LCA lengths

Finally got the jeep sitting on its own weight last night. However I noticed before i sat it down that the LCAs were off so I measured them. The passenger side is 15 7/8 inches and the driver sider is 16 1/8 inches. Is this a big deal or can i go with it. It looks to be sitting level and not leaning to one side. If i can just leave it i would rather do that since the LCAs are a PITA to get in the brackets. Any input would be very helpful.

Thanks

take the time to fix it. your axle will be pushed off-center and you will have to screw with your steering and alignment to compensate for it.
just fix it right, even if it's a pain in the a$$..

Definitely fix it, it's easy to adjust them once everything's together. Just do one arm at a time with the tires on the ground and if its not a huge adjustment I can usually put the bolt back in by hand. Use a bottle jack to rotate the axle if its a bigger change. I would get them even, if anything make the passenger a half turn longer to compensate for the road crown (natural pull to the right).

deffinantly fix it.

get used to the pain if you plan to adjust your castor yourself. my axle side LCA have mini skids on them, so they need to go into the axle first, and then onto the frame mount. i know how much of a PITA it can be to get the arms into the mount and adjusting shoe, then line up the bolt.

one trick i learned whn replacing all of the bushings in my RE arms... if you need to move the axle forward/back to line the bolt up, just roll the tire with the E brake on. if you need it you can have someone assist you, they dont need to be particularly big and strong, a child or wife works. i usually just use my foot. no bottle jack needed. i was a little surprised at the amount of roll the axle actually had with all new bushings/joints considering i was only removing one link at a time.

check your alignment first. you may need to adjust it more or less than the 1/4". Check and see if it's parallel to the rear axle.

Nvm

pay no attention the length of the arm.

there is no way in hell that the factory welded the brackets on in the exact same spot.

the proper way to set it up is:

1. pull the springs
2. level the jeep
3. level the rear axle
4. level the front axle, at ride height.
5. set the trackbar so the axle is center to the vehicle.
6. measure from the front to the rear axle and make sure the front axle is square to the rear.
7. adjust the lower arms to line up with the brackets, without moving the axle
8. set the pinion angle by adjusting ONE upper control arm
9. float the other upper control in place and adjust it until you can put the bolt in by hand. there should be no pre-load on either UCA at this point.
10. put the springs back in.
11. put the rig back on the ground (leave all the bolts loose)
12. bounce the rig a few times to cycle the suspension and get everything seated
13. re-measure the axles to make sure they are still square.
14. tighten all bolts
15. drink beer.

Wow that's certainly the hard way to do things.

The CA mounts are pretty close.
Go find and rear the instructions for a lift kit. They give you the control arm lengths, set them to that as a starting point. Set the LCA mount adjusters to the rear most setting. Bolt it up. Then with the Jeep on it's suspension, check your pinion angle. Should be 1-2 degrees lower than straight in-line.
Dial in LCA by using the stock adjusters.

For all intends and purposes, this will likely be very close.
It's a lifted XJ, so unless you do a whole lot more work, and spend a whole lot mot money, it will never be "perfect"

-Ron

I went ahead and adjusted both of them to the right length when I was setting the trac bar. Im planning on just takeing it to a shop to do the front end alinement because I just do not trust my self since this is the first vechile I have ever built up. I have to get a new exhuast welded up since I can not weld so I will just have them do the alinement at the same time.

I'm with everyone but rockclimber; you def need to have those at the same length.

Assuming the brackets are perfectly square to the uniframe is a big assumption to make

"Lets assume everybody else ****ed up and we shouldnt bother trying to do it right"

Having the axle square to the body and the rear axle is much more important than having your CA lengths the same cal.

Are they going to be close? Sure, they may even be the same. But I doubt it. And if you get hung up on having them the same length you will never get the axle square.

I usually set them the same length and measure from there... Usually I end up adjusting them until the measurements work out and I don't think I have ever set up a lifted rig with arms exactly the same length.

the unibodies were likely built on an elaborate jig. assuming its not completely FUBARed, its going to be more strait than you can eye ball. its also a good starting point for centering the axle and setting caster. if your arms need to be significantly different in length for proper alignment, that unibody probably has bigger problems than alignment.



you also should install your track bar last, with the weight of the vehicle on the axle.