Adjusting stock front lower LCAs
 

Attached are photos of my driver side front lower control arm axle mount. It has a slotted hole that appears to provide for adjustment of caster. I've shown it with the bolt all the way forward and all the way to the rear which is where I torqued it down. As you can see that looks like quite a bit of adjustment is possible. I got these axles last year from a fellow JK owner in Reno and was retorqueing the bolts today when I noticed the slotted holes. I thought that the only adjustments you could make on JK front axles was the toe in and wheel centering. I didn't notice the slotted holes when I installed the axles, but noticed the bolts weren't centered in the slots today when I went to torque them.

Is this a stock mount or has it been modified for caster adjustment? Do some lift kits have you slot these holes so you can adjust caster? Will just torqueing the bolts hold them in place or is there a part missing?

Any help on this will be appreciated.

Attachment 626249Attachment 626250

This is the least desirable way to adjust caster after lifting a vehicle. They are called cam bolts and you need the part that goes in the slot to make it work correctly. I'd replace the mounts and add adjustable arms. You need to have your alignment checked to see where your caster is to determine where they should be.

http://www.synergymfg.com/Synergy-Su...t-p-24290.html

Yep, when the cam bolts were installed, those holes were enlarged. The way you have it now, even torqued down, you can expect the bolts to move and the caster to change. If you are happy with the caster, have them welded in place. Or remove the cams and look at adjustable arms or brackets that drop from the frame.

Yuck! Cam bolts, an all too common caster/pinion angle band-aid found on budget JK lifts. They work well enough for a shop to get the JK off their alignment rack, but in use they'll loosen, slip & shift. The slots you see are the result of a shop punching out the pre-stamped slots in the lower control arm mounts. A proper set-up is either longer fixed (non-adjustble) lower control arms (set & forget, worth considering for daily drivers), or adjustabe front lower control arms. Along with them get a set of "cam bolt eliminators" from Synergy or Teraflex. These are a better fix than welding washers onto the mounts, as they wedge between the cam bolt tabs and lock the axle in place.

A bit of my experience, for what it's worth. When I initially used the stock 14mm standard bolts to mount adjustable front lower control arms, even torqued to 125 ft lb spec the threads on the bolts gradually ate away at the edges of those pre-stamped slots, allowing tha front axle to shift. I went to grade 8 9/16" shank bolts and Synergy cam-bolt eliminators and voila, fixed.

cam bolt eliminators
 

Thanks for the info. I've ordered the Synergy cam bolt eliminator kit to correct this problem. I've also ordered the EVO Enforcer 3" lift that comes with adjustable front lower control arms. I've been running for a year with this axle this way and it's probably been shifting all over the place.

You could try some geometry correction brackets to change your castor instead of the cam bolt idea.