I'm not trying to imply your ball joints are bad, just that the only time I have experienced a steering issue like you described was right after installing new ball joints and before they wore in. You have not recently replaced BJs otherwise I'd suggest a break in period. I do not believe BJs are your issue. I agree with SV_dude's comment above in general about BJs. Before doing anything further you really need to get the caster under control IMO. This is just a situation that you need to address the known elephant in the room and then reassess.

 

How hard are the adjustable control arms to change myself, does it need to be off or on the ground?

 

I’d take the weight off the front wheels, and do one control arm at a time. The reason I say take the weight off the front wheels is to make adjusting the new arms a little easier.

Get a digital angle finder and measure your pinion angle. I’d measure the angle relative to your frame or something else that isn’t going to move. This way your frame can be a reference angle in case your angle finder loses its zero during your work. When you install your new control arms, adjust the length of them till your new pinion angle is about 2-2.5* more than what it was when you started. If you do it this way then you will know what your caster is, it will be 2.6* plus whatever you’re adding to your pinion angle.

When you torque your control arms, put the Jeep back on the ground then tighten everything.

 

I still have a free alignment that I can get done, I was just going to put new ones on at same length as old ones and let them adjust during alignment.

 

If that’s the case then no need to jack up the Jeep. Just do one at a time and you’ll be fine.

 

Talk to the shop, make sure they don't charge extra for having to mess with control arms. Especially if they have to be removed several times to adjust to the correct caster.

Also, not a bad idea to spend a little time researching the specific control arms the various companies sell. Look past the low price tag and note the different bends/ materials/ types of joints, etc.

 

+1 to all ^^^^^

If you are going to remove control arms and install new adjustable ones, there is no reason to not aim to get caster as close as can be on the initial install doing exactly what sv_dude outlined above. Since you know the current spec as the baseline you're starting from you should be able to get it pretty close. As nthinuf mentions, shops don't usually include adjusting that stuff in their normal alignment. Also, installing arms is not technically hard, though just like most this stuff it normally takes longer than you'd like it to. Depends how proficient you are and what tools you have at your disposal. If you get adjustable arms, make sure you have a wrench big enough for the jam nuts on the lower arms. They are usually pretty big. Having the proper crows foot wrench that you can use to get proper torque is helpful.

Control arms are pretty basic things when it comes down to it, but there are big differences in the joints between manufacturers, and some differences in the bends each use. I'd start looking at Metalcloak as a starting point and then compare all other options to them as you make your decision.

Unless you are out doing some technical offroading, I really think you shouldn't overlook control arm brackets as a viable option. Cheaper, easier to install, and better on-pavement ride. There isn't really anything super sexy having adjustable control arms if other options might be better (this just varies by use).

 

I can get the rough country all 8 front and back for $200

 

I would rather have $100 AEV or $150 rancho control arm brackets than a full set of RC adjustable control arms. You can read into that whatever you'd like. We'll still be here to help regardless of your decision.

 

I can only find the brackets for the lower arms