Aftermarket control arms ??

jjmat3 · Jan 12, 2008

Can anyone identify what brand arms these are AND can you please tell me which way they should mount?

Bent end toward axle or longer side toward axle? I am assuming the bend goes downward as that appears how they were previously installed on the Jeep they came from due to the scratches on that side.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

RCP Phx · Jan 12, 2008

They look like Pro-Crap,so you wont like them.But,bottom picture with the left side being the front is your answer.

jjmat3 · Jan 12, 2008

RCP Phx said:
They look like Pro-Crap,so you wont like them.But,bottom picture with the left side being the front is your answer.

Cool, Thanks! Not going on my Jeep, but on a budget build for a teen who just wants the bling of them and they were free. If they don't work out I'll talk him back into boxing stock ones.

Love2Ride450 · Jan 12, 2008

I don't have any experience with those control arms, but if his XJ is lifted, those will be better than stock even if they suck. The benefit of the bend in them is to have better clearance on the front axle. Boxing the stockers isn't a great idea either, since they are designed to have the ability to flex, and need that to prevent breakage. If you were talking about boxing the lca's on a hot rod for road racing I'd agree 100%, because eliminating flex is the idea, but here, not so much. :thumbup:

ratman572 · Jan 12, 2008

I'd put those arms on in place of stock ones in a heartbeat, -pro crap or not.

They actually look decent (assuming they're not paper-thin wall thickness).

By the way, -regarding the comments that love2ride made about the factory arms, -that is certainly true of the way they were designed.

It's actually quite ingenious if you ask me (like the rest of the XJ was designed). The factory arms twist when the front-end articulates (without the need for fancy expensive-to-produce spherical ends), but due to the way they are constructed still provide decent strength in tension and compression.

That's certainly not to say that the factory arms are up to the amount of abuse we throw at our rigs. I also think boxing them would probably not be the best choice of time spent, and would introduce stresses into the arms they were not designed to deal with. Something would have to give and break, -eventually.

Mosephus · Jan 12, 2008

I have that type, just to keep things in geometry till I install my Long arms. They flex alright.

jjmat3 · Jan 12, 2008

So does the bend go up or down? I've not seen bent arms before on an XJ and mine are straight RE's. Only ones I have seen w/ a bend in them are my Nth long arms on my SFA KJ.

Gotcha on the boxing idea....I won't do it. Thanks!

Mosephus · Jan 12, 2008

the smallest section of the bend goes on the axle side like so _/

jjmat3 · Jan 12, 2008

Mosephus said:
the smallest section of the bend goes on the axle side like so _/

Yeah, but bend facing up or down?

xjtrailrider · Jan 12, 2008

They will bend up towards the axle, actually they will wind up shooting straight at the axle when installed. They look a lot like Rough Country's TJ arms, just a different color.

joshv98xj · Jan 12, 2008

xjtrailrider said:
They will bend up towards the axle, actually they will wind up shooting straight at the axle when installed. They look a lot like Rough Country's TJ arms, just a different color.

That's still not very clear. Think about it this way: if one face of the LCA is greater than 180 degrees, and the other face is less than 180 degrees, the face with less than 180 degrees faces up towards the body of the XJ. With that in mind, the short end of the LCA mounting towards the axle.

jjmat3 · Jan 12, 2008

Ok more searching found some info: Pretty sure they are Pro-Comp arms and I found some install instructions.

http://www.explorerprocomp.com/PDFs/is/55590.pdf

According to the Destructions they install w/ the outside of bend facing down and longer end of arm towards the axle.

Mosephus · Jan 12, 2008

and just to make it clearer.

fubar XJ · Jan 12, 2008

jjmat3 said:
Ok more searching found some info: Pretty sure they are Pro-Comp arms and I found some install instructions.

http://www.explorerprocomp.com/PDFs/is/55590.pdf

According to the Destructions they install w/ the outside of bend facing down and longer end of arm towards the axle.

Wow, really? I've only ever seen them installed the opposite way, i.e. short straight length at the axle end.

xcm · Jan 13, 2008

i have my crap country lcas (look identical to those, but black) installed the opposite way then what jjmat posted.... with the shorter section at the axle....
the way i understand it... is it prevents it from binding at the axle coil bucket.... if it was straight it would hit the back at less of an angle...

like this...
<<--------short side long side----->,
bend \/

Mosephus said:

TNT · Jan 13, 2008

I would reccomend replacing one end with a RE flex joint. The cost is low and the benefits are great. Either have a weld shop weld them on or a fellow wheeler that has good welding skills. If you lived closer to me I would gladly weld them up for a chance to talk Jeep and have a beer or two supplied by you to return the favor.

Keep the end you cut off so you can use the bushinge for replacemnet if needed.

Once this is done you will have a decent control arm that will flex good and eliminate the stess the original arm would cause with 2 poly bushings.The poly bushing will last longer too.

And this is the correct why to mount them.

TNT · Jan 13, 2008

BTW - I would weld the arm on an offset to the lower side of the RE flex joint.

This will help prevent binding on the control arm mount even better then the bend.

xjjeepthing · Jan 13, 2008

The Rough Country arms I have look similar. There directions say to mount them short side to the axle. I also looked on Rustys site, his arms are similar and say the same, short side to the axle.

jjmat3 · Jan 13, 2008

Well, End result was I ended up not installing them. The end that mounts at the body was too wide to fit into the mount w/out removing the adjustment ears doo-hickey that is in there and no matter how I tried it just wouldn't fit. Then I struggled by myself for almost an hour to get the damn stock arm back on. UGH!
Maybe I will try another time but I needed to just get the lift done so this kid could drive it. All turned out fine, look for it in the Pics section soon.
Thanks for the help and ideas.

TNT · Jan 13, 2008

jjmat3 said:
Well, End result was I ended up not installing them. The end that mounts at the body was too wide to fit into the mount w/out removing the adjustment ears doo-hickey that is in there and no matter how I tried it just wouldn't fit. Then I struggled by myself for almost an hour to get the damn stock arm back on. UGH!
Maybe I will try another time but I needed to just get the lift done so this kid could drive it. All turned out fine, look for it in the Pics section soon.
Thanks for the help and ideas.

If you remove the control arm adjuster and put it on the arm with the bolt threw it and use some grease on the outside of the adjuster it will slide in until the bolt hits using a mallet and then remove the bolt and pry/drive the the arm /adjuster into place the rest of the way in, Done this why it should go together without too much effort.

Think about using a RE joint like I said earlier. It will make a much better LCA.

Aftermarket control arms ??

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

Seasoned Veteran

Seasoned Veteran

NAXJA Forum User

NAXJA Forum User

Seasoned Veteran

Similar threads