Disconnected UCA, Now Axle Will NOT Line Up.

I'm swapping out the bushings on the Front Suspension of my '95 Cherokee, 2WD 2.5L/AX-5. I'm replacing the control arms with the Qaudratec Control Arms with new bushings already pressed in.

I've swapped out the bushing and control arm on the Driver's Side UCA, Removed the Track Bar and Sway Bar.

Now I'm on the Passenger Side UCA. I've replaced the Bushing in the Axle, and mounted the UCA on the Chassis side, but on the axle side, I can NOT line up the bolt hole.
(3 or the 4 Control Arms are Connected, the Driver's Side UCA obviously has loose bolts and the Track Bar is Removed.)

I've tried jacking the axle up, put in a pry bar in front and twisting upwards, a pry bar in the back and twisting downwards, I've removed the shock, nothing can get this bolt hole at the bushing to line up with the UCA.

Does having the Track Bar Removed have anything to do with it? I would think putting it back in would only hurt.

Should I try to remove the spring on the Passenger Side?

How do I twist the axle to line up the holes of the bushing and UCA?

Try putting a big pipe wrench on the axle tube and using a jack under the handle of the wrench. You can twist pretty hard this way and still have very good control of motion. Just don't get crazy and overdue it.

I have used the above mentioned method as well and it works. We also have used a 4' iron rod/pry bar and placed it in the knuckle and had one guy roll the axle back by pushing the pry bar while the other guy put the bolt through the hole. It is not probably the best method b/c you could possibly damage a u-joint in the knuckle area or the axle itself, but we have got along fine doing it this way. Just my $.02

Is the anti sway bar still connected at the links? If not, and you still can't get it , try disconnecting the lower control arm at the axle on the problem side. This may make it easier to move the axle back and forth to align to upper. Then, with the upper arm in, lower the vehicle onto it tires. The lower arm should line back up. You may have to roll the vehicle back and forth a little to get it lined up, but with the upper in, the axle won't go anywhere. That is how I get my lowers back in. (a trick "Rusty's" told me)
You could remove the spring on that side also to make it easier to move around, but you may not have to. Obviously, have the spring back in before you lower it.
The trac bar may be a different story. They can be a pain in the neck.
Hope this helps.

Anyone else have some input?

PS: or you can get friend with pry bars and torque the thing around for a while till it lines up. Just don't be under it anywhere.

I think you'll find that having the trackbar disconnected is what's causing you the most problems. Technically you shouldn't have had to disconnect anything just to change the arms with like ones.

Carefully use a cumalong between the crossmember ant the axle, This happened to me very recently

ECKSJAY said:

I think you'll find that having the trackbar disconnected is what's causing you the most problems. Technically you shouldn't have had to disconnect anything just to change the arms with like ones.

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I concur. You have shifted your axle a little. Hook up the track bar.

bcmaxx said:

Carefully use a cumalong between the crossmember ant the axle, This happened to me very recently

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This is what we do at our shop as well. usually when we take UCA's off we rachet the axle down w/ the comealong before we take them off, then when they come off the axle wont move and they'll slip right back in. the huge pipe wrench idea sounds like it would work too though.

I recently replaced my control arm bushings and ran into a similar problem. I used a bottle jack between the unibody and the axle in conjunction with a floor jack under the axle. This gave me control to move the axle up, down, left, or right in order to line up the holes.

Hook up the track bar and leave the shock out. How far off is the hole not lining up for you? you might also try it the other way. Bolt up the axle side of the UCA and then do the frame side of it?

Thanks guys,

I don't have a Cumalong, but, I do have a 10k Lb Test Nylon Strap with Tightener (We used them to tie down Helicopters) buried somewhere in my garage. I was thinking about trying to dig that out last night and wrapping it around Crossmember and the Axle. I guess I'll try that tonight.

I pulled the Track Bar, because I have a new one of those as well, so I may try installing the new track bar before lining up the UCA.

If you can, you should really try the pipe wrench / floor jack idea. With wheels on the ground, you attach the pipe wrench to the axle as close to the axle end as possible, rest the handle on the floor jack pad and crank away.

The hole-alignment precision is incredible. I fine tune my CA's using this method in nothing flat.....

But I don't have a Pipe Wrench big enough for the axle tube. For the Driver's side, I used a Pickle Fork (ball joint seperator) inbetween the axle tube and the spring perch and used a floor jack pushing up on it, that rotated the axle quite well and line up everything easily. No such luck on the Passenger side, that same spot is blocked with all the mounting points for the track bar and steering damper, I just couldn't get anything in the limited slots I had to use to pry up with the floor jack.

Ok. Everyone want's to bend, fold, tear and mutilate. I don't think they used pipe wrenches, comealongs and bottle jacks when they built the thing. There is a procedure to do things that actually can work without breaking parts or your back. Spend lots of time fighting it into place, or spend time unbolting things. I say use your head, not your back, when you can.

My 2 cents.

Use a floor jack and make the axle articulate up and down on each side till the hole lines up.

1sgtnyg said:

Ok. Everyone want's to bend, fold, tear and mutilate. I don't think they used pipe wrenches, comealongs and bottle jacks when they built the thing. There is a procedure to do things that actually can work without breaking parts or your back. Spend lots of time fighting it into place, or spend time unbolting things. I say use your head, not your back, when you can.

My 2 cents.

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KarlVP said:

Use a floor jack and make the axle articulate up and down on each side till the hole lines up.

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Simply using a jack to articulate the front axle does NOT work, the holes will not line up, believe me, I've tried, again and again.

The spring is mounted forward of the rotation axis for the axle, the shock (that limits downward travel) is behind the spring. This creates a torque arm and torque on the axle. The torque may be counteracted by the weight of the vehicle, and the control arms, but disconnecting a single arm, seems to result in the bushings deflecting enough that you can't line up the holes, without putting torque in the opposite direction on the axle.

When they build it at the factory, I'm sure they have an enormous device or jig that can manipulate the axle for a perfect line, then install the springs/shocks after all the arms are installed. I can't imagine recreating this, without enormous expense and disassembling the entire suspension, just to change a bushing.

The suspension pieces should have no problem handling the forces involved, after all they handle more while driving the vehicle. BUT, I do worry, that cumalongs and other improvising can concentrate force in an area not designed for it and you end up bending and/or misaligning something.

I could not find my old Helicopter Tie-Down Strap with its hefty tightener last nite. I ran out to the hardware store and found a $15 18" Pipe Wrench. It did the trick, put lots of torque on the axle and was able to line up all the holes. There was some undercoating overspray on the areas that I connected the pipe wrench, so there was some deep witness marks left in the undercoating from the pipe wrench teeth, I'll have to look closer tonight, but it doesn't seem to have done anything to the axle except maybe leaving behind some surface marks on a thick steel tube.

So I now have new UCA, LCA, Bushings, Track Bar. Tonight I have to pull 3 tie-rod ends and replace the torn dust boots. I know, I'm fixing up this vehicle and it has to pass Maryland State Inspection, which they fail you for torn ball joint/tie-rod dust boots. New Shocks, new Sway Bar bushings/end links and steering damper are next. I'm waiting for paint to dry on the wheels and I'll be mounting and balancing the new tires.

This had better solve the "FLOATING LIKE AN OVERLOADED BOAT" Ride and Handling and the Wheel Shimmy situation. All the Ball Joints/Tie-Rods check out good, some just have torn boots. The Track-Bar, seemed OK, but I wasn't confident, so I added that to the list.

I'm glad it worked out for u.
They really don't torque them around in the factory. When I take them out completey (axles), putting them back in is a matter of jacking them into place, connecting the arms and such, putting the springs back in and so on...
They line up w/out much effort when not under load from springs and such.

I'll be quiet now.

1sgtnyg said:

I'm glad it worked out for u.
They really don't torque them around in the factory. When I take them out completey (axles), putting them back in is a matter of jacking them into place, connecting the arms and such, putting the springs back in and so on...
They line up w/out much effort when not under load from springs and such.

I'll be quiet now.

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This same thing has happened to me,Once I though of the cumalong,I was on the road in ten minutes,easy and as simple as that, didn't have to pull my springs,nothing. Being in the trade I find there are many ways to cut down on repair time, even automotive data companies come out with quicker and easier ways to do things.You must spend a lot of time in your driveway doing things the long way.

That was what I was contemplating the last 2 nights, as I tried again and again to line up the holes. If I removed the springs and shocks, I probably would have NO trouble lining up the holes.

If I had 2 sets of spring compressors, I would have tried to compress the springs and see if that took the spring force off.

How hard is it to remove the springs, it look like I just had to disconnect the track bar and support the axle with a jack and then unbolt the keepers and jockey the springs out. Would that had worked as well?