alignment / caster problem

2000 Cherokee classic 4.0L RWD

I just replaced my lower control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, front shocks, and many of the joints in the tie rod / drag link / pitman arm / etc. I was unable to get the upper control arm bushings replaced this weekend as I needed the car drivable by today, so they are the old shit bushings still for now....

Anyway, when I was correcting the alignment after the work, I noticed the caster is off on one side.. The driver side of the car front wheel sits noticeably closer to the front of the wheel well, while the passenger side is definitely closer to center in the wheel well. I would say the driver side tire is approximately .5"-.75" further forward than the passenger side.

I'm pretty sure both lower control arms were in good shape and not bent or damaged.. At least not obviously.. I can't really say there same about the uppers yet, except that the bushings are obviously totally shot, but the arms themselves do look substantially weaker/thinner than the lower arms..

Any ideas where the misalignment is coming from? Probably upper control arms??

Change the upper ones, then see what it looks like by eye.Then do the alignment. No need to worry if you can see the bushing are trash.

Thanks, I guess I'll wait til I finish the uppers before I sorry then.

Does the tire (axle) "look" off center, or does the axle actually measure out of square ? What does the alignment machine say about thrust angle/caster, or have you measured both ends of the axle from a fixed point on the unibody ?

havent measured the to the center of the axle, but it "looks" off by a noticable amount. Now, whether the difference is the actual axle being slightly off, or something with the fender, I don't know for sure yet. There has been no "real" alignment at a shop yet.. I was waiting til I replaced the upper control arm bushings first. Using string, yard sticks, jack stands, a tape measure, and some math, I got the front toe as close to 0.0 as possible, but I did not bother to perform any actual measurements of the caster using a fixed point on the unibody.

I intend to get those upper control arms out and the bushings swapped next weekend, so I will make the measurements then if things still look so noticeably off.