I went into Les Schwab the other day to get a front end alignment because my Jeep is dogging to the right a bit when I drive it. The guys in the shop said the previous owner of the Wrangler welded the control arms.
So.. I can't get the alignment done until I get new control arms. Just curious, why would someone do this? He didn't even make sure the Jeep was straight before he did it.
Probably an ill-conceived repair attempt. Cracked suspension arms should be replaced rather than welded.
I know someone who bought a used CJ. He got about 5 miles from the DMV after doing the paperwork, and a rear wheel and brake drum came off. The PO had welded a broken axle back together. He had to pay for a ramp truck to get the Jeep to his house. The PO had sold it "as-is".
A welded control arm is just like a regular stock arm or a non-adjustable. Maybe the threads for adjustment wore out because it was a crappy arm and were slipping, so he welded them.
I can see it getting bent, broken, and welded so that it was shorter than it used to be. I just can't imagine leaving it like that as a permanent solution.
I'm thinking Golden Sahara nailed it. I don't see why the alignment couldn't be sorted around the known limitation, unless they just didn't want to mess with a rig that had been altered like that.
The only thing I can think of is that the arms were welded at different lengths, which would take a pretty big moron to do. Looks like they did weld the aftermarket arms like I was thinking. x2 on UFO. You can't adjust caster anymore.... But the rest should still be able to be set and a basic alignment done.
Yea my father in law took his to get it aligned and they said they couldn't do it because of his lift bunch of bull since he has a currie lift with fully adjustable arms, I just think they didn't wanna mess with it
You can still do the basic alignment you would for a stock vehicle. You can't do caster with stock arms, and I am not sure I would want a shop randomly playing with my caster as it will affect front pinion angle as well. Caster would probably be fine anyways.
You'd need someone that really understands suspension and alignments, not just someone that adjusts something because the computer on the alignment machine tells him to.
Those individuals are becoming more and more rare, hence my "parts monkey" analogy.
Might have better luck going somewhere that messes with race cars even if they dont know much about 4x4s. They would still have a proper in depth knowledge in how to align a car beyond stock specs.
I had a great tech who did my track car alignment at Les Schwab, but they are a rare find. I know what many are thinking, but the guy really knows alignment and not just factory spec bs. He was the only guy I let touch anything on my suspension setup. His name is Chaz and he's at the 82nd ave. location between Foster rd. and Johnson Creek blvd. in Portland Oregon.
These guys seemed to know what they were talking about. I had them order me new control arms and everything. They quoted me a little bit over a grand, but I guess it's worth it. New adjustable control arms would give me a less bumpy ride right?
Les Schwab deals mostly in Rancho. I personally would go with the aforementioned savvy/currie jj setup and NOT drop a grand to have someone put in inferior product. Good luck with your rig though.
I have the quote at home, I'll let you guys know the specs of them when I get off work.
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