Tips for Adjusting RE Control Arms

I have RE adjustable control arms and I need to bring my axle back about half of an inch. There are a lot of threads on where to set the lengths but not much that I could find on actual tips for doing the adjusting.

Last spring I had a terrible time getting the upper control arm bolts in and out when I was adjusting the pinion/castor angles. Rather than re-live that experience I thought I would see if any of you had some tips for ways to make things easier. For example, I know I need some tips on reducing the torque on the bolts so they can be removed.

I was planning to place the body on jack stands but leave the wheels on. Unbolt the track-bar. Write down the pinion angle. Unbolt the lower control arms from the axle. Shorten them half an inch. Rebolt them. Then unbolt the upper control arms. Use Ivan's tip from
Tricks for reattaching UCA to set the pinion angle back to the value I wrote down. Then re attach the upper control arms at that length. Reattach the track-bar. Set the XJ on the ground and recheck angles and then drive.

Thanks,
-Brian

Links to (Somewhat) Related Stuff

From Thread: Tricks for reattaching UCA

Ivan said:

I use an 18" pipe wrench and floor jack to adjust / remove my control arms. With your rig on the ground, place the pipewrench around the axle tube nearest the arm you want to remove; and then with the end of the handle resting on the pad of a floor jack, crank it up slightly until the axle rotates just enough to slip the bolts out. Works like a breeze. I can adjust both my UCA's in less than 10 minutes using this method...

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Thread: Relation between UCA and LCA lengths

Go.Jeep's Wheel Alignment Page

Front Install: Rubicon Express 5.5" Extreme Duty XJ kit

just how did you get the bolts out, i am having a hard time

Ramsey said:

just how did you get the bolts out, i am having a hard time

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Sorry about the delay - I was out yesterday. We ended up using a come along to move the axle until the bolt could be forced out. Ran it from the upper control arm horn on the axle to the cross member. Next time I will try Ivan's idea with the pipe-wrench on the tube.

I am surprised no one had any tips for adjusting control arms... With so many people here having done it I thought someone would have some clever ideas.

-Brian

Do one arm at a time. Once you get the right length on the arm itself, if it doesn't fit, then grab a wheel chuck and put it as appropriate in front or behind the wheel and roll the vehicle till it gets to it and hit the brakes so that it doesn't "spring" back. DId that couple times with great success. Last time was about 3 weeks ago when a buddy stopped by to get new LCA's installed. Of course they didn't line up lengthwise but it was a breeze to get them in. Same method works also for upper arms.
Oh... by rolling I mean push it (don't drive it).

When you adjust the RE arms, if it helps, three full turns equals 1/4".

You can also use a small or large crow(sp) bar. Pull the bolt, then use the bar to pry the arm out of the socket, from the back, adjust length, then use the crow(sp) to push the arm forward and you tap it up into the frame mount. Use the crow(sp) bar to move the arm forward and backward to get the bolt back in. <stick the long arm of the crow(sp) bar in the space between the top of the arm and the frame mount> Did I explain that ok?
EDIT: like this:

Thanks guys - hopefully I will get time this weekend to finish it up.

Thought I would add some comments about how it went, what worked for me and what didn't, for the next guy who tries searching for information about this.

Rolling the XJ to position the axle did not work for me... It really seemed like it would but it didn't.

Crowbar was not needed for removing the arms - the problem is getting the bolts out of the arms. In my case the driver-side upper control arm bolt on the axle is really a pain to pull. There is enough tension on the bolt that it strips coming out.

The pipe wrench idea Ivan posted in the Tricks for reattaching UCA thread ended up being pretty close to the solution to all my problems.

The largest pipe wrench I had would not keep a good hold on the tube. However, I will able to easily rotate the axle by grabbing the steering knuckle with it and using a jack to lift the wrench. Not only was this helpful in setting the castor/pinion angle - but it also made removing the bolts a breeze. If a bolt had too much tension on it I just rotated the axle until the tension was removed and the bolt slid right out.

Summary of what I did:
Placed the body on jack stands and let the axle drop and set on smaller jack stands. Pulled both lower control arms and shortened them. Re-attached the lower control arms and removed all the jack stands so that the XJ was back on the ground. I then unbolted the upper control arms from the axle. Then used the pipe and jack to rotate the axle to where I wanted it. Adjusted the length of the upper control arms and re-attached them.

Thanks to everyone that offered suggestions.

-Brian

What's worked for me when working by myself:

Using Goatman's idea of rolling the tires works for minor adjustments. I've also used a crow bar under the tire and lifted up, which is basically the same as the "rolling the tire" method, but with more control. The best method I've used so far for both LCA and UCA adjustments is using a floor jack. Worked great every time, whether removing or installing the bolts.

I'll be replacing all 4 control arms this weekend. What is the best order to replace them? ... one at a time, oneside at a time, upper then lower?

Also, I have heard that the upper bolts can be groved. Any experience on that score? Was it the frame or axle bolt that was groved? These are original CAs on an 89 so expect some wear and plan on picking up a couple of spare bolts before hand. Right not the drivers side upper frame bushing is totally shot the arm rattles.

Groved? Grooved? I'm still not sure what you're asking with that question...

Are you replacing all the control arms with same-length arms? There's not much to it and I can't think of any reason to install in any specific order. If installing longer arms, it seems to me that the lowers seem to be a bit easier if they go in first, but that's the product of several days messing with my drop brackets.

A post on the xjlist some time ago indicated that the bolts on the upper arms may become grooved. Thought I would ask to get more info. If it was a common problem I would make sure I have spare bolts to avoid a mid-wrenching trip to the store. But it may not be a very common problem.

I will be replacing the uppers will be the same length and the lowers will be longer. This tread should make my life much easier Saturday

I'm not certain what you mean by groved - however, it is easy to strip them while getting them out. The pipe-wrench/jack trick made it a lot easier to pull the upper control arm's axle bolts. If I had started by trying that the driver-side bolt probably would not have been stripped.

-Brian

DaveW said:

A post on the xjlist some time ago indicated that the bolts on the upper arms may become grooved. Thought I would ask to get more info. If it was a common problem I would make sure I have spare bolts to avoid a mid-wrenching trip to the store. But it may not be a very common problem.

I will be replacing the uppers will be the same length and the lowers will be longer. This tread should make my life much easier Saturday

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