Just trying to get a baseline of where to set my "new to me" control arms. if your running a 4 inch lift w/o a SYE kit, what the length of your adj control arms. I know every Jeep is different and i know ill need to set my pinion/caster correctly too. im not to knowledgeable on setting pinion/cast but i have a friend that can help me figure it out. thanks!
what are your adj control arm lengths? TJ/4" lift
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Just trying to get a baseline of where to set my "new to me" control arms. if your running a 4 inch lift w/o a SYE kit, what the length of your adj control arms. I know every Jeep is different and i know ill need to set my pinion/caster correctly too. im not to knowledgeable on setting pinion/cast but i have a friend that can help me figure it out. thanks!
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869 Posts
approx fronts 16" lower 14.5" uppers
approx rear 15 3/4 lower. upper will vary based on pinion's needs.
approx rear 15 3/4 lower. upper will vary based on pinion's needs.
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1,086 Posts
^^^ x2 "approx"
here's the link to Currie's recommended lengths CurrieEnterprises.com - Instruction Sheet
Oh yea AWESOME FIND for the $$$... and you are so going to love the ride when you get them installed. I can't get over how much better my ride is now compared to the stock arms.
here's the link to Currie's recommended lengths CurrieEnterprises.com - Instruction Sheet
Oh yea AWESOME FIND for the $$$... and you are so going to love the ride when you get them installed. I can't get over how much better my ride is now compared to the stock arms.
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2,150 Posts
Square your axles to the frame with the lowers. Find a reference point on the frame to measure to and set the axle perpendicular. Use 1 of the uppers to set caster angle/pinion angle in the front and 1 rear upper to set pinion angle in the rear. Float the other uppers in, to fit without binding. The bolt should slide right in. Done.
FYI........my 2 front lower arms are different lengths as are my 2 rear uppers. Giving you a measurement would be a diservice to you. Start at currie recomendations and go from there.
FYI........my 2 front lower arms are different lengths as are my 2 rear uppers. Giving you a measurement would be a diservice to you. Start at currie recomendations and go from there.
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58 Posts
To adjust pinion angle for none cv driveshaft via stock not inc. Rubicon. The pinion angle should match the angle of the output shaft of the transmission. Meaning w a tcase drop you have changed the output shafts angle downward slightly so raising the pion angle a little to match it will work. They make 2 types of adj uppers that I've found one set for without cv shaft/ sye which is about the same as stock but adjustable and the other being 1inch longer and adjustable. In my opinion its best just to go sye from the start w 3.5in and up lift but it also costs a lot more. I ran w a tcase drop for a while until I could save up
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23,203 Posts
Where are you getting 16 JJ bushing kits and bolts for a little over $50?...
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801 Posts
i just need the bushings, not the kits. your right it will be more than $50Where are you getting 16 JJ bushing kits and bolts for a little over $50?...
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801 Posts
thanks! i am looking forward to the ride improvement. the best way to describe my ride is jerky...hopefully setting my caster too will fix it.
4" lift Help, Need baseline info
Got some 4" lift parts (new) from a friend for $300 with no docs, he decided on a 6" lift:
Superlift Front Adjustable Trackbar
Superlift 4" Coil Springs
3/4" Coil Bushing Front & Rear
Rough Country Rear Coil Spring Angle Correction Kit
Rough Country X-Flex Adjustable Control Arms Front U/L & Rear U/L
Rough Country Rear Adjustable Trackbar
JKS Quik Disconnects
Wondering if someone can give me some baseline info to install these partsfor a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
Starting length of control arms, pinon angle front and rear, length of Trackbars, etc.
All new to me!
Got some 4" lift parts (new) from a friend for $300 with no docs, he decided on a 6" lift:
Superlift Front Adjustable Trackbar
Superlift 4" Coil Springs
3/4" Coil Bushing Front & Rear
Rough Country Rear Coil Spring Angle Correction Kit
Rough Country X-Flex Adjustable Control Arms Front U/L & Rear U/L
Rough Country Rear Adjustable Trackbar
JKS Quik Disconnects
Wondering if someone can give me some baseline info to install these partsfor a 2006 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited.
Starting length of control arms, pinon angle front and rear, length of Trackbars, etc.
All new to me!
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26,504 Posts
You have your actual jeep in front of you. Think about what each of those parts does and set accordingly for your setup. Everyone's setup varies and what is correct for one person is not correct for another.
I'm not really sure what I have. A lift kit had been installed by the previous owner and not taken care of. Unsure of the type of lift kit. Has multiple bad bushings, bent track bar, etc. From pictures I've seen, looks like a 2-4" lift by Rough Country installed maybe 4-5 years ago. If it was all stock I would have a baseline to start from. I have 33x12.50x15 tires and JKS Quik Disconnects, the rest unknown. Would be grateful for any help. I'll replace the old parts with the new, just want a 4" lift.
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26,504 Posts
If you are removing the old parts don't worry abou them. Worry about the new ones.
Control arms are used to set caster (in front), pinion angle and axle location front to rear. You have to take all of those things into account when setting a length.
Pinion angle should be set in front to be inline with driveshaft. In rear either inline with driveshaft if you have double cardan driveshaft or if still stock then parallel to TC output.
Trackbar length should be set to center axle under your jeep.
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21,829 Posts
Whether you're starting from stock or already modified, it doesn't matter. That doesn't change the fact that you need to set the the arms to position your axle correctly......and you won't be able to do that until you have a solid understanding of what's going on. I could throw out some random lengths but that doesn't mean they would matter at all.
Things that come into play:
Required pinion angle (I don't know what yours are)
Caster up front (caster and pinion angle share an inverse relationship)
Any interference points during up travel
Double cardan rear drive shaft or not? That has an impact on axle positioning
Shock travel
Then you get down to the finer details that you'll need to know how to do:
Centering the axle relative to the frame rails
Squaring the axle up with the frame (arms may have to be dissimilar lengths)
Equalizing preload on the upper arms
Most of this is higher level common sense but there's more to setting up the axles than just adjusting the arms to a certain length and bolting them in. If that was the case, you'd have a perfect answer by now. Instead, you need to know WHY you don't have a perfect answer and why length doesn't really matter. What matters is that your axles are positioned correctly so that at full bump, no interference is occurring and at ride height, your pinion angles and caster are correct and the axles are centered and square. Set the arms to the lengths that yield those results.
Things that come into play:
Required pinion angle (I don't know what yours are)
Caster up front (caster and pinion angle share an inverse relationship)
Any interference points during up travel
Double cardan rear drive shaft or not? That has an impact on axle positioning
Shock travel
Then you get down to the finer details that you'll need to know how to do:
Centering the axle relative to the frame rails
Squaring the axle up with the frame (arms may have to be dissimilar lengths)
Equalizing preload on the upper arms
Most of this is higher level common sense but there's more to setting up the axles than just adjusting the arms to a certain length and bolting them in. If that was the case, you'd have a perfect answer by now. Instead, you need to know WHY you don't have a perfect answer and why length doesn't really matter. What matters is that your axles are positioned correctly so that at full bump, no interference is occurring and at ride height, your pinion angles and caster are correct and the axles are centered and square. Set the arms to the lengths that yield those results.
Sorry, don't want to waste anyone's time. I know there is a starting point here. I have done some homework, and understand the basic function of the parts. I will do this job and may end up with a pilots license. I even know where my jeep is at, right in front of me. What are you saying? Don't touch it, put everything on all at once with no presets, swap parts out one at a time. After I replace the parts, I will take it to my friend's shop about 5 miles away for a proper alignment. Within that 5 mi, I don't want to screw anything up and pretend I'm the Red Baron.
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1,848 Posts
sounds good - and by the time you think you are done shopping you get one or two more things, change things around, etc. so it is wise to wait until you feel like you have a complete list of parts until you start the install...
imped is 100% correct - the number i threw out really means nothing... it should be more of a range... most fixed arms for 4 inches of lift are actually 16.5 inches long - eye to eye but the RE's are 16. I just installed a CV/ SYE with a TT and i rotated the pinion with rear upper arms to get proper angles but now am having some slight rear track bar clearance issues with an after market gas tank skid support - since my lower arms are fixed i could not shorten the arms like i needed to gain a 1/4 more clearance to be 100% safe and clear... so my rear lowers are going to in the 15.75 range where my fronts are 16... (buying rear lower adjustables)
so, adjustable parts allow you to dial in everything that imped was saying... if you have the coin go adjustable on almost every part (control arms, trackbars, swaybar links, etc) so you can do it once and do it right.
imped is 100% correct - the number i threw out really means nothing... it should be more of a range... most fixed arms for 4 inches of lift are actually 16.5 inches long - eye to eye but the RE's are 16. I just installed a CV/ SYE with a TT and i rotated the pinion with rear upper arms to get proper angles but now am having some slight rear track bar clearance issues with an after market gas tank skid support - since my lower arms are fixed i could not shorten the arms like i needed to gain a 1/4 more clearance to be 100% safe and clear... so my rear lowers are going to in the 15.75 range where my fronts are 16... (buying rear lower adjustables)
so, adjustable parts allow you to dial in everything that imped was saying... if you have the coin go adjustable on almost every part (control arms, trackbars, swaybar links, etc) so you can do it once and do it right.
I think I have every thing I need to do the lift (refer to my 1st post of my parts list), not my first time working on a car, but 1st time working on suspension. I have all the tools necessary, not all the knowledge. Should I swap out the springs first or last? Preset the length of the trackbar and control arms to the length currently on the jeep. I am unsure of the lift on the jeep now, I installed Rancho RS 5000 Shocks designed for 4" lift and they don't seem to have a lot of room to compress. I read that if 33x12.50x15 tires were used, the jeep needed a 4" lift. If that is the case, can I preset my new parts with the lengths of the old parts. Don't want my car to end up in my friends shop until Christmas because I totally screwed everything up. My Jeep is my dog house, can't do without it!
I a little confused how you rotate the pinion angle, rotate the entire axel? I see you can adjust the control arms to any length but one must be disconnected in order to do that, as with the sway bar links and the trackbar. I know the procedure for adjusting the front/rear trackbar, don't know how to square up the axel to the frame with the control arms. I read, I should have approx. 10 deg pinion angle in the rear and approx. 5.5 deg caster angle in the front for a 4" lift. Should I set the control arms first and then the trackbar? In what order should I replace the parts or does it matter? Should I do one wheel at a time or just take everything out of the front/rear and do it all at once. Keep in mind, it is my dog house.
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26,504 Posts
Might want to rethink those shocks
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