Why You NEED control arm skids!!!

First off... let me say this... if you think you DON'T need skid plates for you control arms... GET THEM!!! Read on and learn from my mistake.

All right... it is almost MIDNIGHT and the engine/undercarriage is clean... for those keeping track it is about 5 hours since my last post when I said I was going to do it... and it took that entire time...
Still have exterior body and interior to wash, but thats just cosmetics...

Now for the tragedy (I hope not... but looking for advice from you guys).

The symptoms.... front axle is shifted driver about 2 inches... enough where my 10.5 looks almost like a 12.5 (talking tire width you dirty minds... you know who you are ) on the driver side sticking out from the flare. Not good.

The cause... passenger side lower control arm mount on the axle is now twisted (Z) instead of square ( ll ).

Since everything is now clean I was able to inspect it and see no cracks or torn metal, so that is some relief.

Thanks to Joe's "hillbilly alignment" (as his grand daddy used to say) it honestly has never handled better! (Got a bottle of with your name on it buddy) No shimmies, shakes, bumps, rattles, etc. (Joe/Danny... that "thump" on my floorboard riding home turned out to be my speedo cable popped loose of the hanger... so that was a relief)...

So... what am I worried about... the 2 parter...

1) The biggest concern... I HAVE TO get MD plates Thursday... NY expire this week, so I have to take Thursday off to get all switched over. Do you think it will pass the safety inspection as it is?

2) What is the cheapest, yet most solid, road/trail worthy repair possible to get it back where it is supposed to be.

The control arm itself still seems sqaure, but I have a spare in case it is not (thanks Danny... pick your poison... )

I don't really fear it breaking loose on me... at least not on the street. More concerned with the shift and if it will pass inspection

Open to any and all suggestions.

My first thoughts (but not a pro-mechanic so just brain storming)...

A) Get one of the weld in skid plates... heat up the tabs on the axle and try to massage them back into place using the skid as the template to square them up. Do a horizontal weld across the skid to the axle tube, and maybe some triangles to shore it up stronger.

B) Same as "A" pretty much, except instead of heating and bending I buy a whole new weld on bracket... since the old is still solid in place, the axle could be marked where it needed to be mounted... cut off the old, weld on the new, then on with the skid plates like above...

Man I am long winded... Sorry guys... those who have insomnia that I have cured after reading this, you can thank me later.

Anyway... just trying to get some outside thoughts on this one.



PS... this was BEFORE I cleaned up the truck... so no danglers now... hehehe.

I think you should have left it muddy for inspection!
Whoever inspects the Jeep is likely to notice the tweaked control arm mount, but you will be able to get paper tags for 28days to get it corrected.
I would also make sure all the little things are taken care of:
Drain plugs back in place
Wiper fluid Full
wipers in good shape
Oil full and OK.

They will look for every little thing, but you only have to go thru it once in MD. After that its JUST emissions:lol!:

tony you dont owe me anything because its all about helping each other. as for the bracket I would order some new weld on ones from rustys. If your going to hold on to the axel you do it right the first time instead of trying to make damaged parts work. Also when there welding on the bracket you can get them to weld on the skids.

Tony you have become a great story teller, I can't stop laughin, yet I am sorry to hear about your damages. But as Joe said, go new replacements, be safer. If you need an imediate repair you can call on Greg Presley 443-691-3186, he has a 20 garage stall near you. He live the off road and that is his livelyhood. Work out the details with him and tell him your a club member.

Good luck!

Tony you win I thought that my mounts on my Dana 35 was bad but good god man you look like you almost broke the mount completely off. I'm with Joe. Let a show weld on a new mount and skids while there at it.

Where are you located? I got my Jeep inspected in Bel Air and the control arms were shot and it passed with no issue. Pm me and I can llet you know where I always go for inspections.

I personally would not try to heat and bend to get it to straighten up. Seems to me the more you work the metal the weaker it will become. Driving it on the road is not a good idea at all. risk consequence-if you push your luck the normal road vibration may fatigue the metal and suddenly cause the mount to break. If that happens you will have a 55mph hunk of metal with no steering heading down the highway and possibly into oncoming traffic. buy new brackets and weld them in for a good solid fix.

Rockn93YJ wrote:

I personally would not try to heat and bend to get it to straighten up. Seems to me the more you work the metal the weaker it will become. Driving it on the road is not a good idea at all. risk consequence-if you push your luck the normal road vibration may fatigue the metal and suddenly cause the mount to break. If that happens you will have a 55mph hunk of metal with no steering heading down the highway and possibly into oncoming traffic. buy new brackets and weld them in for a good solid fix.

x2

TicotheJeepMan wrote:

Tony you have become a great story teller, I can't stop laughin, yet I am sorry to hear about your damages. But as Joe said, go new replacements, be safer. If you need an imediate repair you can call on Greg Presley 443-691-3186, he has a 20 garage stall near you. He live the off road and that is his livelyhood. Work out the details with him and tell him your a club member.

Good luck!

Thanks for the info Tico... I will look into it.

Anyone else know a shop that could handle this? Obviously I need it back quickly as it is the DD...

Sad part of the whole thing... I did it SOBER... so I have nothing to blame, but sure adrenaline rush...

But I would do it again in a heartbeat... just with skids next time...

Oh yeah... I tweaked the oil pan a little too.. no leaks... just a nice crease right below the drain plug.

I am going to have a garage change the oil... just in case the plug won't come out or go in, they are better prepped to fix it...

So those newbies out there...

Drive it like you stole it... but make sure it is a stolen armored truck first

connordanny wrote:

I think you should have left it muddy for inspection!
Whoever inspects the Jeep is likely to notice the tweaked control arm mount, but you will be able to get paper tags for 28days to get it corrected.
I would also make sure all the little things are taken care of:
Drain plugs back in place
Wiper fluid Full
wipers in good shape
Oil full and OK.

They will look for every little thing, but you only have to go thru it once in MD. After that its JUST emissions:lol!:

New York was YEARLY on both at the same time... and they nit picked it hard core.

I am tempted to take it to a dealer, and try to get the Easy Care Waranty to cover the work... but I have a feeling this may not be what they had in mind when they sold it to me...

Now I just have to practice my shocked look when they break the news it is bent...

Good luck with the Dealership Tony. I'm with Bill on that one. I would also get your alignment checked and fixed if needed. Just cause you don't feel it doesn't mean there tracking true.

Tony I think your next mod should be a tow rig since you like the skinny pedal so much.

UPDATE:

So I dropped off Black and Blue with George last night. He started work on it right away.

As promised I got an update at 10 AM.

The control arm and bracket are repaired.. but the axle is still shifted.

How Bad? Well... the sway bar on passenger is up against the frame... driver I can stick 3 fingers in. Just for starters.

The frame mount for the control arm is tweaked, the control arm itself as bent...

The axle is still shifted over about 2 inches driver. Left turns are wide... right turns cause the tire to rub the shock tower if I turn too hard.

George is taking it to a frame shop to have them check it out now. I will know in a few hours how grim it is...

He said what ever I hit... I hit it good.

Tony what did you do?

Sounds like the skids may not have helped

Tony,
I have the rest of the stock control arms that you can have for free also if you need them.
Hope it all turns out OK.

All right... so I got Black and Blue back...

WOW!!!

How to put this...

It's F'd.

Well... f'd but drivable.

George plus 2 shops come to the same conclusion... Frame is tweaked... about 3/4 if an inch on the passenger side toward driver.

The mounts on the axle will hold street driving, but are tweaked, so it adds another inch shift.

The sway bar disconnect presses into the frame on passenger, 3 fingers spacing on driver.

The tie rod and draglink both are tweaked as well...

The passenger tire rubs the frame and shock perch on hard turns, so no u-turns for me.

Shock perch looks ok, but until all the components are straigtend there is no way to tell..

Now for the "great" news.

George has a few calls in for a replacement d30... this would be the simplest way to swap it out... he has it lined up with a guy for 1200 hub to hub w/ steering arms... then it is just the frame puller to untweak.

The other option would be to cut all the mounts off the tube, weld on, and then realign... the mounts I can get for about 200 from rusty's, but the only quotes I got for welding them on came to almost the price of Georges axle...

So it looks like I will go the axle route, and have a spare d30 for parts or to build up and roll under when I get cash... or I could sell it and recoup some of the money...

And sadly... I STILL don't know when it tweaked...

I know it was not the hill climb because Joe had me all freaked out I broke something, and we looked it over... so that leaves Hell Hole, or the mud pit.

But it was all worth it... living by my new mantra...

"Gotta Pay To Play"

I figure I am due for damage... over 12 runs basically unscathed... Carnage Karma...

Thanks for all the calls of concern today... your condolences and concern are appreciated... it may be a few months before I am wheeling my rig... but I will be back... and all this axle work gives me a chance to work on those lockers... hehehehe (Though I wonder if that will just get me into MORE trouble... Gaylen did say I would be dangerous... )

Oh yeah... forgot to mention... rear track bar bent too... so I wonder if there is a straight part left on the truck?

Tony before you do anything call me. My cousin has a frame puller and we can do that axel for way under $1200. I have a spare dana 30 at the shop that you can have.

holy crap. something isn't right with that. don't pay that much to replace the axle unless your upgrading. is he sure that its not just the track bar. have joe look at it. something doesn't seem right. I have been beating mine nonstop for like 6years and nothing like this. So what did I really miss this weekend. 10, 20 foot jumps? did i say something doesn't seem right

I talked with Joe... he is going to take a looksey... just for a 4th opinion...

I agree with the cost... I might as well get a D44 for that much... it is half way to a full built drop in locked up one from 4WD...

But I am not going crazy on spending... the more opinions I get the more comfortable I will feel with what ever route I take.

This is exactly why I keep updating... just to make sure I am on the right page or if something is off (besides my alignment).

*sigh*... I just wanna wheel again...

regardless I am still ordering a Currie steering assembly because I know for sure that is in need...

might as well get a set of rusty's brackets too... it can't hurt and they are 4 times thicker than stock...

I still don't understand why it cost so much to cut and weld on the new brackets... Zac @ rusty's said a shop there would charge about 200... course I don't want to make the trek to Alabama... but I figured it sounded about right...

I thought no more than 500 to get new HD brackets, and the alignment... no more than 1K for the whole deal... hmmm.

Then again... it could be worse...

weld time at most shops in 90 bucks an hour.

rockdw72 wrote:

weld time at most shops in 90 bucks an hour.

Isn't there a lot of geometry involvded to get it in the right spot and angle though? or can it be adjusted out...

I doubt adjust with a stock set up... but if I got adjustable control arms... maybe...

I just need a drink... LOL.

I am holding off on spending ANYTHING until I get a clear plan on where I am heading. No point buying rods, arms, mounts if I am swapping the whole thing out. Once Joe and a few others have a peak for another opinion I might feel more comfortable...

yes there is. and they will charge $90 every hour it takes to prep, measure, tack and then weld (some might be different than others). I think the reason why rustys is so much less is because they most likely have a jig.

Quote :

I am holding off on spending ANYTHING until I get a clear plan on where I am heading. No point buying rods, arms, mounts if I am swapping the whole thing out. Once Joe and a few others have a peak for another opinion I might feel more comfortable...

That is what I would do

Didn't George say that you bend the frame too? Is his quote for the whole job and if so, what excally is the entire job to be done. I am sure it's more than brackets right. Do tell.