Adjustable Control Arms

Can you make adjustments to control arms without having to disconnect anything else besides the control arms themselves? Has anyone ever done this? The reason I ask is that i did my lift and used information based on this table;
http://www.ilovejeeps.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12524
Im trying to center my axle or move forward a bit with the least work possible.
Lil Joe

Those tables are for getting the caster back to factory angle, but typically produce horrible caster angles that cause vibes on the front shaft and chew up u-joints. You need to set the pinion angle first and dial in the caster from there, that's what the FSM says.

To kind of answer the question though, you'll need some way to rotate the axle in order to release and fasten the LCA hardware. The easiest safest way to do this is to loosen the UCA hardware a bit so that the bushings aren't clamped down, then use some kind of strap or line on the axle so that you can pull it back and forth as needed rotating on the UCA "hinge"

ehall said:

Those tables are for getting the caster back to factory angle, but typically produce horrible caster angles that cause vibes on the front shaft and chew up u-joints. You need to set the pinion angle first and dial in the caster from there, that's what the FSM says.

To kind of answer the question though, you'll need some way to rotate the axle in order to release and fasten the LCA hardware. The easiest safest way to do this is to loosen the UCA hardware a bit so that the bushings aren't clamped down, then use some kind of strap or line on the axle so that you can pull it back and forth as needed rotating on the UCA "hinge"

Click to expand...

Harbor Freight/Walmart ratchet straps do the job nicely.

Straps are a pain, and most of the time you need a third hand.....

An even easier way to rotate the axle, to adjust controls arms; would be to use an 18" or so pipe wrench and a floor jack. Your XJ can even be on the ground while doing this. Plus, you can do this by yourself, to boot!

Clamp the pipe wrench as close to the CA mount / CA you will want to adjust. Align the pipe wrench in the direction you want to rotate the axle. Once you have the pipewrench biting the axle, put the handle end of the pipe wrench on the pad of the floor jack, and beging pumping slowly. Keep an eye on the rotation of the axle, you'll be able to simply pull out the CA bolt, once the load is relieved. Adjust the CA to length you need, then use the pipe wrench / floor jack again to align the holes again. It's amazing how much finesse you'll have in lining up the holes.

Be sure to do one CA at a time.

If you have to remove both control arms at the same time, use two floor jacks (I use two bottle jacks) under the spring pad, one in the front and one at the back. Rotating the axle is achieved by extending one jack front or rear depending on how you want to rotate the axle. It have always worked for me.

to answer his original question: the only way you'll be able to adjust them without disconnecting is if you bought arms that have righty threads on one end and lefty on the other. (like a tie rod) other than that, a bottle jack and pipe wrench work wonders for rotating the pinion.