Is there a difference between the radius arm protectors ? recommended one ?

Hi, 
Just looking at options to protect a brand new Jimny.  One of the options that keeps coming up is radius arm protectors, being the lowest part of the underbody seems like a sensible upgrade.

However is there a recommended brand ?   Are they all pretty much the same ? 

Am getting a rust proofing done before receive the car from new as hoping this will be a long term car so just looking for the best options to protect the investment.

thanks.

I have the Jimnybits protectors. They do not require any drilling to fit them. Some brands require a hole drilling through the side of the radius arm bracket, I think this Is to prevent the trailing edge of the protector from drooping, so it doesn't snag if you are reversing over an obstacle. Other brands achieve this by having a longer protector with a little tab at the end that locates in a existing hole in the chassis. 

The Jimnybits protectors are such a snug fit, neither of the above locating methods are required. 

I would personally (and did) go for an option that doesn't require drilling any holes.

t6hanks for your input, yeah I dont want to drill holes really. Are these easy to fit or is it better to have them fitted in case any alignment requires checking after fitting ? Im no mechanic so have never fitted anything other than non essential parts like replacing wingmirrors to cars before

Jimnybits ones here too, chosen as they were the only readily available option at the time!

They're dead easy to fit - if you're slim you don't even need to jack the car up. Just position a jack under the arm you're working on to stop it from moving, undo the existing bolt, hold protector in place and fit new extended bolt and spacers, torque to spec, done.

LIke all JB stuff they're made of very thick steel, so protection is excellent but the powder coating is a bit rubbish, so they'll suffer surface rust once knocked. The metal is so thick that it doesn't really matter from a structural perspective, just cosmetic. I plan to take mine off, sand and repaint as some point to make them pretty again, as I've already had to do with my JB rocksliders.

Chicken wrote:

Hi, 
Just looking at options to protect a brand new Jimny.  One of the options that keeps coming up is radius arm protectors, being the lowest part of the underbody seems like a sensible upgrade.

However is there a recommended brand ?   Are they all pretty much the same ? 

Am getting a rust proofing done before receive the car from new as hoping this will be a long term car so just looking for the best options to protect the investment.

thanks.

Do you plan to off road and do you have a budget?

As far as I know all of the radius arm protectors are basically the same design. I can’t be certain, but any I’ve seen online are. None of those require drilling.

I also have the Jimnybits ones. They are a good price. Some are very expensive, to which I have no idea how the price can be justified.

If you only want them for looks or won’t be going over rocks there are aluminium ones I believe. They are likely fine, but potentially more easy to bend.

The steel ones do run the risk of rusting. Powerder coating always fails and in use will likely get damaged. But they are not that visible and easy to tidy up with something like Dinitrol.

Fitting is fairly easy. You’ll need a hard standing, a jack and an axle stand. Plus the right sockets/spanners. I found an electric windy gun (impact gun) to be great for this.

The Jimnybits ones have spacers inside the guard that you need to get in place for the bolt to go through. A shame they aren’t welded to the guards. So this can be fiddly. I used some Dinitrol to hold the spacers in place as I carefully lifted the guard into place.

Potentially the radius arm will move a bit, so you might need to be able to roll the tyre & axle forward or back a tad. Having an extra bottle jack is also handy so you can jack up the chassis end of the arm should you need too. However, if you are not removing the arm from the vehicle (new bushes). It may not move at all and make it all easier.

An extra pair of hands can be handy if you do need to move the axle. So one person can look to see when aligned and push the bolt home.

None of this has any impact on wheel or vehicle alignment.

I don't have any protection on my Gen 4 yet, but I am going to do more trials and a few treks planned, so it might be an idea.

I had radius arm protectors on my last Jimny, so these might be a good idea, but what do you think about the following:

- Front Diff
- Transfer Case
- Rear Diff (may be less likely to be needed than the other two?)

Just looking at Jimnybits at the moment, they aren't too expensive.

I am not lifted, so I assume I will loose a little clearance, is that going to be a problem or do the diff/transfer case fit really snug?

I have touched bottom a couple of times, all soft stuff so far and can see a few marks on the front radius arms, but think the front diff touched last week and I don't want to risk the transfer case.

I want the front recovery points as well, but they are out of stock.

Robin

DrRobin wrote:

I don't have any protection on my Gen 4 yet, but I am going to do more trials and a few treks planned, so it might be an idea.

I had radius arm protectors on my last Jimny, so these might be a good idea, but what do you think about the following:

- Front Diff
- Transfer Case
- Rear Diff (may be less likely to be needed than the other two?)

Just looking at Jimnybits at the moment, they aren't too expensive.

I am not lifted, so I assume I will loose a little clearance, is that going to be a problem or do the diff/transfer case fit really snug?

I have touched bottom a couple of times, all soft stuff so far and can see a few marks on the front radius arms, but think the front diff touched last week and I don't want to risk the transfer case.

I want the front recovery points as well, but they are out of stock.

Robin

IMO the transfer box skid is a must if you off road. I found the transfer box hit the ground quite a bit. There are some photos in my build thread somewhere.

This does depend what you do off road. Regular lanes will probably be fine. But I was going round some RTV trials sites. The relatively poor break over angle catches you out on technical terrain. The transfer skid will loose an inch or so of clearance. But the guard I have fits pretty snug. It does create a smooth underside less likely to get hung up on.

The diff guards will split opinion more. I’ve never run diff guards on any Land Rover I’ve owned and off roaded. Although my brother did reverse into a rock laning the other year in his 90 and put a dent in the diff case.

With any diff guard you will loose clearance and run the risk of being beached more easily. The small wheels of the Jimny you are already at risk of this. However I’d also say that as the diffs are lower they are also more vulnerable and more likely to clonk a rock or boulder on a green lane. I have diff guards fitted to mine. I have been beached too. But I don’t think not having the guards would have saved me.

Oops!! 

 

Thanks, all good advice.

I think I will go for radius arm, transfer and diff protectors, but I will do the diff breathers first.

Robin

I have the transfer box skid plate.

It worried me how exposed the transfer is, and as autos are like rocking horse droppings there isn't much chance of getting one from a breaker in the UK.


It reflects the noise from the transfer back into the car, which is initially quite frightening at speed, but I stuck a pad of closed cell foam on the inside of mine to cut down on the reflections, and hopefully not soak up oil & water - we shall see about that when I drain the transfer

I bought radial cup protectors and recovery points from DesSol in South Africa. Very high quality and even with shipping, cost less than buying stuff from the UK. Recovery points include 3.5 ton bow shackles.
Bought them in batches to avoid import duties. Would recommend.

Based in Qld Aus, mostly will be dirt tracks and sand for offroad. Not planning on going fo e too technical trails to start with, but those radius arm cups do sit a little low so thinking should be my first protection. I have a navara dual cab with no protection or lift that's been most of the places I will go in the jimny, but the jimny is new, "for the missus" and planning on keeping so want to protect as much as possible from new without breaking the bank