Caster Question
The stock arms don't allow for adjustment. In order to adjust your castor you will have to upgrade to adjustable arms. There's also the "cam bolt" approach that's been mentioned. This allows you to adjust the castor without changing out the arms themselves. It basically allows you to adjust the point at which the arm attaches to the axle rather than adjust the length of the arm itself.
I don't have any experience with these myself. Another post was discouraging their use. Although there is an expense to upgrading to adjustable arms, once it's done you'll have a stronger suspension and you'll be able to experiment with different castor settings relatively easily.
I don't have any experience with these myself. Another post was discouraging their use. Although there is an expense to upgrading to adjustable arms, once it's done you'll have a stronger suspension and you'll be able to experiment with different castor settings relatively easily.
On a stock vehicle it cannot be done without changing to adj control arms, adj ball joints, or cam pins ( of which I completely agree with wayoflife). The factory suspension is designed to be with a spec every time so they don't worry about making adjustments. Just bolt every thing on set toe and away they go. I personally opt for lower arms first due to the fact the axel moves inward towards the middle of the car with fixed arms creating a shorter wheel base.
Yes, you could do just the uppers or just the lowers. However, if you're going to go to the trouble to do it, you might consider just getting all 4. Two of them would probably be fixed length and the other two adjustable. That way you can get everything installed and all your alignment stuff done and won't have to worry about upgrading the remaining stock arms later. The after market arms are generally stronger than the stock ones.
Nope doesn't matter. There is an advantage to both though. If you wheel real heavy and need articulation the aftermarket arms with flex joints, spherical joints, or johnny joints flex way better than the stock arms. The rubber bushings in the stock arms like to bind up a bit while the above joints flex real easy. Down side to them is maintinence and vibration. Since it's metal to metal you can feel the vribration and bumps a little more than with rubber. The other option is to look at arms that are rubber at one end and spherical at the other.
Edit: all of what gcg said is also true and a bonus
Edit: all of what gcg said is also true and a bonus
i would love to do both but $$$. looking at 250-300 for parts and who knows for labor. i don't do a lot of real rough stuff. my main concern is to just make it feel a little safer and easier to drive. If I can get away with two I think I will.


