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Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle

jessedacri

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Looks expensive, but the worst it could be is really a new set of front control arms, 2 shocks, a driveshaft and maybe a new axle if you bent it.

Front rubicon OEM axles are around $2800 new - whether you need that or not, $600 in metalcloak front lowers and uppers, $700 driveshaft and a couple $150 fox shocks and youā€™d be back in business.

thatā€™s all assuming your Tcase is fine and no other damage occurred.
 

Arterius2

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Looks expensive, but the worst it could be is really a new set of front control arms, 2 shocks, a driveshaft and maybe a new axle if you bent it.

Front rubicon OEM axles are around $2800 new - whether you need that or not, $600 in metalcloak front lowers and uppers, $700 driveshaft and a couple $150 fox shocks and youā€™d be back in business.

thatā€™s all assuming your Tcase is fine and no other damage occurred.
That would be considered minimum and severely downplaying it. You won't know what other damage that might have caused - I can definitely think of a few others.
Plus x2 for the labor required to install it. Assuming that not everyone is a backyard mechanic.
Which is why I said probably easier to trade it in than dealing with phantom problems here and there forever down the road.
 
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whiskey jack

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Hey all, I have a rubicon jl 2021 2.0L all parts are new except 2 inc mopar lift kit, with 2400 miles and I have ā€œa little problem ā€œ šŸ˜…šŸ˜­
A few days ago, I was on a dunes trip.
I failed the first dune and I reversed.
Suddenly, I heard a noise like something is knocking(on the reverse).
I looked under the Jeep and saw that my front drive-shaft is broken.
I finished the trip and drove home for a more accurate check.
I saw that my upper control arms are curved (I know that it came with a bit of angle but now it is almost 90 degrees).
I didnā€™t feel any hit !!
I am pretty sure that my front axis is curved too.
Does it make sense that such damage can be done although we didn't hear a knock?

Jeep Wrangler JL Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle nasty-269142


Jeep Wrangler JL Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle nasty-269142


Jeep Wrangler JL Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle nasty-269142


Jeep Wrangler JL Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle nasty-269142
Jeep Wrangler JL Curvature of Upper Control Arms and Front Axle 3ov9jWGENEJSiuLouQ
 

Overland Utah

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That would be considered minimum and severely downplaying it. You won't know what other damage that might have caused - I can definitely think of a few others.
Plus x2 for the labor required to install it. Assuming that not everyone is a backyard mechanic.
Which is why I said probably easier to trade it in than dealing with phantom problems here and there forever down the road.
When he goes to a dealer for a trade in they are going to severely knock down the value by using all of this to their advantage. He will most definitely pay more in loss of value than what it would cost to repair.

I would recommend OP gets new upper control arms (you can even find some used ones to save $$$) and 2 new front shocks. From there it should be pretty easy to determine what else (if any other parts) are damaged and need repair.
 

Arterius2

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When he goes to a dealer for a trade in they are going to severely knock down the value by using all of this to their advantage. He will most definitely pay more in loss of value than what it would cost to repair.

I would recommend OP gets new upper control arms (you can even find some used ones to save $$$) and 2 new front shocks. From there it should be pretty easy to determine what else (if any other parts) are damaged and need repair.
Well that's a trade off one may need to consider.
With a trade-in you may not have to deal with phantom issues down the road.
If let's say that they shave 8K off the trade-in value but it cost 10K to fix it to a condition that was basically "new".

Trade-in may not look too bad, being that its a 2021 and residual value is probably pretty high.
 

jessedacri

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That would be considered minimum and severely downplaying it. You won't know what other damage that might have caused - I can definitely think of a few others.
Plus x2 for the labor required to install it. Assuming that not everyone is a backyard mechanic.
Which is why I said probably easier to trade it in than dealing with phantom problems here and there forever down the road.
Possibly, but if you can wheel it hard enough to break this kind of shit as severely as he has, you can learn to spend some money and wrench on the rig.

I just bent an axle in Moab after ditching off of a road to avoid a speeding dirt biker (I wish the story was more gnarly, but all of my wheeling went great out there) and I'm headed to a buddy's garage this weekend to drink some beers and install an Ultimate D44. I would recommend the thread starter to join some Facebook groups and find some locals that might be willing to help out, and get a few quotes from some 4x4 shops. Pay to play in this hobby, but I don't think it elevates to totally ditching the rig as a trade in at a huge loss. Suspension and axle carnage isnt the end of the world on stock components.
 

LooselyHeldPlans

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"the rubicon is all original parts" --- you see this is where the problems started
BS. Stock is more than fine for all but maybe the top 10% of people that buy a JL brand new.

The narrative that you gotta throw expensive, heavy stuff on on your Jeep for it to be a real jeap is ridiculous.
 

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BS. Stock is more than fine for all but maybe the top 10% of people that buy a JL brand new.

The narrative that you gotta throw expensive, heavy stuff on on your Jeep for it to be a real jeap is ridiculous.
I get what you are saying but to deny that a manufacturer, any of them, does the bare minimum to meet their goal is a bit dense. Hence why aftermarket upgrades are even a thing. The jeep engineers built it as good as it needed to be, for the given price it is sold at. It could always be better. However the list of people trying to pay the msrp it would require to do so from the factory is fairly short at least in comparison to their target demo.
 

Pig-Pen

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i have stock upper and lower control arms you can have for free if you pay for the shipping. i put them out on the curb this afternoon for the local scrap to take but if theyre still there ill set them aside for you. you can probably find some locally as well. from other JL owners who have upgraded to full suspension. the parts are the same for Rubi to Sport.

i would assume the driveshafts are the same as well and there are plenty of people who replace those as well.

you can also pick up a used set of Rubi axles for the cost of one new front one and probably sell of the rear.

if people's insurance covers roll overs i would think they would cover something like this as well. and we may think its expensive but the repairs would be chump change to an insurance company.
 

LooselyHeldPlans

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I get what you are saying but to deny that a manufacturer, any of them, does the bare minimum to meet their goal is a bit dense. Hence why aftermarket upgrades are even a thing. The jeep engineers built it as good as it needed to be, for the given price it is sold at. It could always be better. However the list of people trying to pay the msrp it would require to do so from the factory is fairly short at least in comparison to their target demo.
I think you missed the 10% piece of my comment. Even that is being really conservative.

Iā€™d be willing to bet the arms are adequate for 99.99% of the 200,000 JLs sold in 2020 that donā€™t require new arms to correct for geometry after a lift.
If you make the argument that non-lifted JLs donā€™t get into anything tough Iā€™ve got a map with a whole lot of red diamonds crossed off to prove otherwise.

Edit: as Ive thought more on this.... I bet the thread starter should be happy he didnā€™t have stronger arms... all that force had to go somewhere and I d be surprised if the didnā€™t have a major axle or frame issue (might still) if the arms didnā€™t budge at all. You can get new arms for $100 or takeoffs for free. Seems like cheap insurance and brings a piece of mind as you know theyā€™ve been crash tested.
 

SleepEatJeepRepeat

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FYI part failure OffRoad is covered, probably not this as it does look you slammed that into the sand pretty hard from a jump, or going over a dune and high pointing at speed...

I blew out my front displacement when I used too much skinny petal in 4low trying to pull my rear axle off a rock.. warranty covered it.

niw many but not all insurance carriers cover Offroad damage. I know Geico doesnā€™t but I have Mercury and they do cover me Offroad.

good luck man
 

SleepEatJeepRepeat

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If he was in 4low and with the mopar lift his drive shaft was at a stressed angle and he was gunning it , drive shaft breaks, and maybe the force of the break with the high speed sand climb pushed the axle back and that caused the control arm and shock damage.. in that case I would think mopar would cover it. Since itā€™s a mopar lift.
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