When to get control arms?

Hi everyone. I have searched this forum and others and really can't come up with this answer.

When do you need to get longer control arms? What is the reason for them. I think it to get your axle back in correct angles? I have read a lot of posts and most of them deal with lower control arms.

This is why I am asking. I installed a 3" lift about 4 months ago and the back, the rear leaf springs haven't "settled" in yet. I have taken the Jeep out several times and flexed the rear and I have also loaded up 400 Lbs of cinder blocks to get it to settle some, it didn't :viking: . So now I need to install some coil spacers up front to level the Jeep. The front is about 3.5" of lift. The rear is sitting at about 4.5-5". So when I install the spacers I need to know if I need control arms? Upper and Lower? Or just lower. I'm the kind of guy that does the right thing the first time, so let me know what need to be done.

Thanks everyone!

ZombiE

Well... couple reasons to get new control arms:
1. they relengthen your wheelbase to what it was originally. Since control arms are what allows your front to travel in an arc, when you raise the front (lift it) it rotates the front axle down and in. I have run stock CA's to about 3.5" but now with 4+" I'm really happy with the RE ones I got.

2. they improve your droop. Some have fancy joints, some are shaped differently, but all allow for better movement at extreme angles.

3. they are sturdier. The metal in my stock arms was so bent in every single direction.... now tubular on the other hand.... they are definately harder to damage like the stock ones.

Also, when you get to whatever height you're going, you might want to consider adjustable track bar to shift your axle back into it's proper horizontal position.....

Thanks Kejtar, some follow up questions,

I have read in the forums that a lot of people just do their lower control arms. Is there a reason for this? Can you get away with doing the lower's and not doing the uppers? Cost $$$$
I also have an adjustable track bar and HD mount that I will be installing when I do the coil spacers.
Thanks again for the response.


Z

Lower control arms allow you to lengthen your wheelbase (counteract teh effect of a lift). From what I have seen in the tables for hte arm lengths, the uppers do not change much for quite a while (good first couple inches of lift), so some just change lower arms and leave tops alone as the tops primarily are used to set the pinion angle (at least in the beginning)

Thanks Kejtar,

I appreciate the responses. Now I know what to do when, I think, lol




Thanks,

Alex

Alex,

If you want to do it right I would recommed long arms for the front. The long arms are going to give you better travel and a better ride (on and off the road), more flex, and a better arc that the pinion travels in. Short arms (stock or aftermarket ones that connect to the stock mounting points) do not allow as much flex and the farther you lift it the farther they lose their ability to control the axel due to the angle they are running at. Stock XJs come with the arms horizontal to the ground. The closer you can get to this angle the better it will do. The RE ones or similar have drop brackets that connect to the stock mounting points. These are good to get your angles back to stock type - but you do lose some ground clearance. The cost difference isnt that much between the RE ones and the long arms. I would do 1 of 2 things. 1 - stick with short arms - use rustys adjustable uppers and lowers so that you can dial in your pinion angle and stretch your wheelbase a little. The adjustable ones allow the arms to twist while flexing. 2 - get long arms - rustys got one (don't know anything about it) or get Claytons.

Chris