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control arms

jamesbtaylorjt

NAXJA Forum User
Location
hobart indiana
I have a 4.5 zone lift on a 01. It came with longer upper and lower control arms but the front axle could still go forward about an inch to center it in the fender well. Would a set of control arm drop brackets do this? Or could just a set of lower adjustable control arms do the trick? If I replace the lower ca do I have to do the upper ca also?
 
castor setting is more important than centering the axle in my eyes.

remember, the axle doesnt travel strait up and down, rather, it travels in a radius. if the control arms are stock length, when compressed, the tire will be centered in the axle as it travels through its range of motion and reaches stock ride height, and further compresses. with longer control arms, your going to be stretching the width to begin with, and youll start running into rubbing with larger tires at full compression in the fender well. control arm drop brackets are intended to flatten the angle of the control arms at ride height... though you may get a little stretch...

as far as adjustable arms... most people do adjustable uppers, rather than lowers, as this makes it easier to adjust castor without effecting the wheel base a ton. at your height, stock length arms are fine, whats really important is that the lowers have a bend in them or the axle side bushing is offset so that the arm doesnt contact the shock mounts when drooped. for reference, my RE super flex arms are stock length lower, and just a hair longer than stock uppers, which i assume is to accomodate for better castor. of course, they are beef, which we all love.
 
At 4+" of lift you should be looking at control arm drop brackets. They will move you axle forward a bit, improve you on pavement ride and your off-road flex, and will also help with your steering geometry. 97-01 tend to rub at the rear of the front wheel well with short arms.

Adjustable upper or lowers can be used to fine tune your caster/pinion angle, adjustable uppers may be a better choice.
 
Drop brackets hang up on everything. Build a mid arm setup

If the guy is asking about control arm lengths and drop brackets, this may be still out his ability and know how.
 
Once and a while drop brackets will hit on something. Even more rarely you will get stuck on them. The benefits of improved on road ride, low cost of the modification, ease of install, improved caster angle, and increased suspension travel off road, far exceed the minor drawback of brackets making contact.


The higher you lift a Cherokee will short arms, the more the axle housing pivots, reducing your caster. Drop brackets restore the relationship of the control arm frame mounting points to the axle mounting points and your caster is improved. Caster angle is part of the steering geometry, but I could have been more specific and would have been more correct by writing caster angle instead of writing suspension geometry in my first reply.
 
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Drop brackets hang up on everything. Build a mid arm setup
I guess all the guys running drop brackets don't wheel. Everyone said the same about RK long arms, and while I have hit them occasionally, they've never caused me to get hung up.
 
I guess all the guys running drop brackets don't wheel. Everyone said the same about RK long arms, and while I have hit them occasionally, they've never caused me to get hung up.

Hey smart guy did I say that. No I made a statement about my personal experience with them. The braces ended up pulling out and lca bracket twisted. He wanted opinions so I gave him mine. Cry about it.
 
Skyjacker mid arm kit. Someone from nac is selling one.

:wave: Thanks Bob :D


My old midarms never got me hung up. The back side of the bracket is a ramp that just slides off the rocks. In the like 3 or 4 years I ran it, I only even hit them a few times. Another reason I liked the SJ setup over other drop brackets is because its much beefier with more tie-in points and includes a new crossmember.
 
Hey smart guy did I say that. No I made a statement about my personal experience with them. The braces ended up pulling out and lca bracket twisted. He wanted opinions so I gave him mine. Cry about it.
Wow, touchy, I guess...You stated that they will hit on everything. I pointed out that many people run them without problems, and compared that to everyone saying RK long arms would hit on everything, yet mine haven't given me any problems. Lay off the Jersey a little...:D
 
Speak from your own experience. I can also have someone else tell ya the same thing . My buddy is running them right now. He didn't take my advice and is learning the hard way that they don't like jagged rocks.
 
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