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Lower Control Arms

Musdog

NAXJA Forum User
Location
CO
I recently bought a Jeep XJ and noticed something with the lower control arms the other day.

On the rear bracket of the lower control arm there are two bolts that face towards the rear of the vehicle. I noticed on both sides (well one looks to be sheared off on the passenger side) that all the nuts on the bolts are backed off about a half inch. They have been that way for some time as they are rusted in place.

I am wondering if I should clear up the rust and tighten them up? There does not appear to be any movement of any of the bolts. What purpose do they serve? Cant seem to find a video of changing out the arms were someone touched them.
 
Those bolts should be tight. They secure the caster shims. The control arm bolt should probably be loose before snugging up the shim bolts. You may want to have the alignment checked.


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Well sounds easy enough. My guess is its probably missing the shims. Just need to find someone in my area that does alignments on lifted vehicles. Thanks for the info.
 
You can buy the magnetic castor/camber gauge for $15 and check the castor yourself. They're generally accurate to +/- 0.25 degrees - not quite as accurate as an alignment shop but certainly close enough for a Cherokee.
 
You can buy the magnetic castor/camber gauge for $15 and check the castor yourself. They're generally accurate to +/- 0.25 degrees - not quite as accurate as an alignment shop but certainly close enough for a Cherokee.

Just remember to compensate for the terrain!
 
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