Why You NEED control arm skids!!!

Tony,

I'm just thinking out loud here. There should be some play in your JKS quick discos, so could you pound the sway bar back in place with a sedge hammer?

k... so it was a nice day outside today, so I spent it laying on my back looking the whol thing over bumper to bumper with my own 2 eyes.

Back and forth a lot to the factory service manual for comparison.

Here is my conclusion and the direction I am heading.

I think the front track bar took a MASSIVE hit. all the photos I saw of a stock one show a slight curve. Mine is the letter U at the bend back to the joint to the frame.

Not surprising since the tie rod was just as bent, and that control arm mount twisted.

As for the sway bar... I think all the pressure just shifted it. It was not that far over til I forced the disco's back on... then I think it just shifted over.

I am putting a call into JKS and Currie tomorrow for an adjustable track bar. (Thanks Matt, Kat, Bobbi, and Joe... I don't know why I didn't even think to check this before).

I am going JKS and Currie because they seem solid... I have the JKS disco's and love them, but the rod only goes 1"-3.5" lift... currie suposedly goes 0-6". I am calling both to confirm the stats... for $200 I want something that will carry over to the next lift (I know most kits come with new trackbar, but I want one to last and possibly be a spare).

Still need the steering replaced... probably start checking Crazy Ray's this week for a tie rod (my ends are fine... Crazy sells em for 20 if I can find a few).

The bracket looks fine... a little dinged, but better than sideways.

I know its messed up, but the more I look at it the less severe it seems (as far as cost to repair... especially now that it is all cleaned up so I see what I have to work with).

I'll keep you posted, and hopefully be back on the trails soon.

Tony,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I would start with the track bar and steering 1st and see if it all lines back up. You would have had to beat the crap out of it to bend the frame CA mount. I would think the strock CA would have bent REALLY bad if the top mount/frame is bent. My RE adj. track bar has held up really well but the others you mentioned are good products too. A good friend of mine is a awesome welder if you need new mounts, he'll be real fair on the price. Let me know if you need help with anything and my garage is always available. And remember, its not a full time trail rig until you have another DD

Sorry I havent been around much everyone. Between the new job and a baby being due in about a week I've had no time. I am going through trail withdraw though so I'm hoping to make a trip soon. The rubi has been sqeeky lately so I think its needs to flex a little

Ryan

Update time:

So... I went scavenging Crazy Ray's to see what my options were...

We started in Jessup... went in tool box in hand... ready for the quest. Laurie and I made it about 1/2 way through the yard when we figured out their "system" to piling vehicles... so we found the "Jeep Section". She stayed with the tools while I looked for a TJ... none to be found... I found quite a few CJs, 2 YJs stripped, and a ton of Grands, but no regular Cherokees...

We changed strategies at that point due to temps and such... I left the tools in the truck for the next 2 stops... just a tape measure and pad of paper with my rough measurements.

Round 2 - curtis bay... 1 cherokee on the walk through... sweet... til I crawled underneath... hmmm... where's the pumkin? it wasn't 4wd. and the arms were backwards to mine... After poundering for some time who would buy a Jeep without 4wd we went to the third stop.

Jackpot on Erdman... no TJs or YJs, but 6 cherokees, a few grands (Joe), and a few CJs.

Quickly assesing my options, triple checking the math, and back to the truck for the tools.

In about an hour I had stripped 3 tie rods (1 for Black and Blue, 2 spares), 1 Drag Link, 1 NEW HD steering stabilizer (jackpot in itself... no leaks either ) and a new front track bar.

All for less than $50!!!

The rest of Saturday spent cleaning and repainting the parts (and changing the oil... read Kat's oil change post for a real life der dee der ).

Today I was ready to roll...

Stripped off the old bent up parts, in with the new... all in all about 2 hours.

Double checked my measurements on the alignment (no adjustments needed... another stroke of luck)... and test drove.

Now the horrors...

So a stock track bar helped a little... it shifted the axle back 3/4 of an inch, but I still am off another 1/2 to go yet (based on still rubbing passenger side, and meas. from fender flare to tread of tire... rough est. but better than eyeballing it).

Control arms are still bent... both lowers tweaked GOOOOOOD. It may be just the control arms.... but....

I also ordered the Currie Adjustable track... I know I can get it centered at that point... then just reinforcing/replacing the mounts and the control arms...

All in all I would say it was a successful weekend... the 3/4 shift took some wear off my front drive shaft, the handling is a lot better with the heavier shock, and I can make a U-turn again (legally of course... hehehehe).

Slowly but surely it is getting there... and without breaking the bank.

BTW... Pictures to follow soon to compare bent to new so you can see how tweaked all the parts were... and considering how BEEFY that trac bar looks it has me really how it managed to bend.

Did any of the cherokees have the d30 pinion yoke? A friend in Pa has one I can have but I think I will keep a spare if I can find one. I also need a drag link, did you notice any others there.

Thanks

Tony,
I have the other 7 control arms sitting in my basement. You can have whichever ones you need. We can put them on any night this week if you want.

hey tony dont forget you get the off set of the tires with the Budget Boost cause the stock track bars. The adjustable ones will cure that problem. I personally if your not going for a new lift any time soon would either collect some stock lower control arms or buy some upgraded control arms. They take a beating a little better than the stock ones and they are adjustable.

Chris Taylor wrote:

Did any of the cherokees have the d30 pinion yoke? A friend in Pa has one I can have but I think I will keep a spare if I can find one. I also need a drag link, did you notice any others there.

Thanks

All the ones I saw had the pinion yolk attached still.

There were at least 2 drag links left behind by me at Ehrdman location... both held on by the passenger side rod end to the knuckle... I had to disconnect off the pitman arm to get the tie rod link free due to the length of the stud not clearing back far enough.

Basically they were in the back row furthest from the entrance... there is a main "road" to the employees only area where they were crushing cars and piling them... all 3 cherokees were about 4-6 rows downhill from that. Your first clue will be a silver/greyish cherokee (w/ drag link) at the head of the row... the rest are behind it about 4 cars back and in that area.

Hope that helps.

Tony

makitupthehardway wrote:

hey tony dont forget you get the off set of the tires with the Budget Boost cause the stock track bars. The adjustable ones will cure that problem. I personally if your not going for a new lift any time soon would either collect some stock lower control arms or buy some upgraded control arms. They take a beating a little better than the stock ones and they are adjustable.

The shift was never this appent until the last run... after the new tires the shop even checked if it was centered and such in January (well after the lift).

If you look at the hill climb video my driver wheel flexes inside the fender (as does the one in the avatar)... not anymore but soon it shall once again... hehehe

I have been looking at control arms...

Here is a ponderous question...

I will have the following aleady...

Adjustable Sway Disconnects
Adjustable Track Bar
Adjustable control arms (maybe)

Ummm... with the exception of shocks and springs isn't that a lift kit?

All the stuff I have so far covers up to 6", so if I got shocks, springs, and bump stops isn't that all there is to it?

Obviously I need the SYE and driveshafts yet... but all else should just be the coils and such right?

By the way... How bid of a lift does the front drive shaft support before I have to worry about a custom front too... just curious.

connordanny wrote:

Tony,
I have the other 7 control arms sitting in my basement. You can have whichever ones you need. We can put them on any night this week if you want.

check your pm...

I think someone told me that the stock upper control arms are good till 4 inchs I think But yes Tony there isn't much after that for a lift. So if the stock ones are free or cheap stick with that till your ready for lift, tires and a SYE.

I'll start by tipping my hat to Danny.

You rock dude...

Danny had all the stock arms left over after his lift. I met him after work tonight and we began the task of the "liftless lift".

All the control arms are now replaced.

The NEW CURRIE adjustable track bar is in... If I bend that thing I will have SERIOUS issues... it is about 4 times bigger than stock, and BEEFY!!!

More importantly, it did the trick on getting the axle back where it belongs!

I can park either direction again.

Buttoning everything up, Danny even offered a diff oil change, so we did that too while we had all the tools out.

I still have wheel rub which I did not have before Big Dogs... but I am wondering with the new steering system if the stops just need adjustment now... since it is centered it rubs both directions and seems to turn tighter...

Long post short... I would say I am at 90% now... steering is good, axle is where it belongs...

Tomorrow I will give George a call again and set up a date for him to get the new brackets welded on (the passenger is still tweaked... Danny and I had to jack up the axle a lot to get the bolt through... about a 20 degree angle instead of horizontal).

After that I will just need an alignment...

Then I will have my fingers crossed for the inspection.

Thanks again Danny! Next time drinks on me

Also thanks again to Joe, Bobbi, Kat, and Matt... without your advice on the trac bar I would still be stuck looking for axles... .

One step closer to seeing you guys on the next run

But now I am gonna crash so I can be at work in 6 hours

No prob Tony - thats what its all about. I've had plenty of people from here help me work on my Jeep in the past. Glad everything worked out!

You are now a veteran of wrenching in the infamous "Rat Alley". I hope you took 2 showers and disinfected everything! I was a little disappointed that we only encountered 1 rat. There usually are several running around out there. I guess they don't like the smell of gear oil? Although the water bug that drank my beer was a treat to see. He was big enough to pick up the can....