[97'wrangler]

Hey everyone, I am about to purchase an sye/cv drive shaft but I want to wait for some more funds to come in to get the adjustable control arms.
So will I be okay for a few weeks without adjustable control arms? I will not be doing any offroading at all anytime soon.
Next question, which should I get first ( upper or lowers )?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Imped]

A fixed output yoke and double cardan drive shaft is absolutely pointless without the pinion rotated correctly. You can't do that with stock arms.

 

[Keenan]

Save and do them all at the same time.

 

[TnDz TJ]

Get adjustable upper AND lower CA's to do it right. WAIT until you have all the parts you need prior to any install.

When you rotate the pinion up for correct alignment, most will say only adjustable upper CA's are needed. This will cause a few issues....

Rotating the pinion with just uppers will push the top of the axle back, if you don't pull the bottom in with adjustable lowers, you have just changed your wheelbase and axle positioning. This may cause interference with your gas tank and track bar clearances and binding.

There is an aftermarket bracket for the rear track bar specifically for SYE conversions to counter the misalignment of the frame-to-axle mounts once you rotate the axle for pinion correction. JKS makes one and Rubicon Express (RE 1602) at comparable prices to reuse your OEM track bar and regain your parallelism. If you have an aftermarket track bar, you may not need this bracket or any, depending on your aftermarket track bar.

 

[senoJeoJ]

mine works great with the stock arms. but I only have roughly 3" of lift in the rear. if you have vibes with the stock ds then a cv-ds will help take some out. but it will not be fully utilized until you align the ds with the pinion.

 

[Imped]

mine works great with the stock arms. but I only have roughly 3" of lift in the rear. if you have vibes with the stock ds then a cv-ds will help take some out. but it will not be fully utilized until you align the ds with the pinion.

Don't give crappy advice like that. There is no "middle ground" or improvement just by switching over to a fixed yoke. The pinion angle is either within 2 degrees of 0 or not. If it's not, you'll get vibes. Recommending to anyone that they'll be fine with stock arms is just crappy advice. Anyone that understands WHY the drive shaft needs to be oriented the way it does when a fixed yoke/double cardan joint is being used wouldn't recommend that 'close is good enough' or that it's doing any good at all.

 

[97'wrangler]

ok so i obviously am taking your guys advice and gonna wait to install until i get all the arms for the rear.
does anyone have any preferences on Adjustable's?

 

[TnDz TJ]

Depends on how deep your wallet is.... Savvy, Currie, Clayton, Rokmen

there are more out there that are adjustable... just giving you the cream of the crop list.

 

[Ageless Stranger]

I've got Rokmen control arms and they are very nice. Like most people on a budget I bought just the rear uppers when I did the SYE and driveshaft. I have since replaced all the lowers with Rokmen units as well.

 

[UnlimitedLJ04]

Hey everyone, I am about to purchase an sye/cv drive shaft but I want to wait for some more funds to come in to get the adjustable control arms.
So will I be okay for a few weeks without adjustable control arms? I will not be doing any offroading at all anytime soon.
Next question, which should I get first ( upper or lowers )?
Thanks in advance!

Despite the negative talk, you can use stock arms...with proper pinion angle.

You will need to cut the upper control arm brackets off the axle, move them forward and figure out where they need to be at ride height to get proper pinion angle, then weld the brackets back on. You'll run into some issues with the rear track bar mount alignment, and you'll likely need to cut that off the UCA bracket and modify/reinforce/fabricate or weld on a new bracket.

.....or you can just buy adjustable upper control arms. :rofl:

 

[senoJeoJ]

Don't give crappy advice like that. There is no "middle ground" or improvement just by switching over to a fixed yoke. The pinion angle is either within 2 degrees of 0 or not. If it's not, you'll get vibes. Recommending to anyone that they'll be fine with stock arms is just crappy advice. Anyone that understands WHY the drive shaft needs to be oriented the way it does when a fixed yoke/double cardan joint is being used wouldn't recommend that 'close is good enough' or that it's doing any good at all.

:surrender:
Lol, calm down fido. I was just saying it works for me and my current setup. Mine isn't at 0* with the pinion and it has no vibes. Everybody's setup is a little different.

Mine:
2.5"springs, 2" TT, Lo-pro mount wich brings the TC back down an inch, and a 1" MML wich angles the whole drivetrain back to the axle. still with stock arms and no axle modifications.

there is more than one way to do it. :wavey:

 

[Imped]

:surrender:
Lol, calm down fido. I was just saying it works for me and my current setup. Mine isn't at 0* with the pinion and it has no vibes. Everybody's setup is a little different.

Mine:
2.5"springs, 2" TT, Lo-pro mount wich brings the TC back down an inch, and a 1" MML wich angles the whole drivetrain back to the axle. still with stock arms and no axle modifications.

there is more than one way to do it. :wavey:

I've been doing this stuff for quite a while, Paco. No need for explanations. You're right in the sense that there's more than one way to do it--correct, incorrect, or half-ass. You can run a half-ass setup all you want but don't recommend to others that they follow suit.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

i've been doing this stuff for quite a while, paco. No need for explanations. You're right in the sense that there's more than one way to do it--correct, incorrect, or half-ass. You can run a half-ass setup all you want but don't recommend to others that they follow suit.

X2. Maybe not in those exact words but X2 nonetheless.

 

[reddwrangler]

This is making sence to me now, you all are very helpfull. I have a 3 inch lift, put the SYE in and raised the belly pan back up , then the ujoints were binding,still with stock arms. I lowered the pan back down and no binding. Bought the rear upper adjustable arms and havent put them in yet. By just adjusting with uppers it does make sence that it will push it back a little bit. I can see where a little bit makes a difference, I think im going to wait for adjustable lowers and do both at the same time, then I should be able to raise the pan back up and get the angle right. looks like I got answers without asking a question. Thanks.

 

[97'wrangler]

I will be doing the same. But how do you know how much to adjust the control arms?

 

[Imped]

I will be doing the same. But how do you know how much to adjust the control arms?

It's not about 'how much you adjust the arms.' It's about putting the axle in the correct position. Set the arms to do that.

 

[geiman]

By just adjusting with uppers it does make sence that it will push it back a little bit. I can see where a little bit makes a difference, I think im going to wait for adjustable lowers and do both at the same time, then I should be able to raise the pan back up and get the angle right. looks like I got answers without asking a question. Thanks.

Yes you're right. You're actually seeing what most people don't when they say you only need rear uppers to adjust your pinion angle. Having both upper and lower adjustable arms will let you set things up properly.

 

[Jerry Bransford]

Of course having both upper and lower adjustable length arms is ideal and the best situation. But... with a tall lift that shortened the wheelbase, installing only upper adjustable length arms works nicely for a large majority of the installations with an SYE and CV driveshaft.

Adjusting the upper control arms to raise the pinion angle rolls the axle back which also restores much of the wheelbase lost from the suspension lift so it's going to be very close by just going with the upper control arms. It will be close enough for those who can't afford both upper and lower adjustable length arms.

 

[geiman]

Of course having both upper and lower adjustable length arms is ideal and the best situation. But... with a tall lift that shortened the wheelbase, installing only upper adjustable length arms works nicely for a large majority of the installations with an SYE and CV driveshaft.

Adjusting the upper control arms to raise the pinion angle rolls the axle back which also restores much of the wheelbase lost from the suspension lift so it's going to be very close by just going with the upper control arms. It's close enough for most who can't afford both upper and lower arms.

Very true, especially if the "kit" installed didn't include any aftermarket arms. But I still suggest what I do for those who were suckered into lifts that include fixed lower control arms that are longer than stock like I was.

 

[htkrph]

Depends on how deep your wallet is.... Savvy, Currie, Clayton, Rokmen

there are more out there that are adjustable... just giving you the cream of the crop list.

in that order? lol