Kind of at my wits end, I have an appointment at the shop this morning, for alignment to put in the front axle bushings.

Can't get the passenger front upper control arm reconnected. Even with jacks and a ratchet strap, I just cant get it lined up, and I am running out of time.

I was wondering if driving it a few miles (like 8) on flat level paved roads at a slow speed would be horribly dangerous, or guaranteed to break something. If not, I have to call for a tow. This sucks, I got a lot of confidence before this, changed out all my other arms and bushings, just this one I can't get for some reason.

If I can avoid the two fee, that would be awesome...

I would not do it. The stresses put on the other arms might do severe damage, esp if the brackets are not pristine. The risk factor to yourself and others is far too great to outweigh 50-75 for a tow imo..

I would never tell you to do it. I make no claim to it be safe. However, I will tell you that I have done a slow careful drive like this before and had no problems as long as you remover, or tie the loose control arm up from hitting the ground.

I called the tow, I was going to risk it but you know how bad things come in clusters? Well, number 1 in the cluster last night was my favorite, trusty, loyal 15mm 12-point socket fell down and rolled away inside the frame rail when I was disconnecting the old arm.

Number 2 was it not lining up right. Number three would surely involve heavy rush hour traffic, a tow truck anyway, and most likely a much heftier shop bill...

Yeah, no. On another day, sure. Today, nooo.

just did my CA bushings too, dont feel too bad, my 15mm is sitting down in a frame rail in the junk yard from trying to get another CA bolt. apparently, this is a common occurance.

I'm pretty sure it would have been fine, i have seen guys go bash around on backyard trails with one stock upper arm with no problems.

also, you can stick a pry-bar under the spring perch (from the front) and pull up on it to line up the CA. If your working by yourself, you can use a jack to push up on the pry-bar while you get the bolt in.

I drove mine for three months with one front upper and one rear upper control arm with no real issues.
I didn't wheel it that way but I drove it back and forth to work every day.

Does your axle need to rotate backward to connect the arm or does it need to rotate forward?

If it needs to rotate forward put the floor jack under the pinion yoke and jack the axle to rotate it forward. If it needs to rotate backward then you need to put a flat bar under the coil spring mount and put the jack under the flat bar and rotate it back.

I would advise connecting the left upper first as it is the hardest to connect. Both arms should be set to the same length.

Disconnect the front drive shaft at the pinion yoke and the axle will move a hell of a lot easier. That slip yoke doesn't move easily.

I haven't had the passenger side upper in my XJ for 3 years and I beat the crap out of it mercilessly .... it's not a stock upper but I guess what I'm saying is, don't worry about it too much just don't wheel it.

I always use med to large ratchet strap to move an axle around when getting arms in.

So I don't need to drive anywhere without putting in the UCA (Amazon's late with the business!!!), but I was just curious. However, I'm missing a socket too. There's no trick to getting them back I guess?

Super clue some string to a magnet and slide it down in the hole then drive for a couple days. It may roll back up and get snagged

What I bought to retrieve both a socket and a nut which disappeared into the passenger's side frame rail:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It's come in handy more times that I care to admit. Paid for itself several times over in less frustration, part hunting, and saving time.

Sure, using a telephone's screen for viewing is less than optimal, but it's not a few hundred bucks, either. Plus, I found, usually, I can prop the phone up and use both hands on the camera/hook/magnet/mirror.

Running without a front suspension component will put extra stress on the other components and destroy them.

Fish tape work to get sockets that roll into the frame, the locking style extensions are nice for peace of mind when that gets old.