Just got back from the alignment shop and glad to say my Rubi is driving fine again. The alignment guy wasnt too pleased with having to drop the control arms to make adjustments and kept asking why they didnt put adjustments on each end so they could be turned like a sleeve while left on the vehicle. I didnt have an answer for him. Maybe some of you could enlighten him, through me!

 

i don't get it, what's the big deal? once your arms are set, they don't need to be adjusted again. needless to say, i'm sure manufacturers would prefer to save you money than to make a part that is more expensive just to help an alignment shop make an adjustment once. i have adjusted a ton of control arms and can do it in minutes and with my jeep on the ground.

 

How do you go about setting them on the ground. Isnt there right much tension on the axle with everything still attached. Is there a write up on here somewhere I cant find? In your basic front end alignment write up it says to disconnect practilly everything.

 

you know, i am definitly going to have to update that write-up. yes, it is the proper way to do things but what can i say, i am lazy and do my own work a bit differently. if you have a big crescent wrench (for the jam nut) and a floor jack, you can do just about everything you need with them alone. if you have a heavy duty ratchet strap, that will help as well.

with the wrench, jack and or ratchet strap in hand, start your adjustments one arm at a time. if you are working on your lower contol arm, detach it and lower it from your axle end. loosen the jam nut, lenghten or shorten the rod end or assembly joint as needed. of course, re-installing it will be difficult to do as it no longer is the same lenght as the other side. so, what you will need to do is place your floor jack under the differential just beind the pinion flange and raise it a tad as necessary to get the mounting holes to line up. or, if you need to go the other way, you can place your jack just under your tie rod close to the ball joint on the side you are working on and do the same - if you have heavy duty ratchet strap, you can attach it to your upper control arm mount on the axle end and on the cross member on the other side to do the same.

as i said, i will take some pics and update my write-up with my lazy way adjustments

 

Hey, I like the lazy way. Due to time constraints this week, that's why I took it to the shop. I knew I wouldnt have time to take everything back apart and put back together in time to go to work. This is good to know in case I decide to add a little more positive caster. (Won't have to get an appointment to go back to the shop)

 

I was going to try this exact method this weekend to adjust one arm. Im happy to hear it will work!!!! Thanks Eddie!!

 

I may be totally wrong but wouldn't adding a second set of threads that allow adjustment while attached just allow it to to become out of adjustmet while attached? The arms would change length about as easilly as your suspension components go out of allignment after taking a good hit.

Once your adjustable arms are set they're set. It is probably stronger and less expensive without the extra parts.