Control Arms

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adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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With the potential of needing new control arms (or at least the bushings), I had a thought about which route to go. Since I'm running an OME spring lift on my WJ, I was able to retain the stock control arms. I knew given the age of the rig that I would have to do something at some point with them. Cost aside, I want to maintain the reliability of the rig and make it as bulletproof as I can. I have always wanted to maintain the stock reliability of the rig, so I had thought either factory replacement control arms or just replacement bushings would be the way to go, but no one I've talked to has ran into this predicament due to their lift requiring longer control arms. My question is should I go aftermarket with control arms or maintain factory components?
 

RoarinRow

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I had a similar issue recently. The shop, while doing my lift, noticed that one of the control arms was blown. Instead of going OME, we went with aftermarket, which looks to be slightly better than the OME ones. The aftermarket ones I have now appear to be better made and thicker.
 

KonzaLander

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As you probably know, stock WJ control arms are far more beefy than the stock control arms under a TJ, XJ, etc. If you have the capability to replace the worn out bushings with factory (or factory style) rubber bushings, I would go that route. If you need to hire out the work, you will probably find that the time it takes to replace all 16 bushings will quickly approach the cost of new control arms. I am a fan of JKS control arms for aftermarket since they provide a factory style rubber bushing at each end of the control arm, allow articulation and are adjustable. Metalcloak arms interest me as well, but I have no first hand experience with them.
 

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Honestly with a vast majority of light duty suspension you are time and money ahead to just buy "loaded" components. But for durability and serviceability I would go with a tubular steel arm that uses poly urathane bushings.
 

adventure_is_necessary

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As you probably know, stock WJ control arms are far more beefy than the stock control arms under a TJ, XJ, etc. If you have the capability to replace the worn out bushings with factory (or factory style) rubber bushings, I would go that route. If you need to hire out the work, you will probably find that the time it takes to replace all 16 bushings will quickly approach the cost of new control arms. I am a fan of JKS control arms for aftermarket since they provide a factory style rubber bushing at each end of the control arm, allow articulation and are adjustable. Metalcloak arms interest me as well, but I have no first hand experience with them.
I figure I'd just replace the bushings myself and clean up the arms, but factory replacements front and rear are relatively cheap, so I could go that route if needed. JKS makes some good stuff, but I don't think they make the A-arm for the WJ, but IRO does. I like the idea of using factory style bushings and having some level of adjustability to dial everything in since the lift has slightly thrown things off. Not much, but enough to get my OCD going a little. MetalCloak makes good stuff from what I hear, but nothing for the WJ sadly. I think when it comes time to do something with these control arms, I will have a better idea of what to do. Thankfully they're still good, but now on my radar a little more than before.
 
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I don’t have any experience with the WJ specifically, but for bushings in general a high quality polyurethane aftermarket bushing is an easy to do upgrade that shouldn’t impact the reliability of your rig. If you want to keep stock control arms I’m sure you can find a set that will fit.

Bushings are wear parts in my book, and should be replaced at regular intervals. I tend to be very conservative with my intervals — 5000 KM oil change interval for instance — because I’d rather spend a little more on regular maintenance to enhance the long-term performance of my vehicles, and this gives me a buffer should I forget or be unable to turn a wrench for a period of time; even in a worst-case I’m still WELL below the recommended intervals. I would suggest a similar approach to bushings, and some will argue that Poly bushings are a waste if they are changed frequently but I disagree.

Very few vehicle wear components go from “bad” to “good” all of a sudden, and this is especially true of wear parts like shocks and bushings. They go from good, to pretty good, to adequate, to a bit rough, to really rough, to shot. In other words, its a progression.

So let’s say you decide to change bushings every 40,000 KMs. Depending on the bushing and the vehicle that could be a really short or a really long interval, but let’s just go with it. The Poly bushing is likely to still be functioning at 100% when this interval is reached, whereas the rubber bushings may only be at 80% over this same length of time. That 20% may be negligible but it may also mean more wear and tear on affiliated components; a half a mm of slop in a bushing means a bit more play on a ball joint, and that bit more play means instead of lasting 70,000 kms the joint gives up at 60,000 kms. Theoretically as long as bushings are performing as spec’d it should be fine, but I go on the theory that every OEM part on my vehicle was graced by an accountant, and that means it’s probably not the best product out there.

I’m a big proponent of keep it simple, keep it stock, and used to go OEM for every part. But for the wear parts (specifically bearings, shocks, bushings, fasteners, and sensors) I’ve had WAY better luck with quality aftermarket than I have with OEM. However, this can bite you which is why I’d say if you can, keep the stock control arms; for example — we did the clutch on our JK and replaced it with a Centerforce clutch, however that aftermarket clutch came with it’s own flywheel that is not compatible with OEM parts. That means that we could ONLY replace our clutch with another Centerforce one, which we didn’t know until after we ordered the LUK kit, which didn’t fit. So, if going aftermarket, go for quality, tested aftermarket with OEM compatibility, or go with OEM.

I don’t have any science or numbers to back this up, and I’m sure to some I’m wasting my money, but this is the theory I work under and I enjoy maintaining my vehicles; I’d rather spend $150 on bushings than on a night on the town, so it’s money well spent in my books. Your mileage may vary — figuratively and literally!
 

adventure_is_necessary

Rocky Mountain Region Local Expert Kansas
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Traveler III

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Bonner Springs, Kansas, United States
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I don’t have any experience with the WJ specifically, but for bushings in general a high quality polyurethane aftermarket bushing is an easy to do upgrade that shouldn’t impact the reliability of your rig. If you want to keep stock control arms I’m sure you can find a set that will fit.

Bushings are wear parts in my book, and should be replaced at regular intervals. I tend to be very conservative with my intervals — 5000 KM oil change interval for instance — because I’d rather spend a little more on regular maintenance to enhance the long-term performance of my vehicles, and this gives me a buffer should I forget or be unable to turn a wrench for a period of time; even in a worst-case I’m still WELL below the recommended intervals. I would suggest a similar approach to bushings, and some will argue that Poly bushings are a waste if they are changed frequently but I disagree.

Very few vehicle wear components go from “bad” to “good” all of a sudden, and this is especially true of wear parts like shocks and bushings. They go from good, to pretty good, to adequate, to a bit rough, to really rough, to shot. In other words, its a progression.

So let’s say you decide to change bushings every 40,000 KMs. Depending on the bushing and the vehicle that could be a really short or a really long interval, but let’s just go with it. The Poly bushing is likely to still be functioning at 100% when this interval is reached, whereas the rubber bushings may only be at 80% over this same length of time. That 20% may be negligible but it may also mean more wear and tear on affiliated components; a half a mm of slop in a bushing means a bit more play on a ball joint, and that bit more play means instead of lasting 70,000 kms the joint gives up at 60,000 kms. Theoretically as long as bushings are performing as spec’d it should be fine, but I go on the theory that every OEM part on my vehicle was graced by an accountant, and that means it’s probably not the best product out there.

I’m a big proponent of keep it simple, keep it stock, and used to go OEM for every part. But for the wear parts (specifically bearings, shocks, bushings, fasteners, and sensors) I’ve had WAY better luck with quality aftermarket than I have with OEM. However, this can bite you which is why I’d say if you can, keep the stock control arms; for example — we did the clutch on our JK and replaced it with a Centerforce clutch, however that aftermarket clutch came with it’s own flywheel that is not compatible with OEM parts. That means that we could ONLY replace our clutch with another Centerforce one, which we didn’t know until after we ordered the LUK kit, which didn’t fit. So, if going aftermarket, go for quality, tested aftermarket with OEM compatibility, or go with OEM.

I don’t have any science or numbers to back this up, and I’m sure to some I’m wasting my money, but this is the theory I work under and I enjoy maintaining my vehicles; I’d rather spend $150 on bushings than on a night on the town, so it’s money well spent in my books. Your mileage may vary — figuratively and literally!
Thank you for your input! Luckily I still have life in my OEM bushings. I figure even OEM replacements would improve the overall feel and handling since I just rolled over 160,000 miles on the rig this past weekend.
 
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JimBill

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The only bushings on the WJ that are realistically replaceable are the upper control arm bushings on the top of the front diff. At 160K I'd start there. Second, upgrading to an aftermarket adjustable front track bar with much harder bushings helps the vehicle track so much tighter at highway speed, and the adjustment allows perfect centering of the front track. A big part of the great WJ ride quality on and off road is the highly engineer factory bushings in the control arms. Folks with aftermarket short arms can hear and feel a little to a lot more of the trail due to the stiff bushings transferring the energy to the mount and subframe. For reliability and comfort I would stick with stock type arms if you have no need for adjustability. Go with loaded units, as metal fatigues as well, and replacing the factory bushings is a major PITA. Go aftermarket control arms only if you need adjustability or extended length, and then just go with uppers or lowers only if you can get away with it. Just my 2 cents...
 
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