine. 6 new bushings and the joints were tight, and greased up fine just like new. The arms cleaned up fine and aside from a few scrapes, the powder coat was still intact, no rust, but I do live down south. Though I did discover that I had installed the rear upper arms backwards 10 years ago. The JK was my daily drive and I never thought it was a harsh ride with the Johnny Joints. I home the arms on my JT last as long.

Ron

 

[BlueScapegoat]

My TJ is all Johnny Joints, both ends on Savvy arms. I also run poly body and trans mounts, I wanted a really tight crisp feel. So whether or not it translates NVH I can't argue in good faith. My whole jeep is NVH. But what it does prevent is that reverberation feeling I notice in every jeep I drive with rubber bushings.

Been on there 9 years of DD duty with 35s and 37s and they're all still tight and noise free. Eventually I'll be getting the same for the JT. With how much flatter the arm geometry is, I highly doubt any added NVH is going to be an issue, for me. The Johnny Joints just allow forces to smoothly transfer to where they belong- the suspension.

 

[LostWoods]

Clayton front lower control arm with brake extension bracket. Note: That arm and those skids have been scraped up now and painted. The arms do not dent at all. This pic is old.

Alternatively, I highly recommend the Teraflex brake line mounts if you don't get to keep a factoryish mount. Keeps them out of the way and the rubber flexes nicely to give slack when needed.

As for OP, my vote is metalcloak. Best articulation, no maintenance, and a great ride.

 

[RanchoShocks]

Throwing our name in the mix too!!!
Our D2 bushing is maintenance free and rebuildable.
Want to adjust on vehicle? We offer that too.
Likes to play in the rocks too!

 

[Orange01z28]

I put on a set of all 8 Metalcloak arms and it rides better than it ever has on and off road. I can comfortably go 90 on 37s now

 

[@californiajeeping]

MetalCloak all day. Most durable, quiet, long-lasting, maintenance-free bushings out there and solid as a rock. Fantastic company with fantastic customer service.

I can't speak to any other brands because I've never used anything else on my jeeps.

I went metalcloak on my diesel and they are phonomenal. I have run every joint out there over the years and my favorite by far is the metal cloak. It functions as a clevite with self centering until a certain point then it allows internal rotation.

It does all that with out the ticking clicking and clanking of a heim style end.

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