does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I am installing a new lower control arm in my 90xj to replace one that broke.

The new control arm rear bushings are wider than the bushings on the old control arm ( where the bushings go into the braket that attaches to the frame (the rear of the control arm)

I notice my rear bracket has a three sided piece of metal bolted inside it that makes it narrower. Is that OEM or was this installed by someone who previously owned the vehicle and put in the control arms with the narrower bushings so the control arms could fit snuggly inside the bracket.


In short is the rear bracket holding control arms one piece of bent metal with holes for the bolt (like the front bracket is ) or does it have two parts 1) an inner piece of bent metal with holes for the control arm bolt which is bolted inside 2) an outer piece of bent metal with holes

If this is an extra piece I can easily unbolt it to make mynew control arm fit,

does rear braket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I am installing a new lower control arm in my 90xj to replace one that broke.

The new control arm rear bushings are wider than the bushings on the old control arm ( where the bushings go into the braket that attaches to the frame (the rear of the control arm)

I notice my rear bracket has a three sided piece of metal bolted inside it that makes it narrower. Is that OEM or was this installed by someone who previously owned the vehicle and put in the control arms with the narrower bushings so the control arms could fit snuggly inside the bracket.


In short is the rear bracket holding control arms one piece of bent metal with holes for the bolt (like the front bracket is ) or does it have two parts 1) an inner piece of bent metal with holes for the control arm bolt which is bolted inside 2) an outer piece of bent metal with holes

If this is an extra piece I can easily unbolt it to make mynew control arm fit,

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

that piece is factory and is used for caster adjustment...

Yes, that is the castor adjustment piece. You'll notice if you look closer that the outer mount actually has elongated holes such that if you add shims behind the inner piece, the bolt will slide forward or rear about 1/4 of an inch for castor adjustment. Don't take that piece out.

The new control arm will be a royal PITA to get in there, but trust me it does fit. Are you using poly bushings in the new one, or OEM rubber ones?

Re: does rear braket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

The inner bracket on the lower control arm mount is to help with the adjustment of caster for that year. You should file down the newer bushing to fit into that bracket.

Re: does rear braket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I believe I can adjust castor by adjusting the adjustable control arm.

Can I remove this inner braket without destroying the structural integrity of the bracket.

I'm not anxious to file down the rubber bushings.

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I'd be very happy if I could fit the new control arm in without removing the inner bracket, but I don't see how I can it just fits into the outer braket and is definately thicker than the one it replaces.

Its the newer larger type bushing made by Sky's extreme.

It has metal exterior cylinder , rubber middle, and metal interior cylinder,
the sides seem to be the same black rubber as the interior.

Why do I need a castor adjustment when I can adjust the control arm to size.

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I don't think I can file down the sides to make it fit. Besides rubber or whatever material is on the outside, the center cylinder is metal, It would require a major grinding job to grind that down to make it fit.

My best choices seem to be to take out the inner braket
or get a piece with narrower bushings, or maybe stretch out the bracket to get it to fit.

You can't take out the inner bracket unless you weld a plate onto the outside of the outer bracket and re-drill the control arm mount hole. Look closely and you'll see that the hole in the outer bracket is elongated so that the inner bracket can slide forward and back when you add or remove shims to adjust the castor. The control arm will move back and forth in that elongated hole if you remove the inner bracket.

Bust out the grinder and make that bushing a little bit smaller man, it'll only take a couple minutes and then you'll be set.

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

what arms did you buy?

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

Not sure who's arms you have but the axle and the frame side mounts are the same width.

The inside of the caster adjustment part on the frame is the same width as the axle arm mount. A lot of times it is very hard to get the arm bushing into the caster adjuster. They have a tendency to bend inward and create a smaller area to get the bushing into. A trick that can help is to grind the lower edges of the caster adjusters to make a "ramp" for the bushing sleeve to run up on when installing them. This will help spread the caster adjusters to fit the bushing.

Do not remove the caster adjusters because they are what keeps the bolt from moving back and forth in the slotted mount hole. And no you will not keep it tight enough for to stay in place. The only way to remove them correctly is to weld heavy/thick washers to the outside of the mounts to locate the bolts, thus turning the slots into single holes.

BTW if the arms aren't made right return them and get correct ones.

mark

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I called sky's extreme (which makes the control arms) for advice and they said simply hit the sides of a bracket with a hammer to make it a little wider

I'll try that, and if that doesn't work try widening them a little with a pry bar.

I'm sure what happened is that theywere narrowed a bit when the older style narrower control arm bushings were put in previously and the bolt squeezed the sides narrower.

As an aside the bushings are made of urathane according to sky's.

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

Too widen the brackets up a bit more "gracefully" than the hammer method, you can also use a section of "All Thread stock" with some nuts/washers. Just run the All Thread stock, with the nuts/washer on the inside of the CA pocket, then just wrench the pocket open some more.....

Ivan

Re: does rear bracket for lower control arm have two pieces--inner and outer or just one

I followed the advice in the last post, and used a bolt two nuts and two washers to spread out the sides of the brackets. It worked like a charm.
Thanks for the advice.