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Installing adjustable LCA's on a stock Rubicon

MotoMax

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Hey Guys,
In order to try to cure my wandering issue I was thinking of starting by ordering some adjustable front LCA's from Teraflex. With the exception of 315's (KO2's) our Rubicon is all stock... so far. Might do a Dynatrac 2" lift with some 17x9" wheels in the future.
My question is can anyone help me with installation tips for installing these and setting caster to roughly about +6*. From there I'll have an alignment done somewhere.
And if this might not be a good idea please let me know that too.
Thanks
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Hey Guys,
In order to try to cure my wandering issue I was thinking of starting by ordering some adjustable front LCA's from Teraflex. With the exception of 315's (KO2's) our Rubicon is all stock... so far. Might do a Dynatrac 2" lift with some 17x9" wheels in the future.
My question is can anyone help me with installation tips for installing these and setting caster to roughly about +6*. From there I'll have an alignment done somewhere.
And if this might not be a good idea please let me know that too.
Thanks
My suggestion would be to put your lcas on when you do your lift. You can do them now but it’s easier to do on a lift. If you want to do it without a lift you’ll need to jack up your rig enough to be able to work, put on jack stands on the frame. Do one side at a time. It’s really important to get both arms the exact same length.

I would measure your oem arms center to center on connecting bolts and make your new arms 1/4-3/8” longer to start. After you get your arm out put the new arm in the frame side first and hand tighten the bolt, then put in on axle side.

Now the holes probably won’t line up, you’ll need to jack up the axle under the differential with a floor jack until they line up, you may also need to push on the wheel, it would be nice to have a buddy helping you. Hand tighten that bolt, repeat for the other side. Then put your rig down so the weight is on it and torque your connecting bolts to 125 ft lbs.

There’s probably better and/or easier ways to do this but this is how I’ve always done it. Remember to make them the same length, and the instructions with arms should tell you the torque spec on the jamb nut. You may have to torque them when you get it on alignment rack after you get your caster where you want it...hope this helps, good luck...:)
 
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MotoMax

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Thanks Roky. That's exactly the advice I was looking for. I appreciate you taking the time!
Bob
 

RubiRob

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Ive been measuring (roughly) with putting a digital angle gauge on the top of the ball joint on the knuckle. Also, Wayolife Eddie always does 88 degrees off the flat circles on the the side of the front diff cover on the axle.
 
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MotoMax

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Ive been measuring (roughly) with putting a digital angle gauge on the top of the ball joint on the knuckle. Also, Wayolife Eddie always does 88 degrees off the flat circles on the the side of the front diff cover on the axle.
Just bought a digital angle gauge! I needed one anyway for my mitre and table saw. Good tip!
 
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Nicholas6

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I'm just bought take-off springs & shocks from a Rubi that has the tow pkg, metal bumpers, and one-touch power top (rear spring #s 92/93). I'm thinking I'll get between 1.5-2" of lift and was reading on other threads that guys have also added the Mopar performance LCAs from the Mopar lift to help improve drive when doing these spring swaps. Would you recommend going with the Mopar LCAs or should I just get a pair of adjustable arms? I'm not planning on doing much off-roading, and will be upgrading to 285 tires this fall. Any input appreciated.
 

Jeepjunkie

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I have a Rubi take off suspension and shocks on my sport, I got just under 1.5” of lift. I added 1/2” spacers to get just under 2” total.

I later added the Mopar lover LCAs and it drives great. I don’t think you need adjustable LCAs for this, but it’s up to you, especially if you think you’ll ever lift it even more.
 
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MotoMax

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Another issue...
Just getting ready to order the adjustable LCA's, Terraflex or possibly even RC's due to the price BUT what would I do about the factory brake line brackets that are bolted to the Rubi's lca's? There are no attach points on the new adjustable LCA's. Not to mention going to a round tube LCA from a rectangular LCA that the factory brake line brackets are formed to.
Fabricate or just buy longer Mopar LCA's? Crap... there's always something!
 
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MotoMax

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I have a Rubi take off suspension and shocks on my sport, I got just under 1.5” of lift. I added 1/2” spacers to get just under 2” total.

I later added the Mopar lover LCAs and it drives great. I don’t think you need adjustable LCAs for this, but it’s up to you, especially if you think you’ll ever lift it even more.
I'm assuming you purchased the "longer" MOPAR front LCA's?
By chance would you have the part #'s of those? And about how much would I expect to pay for these?
Thanks, Bob
 

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Nicholas6

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I have a Rubi take off suspension and shocks on my sport, I got just under 1.5” of lift. I added 1/2” spacers to get just under 2” total.

I later added the Mopar lover LCAs and it drives great. I don’t think you need adjustable LCAs for this, but it’s up to you, especially if you think you’ll ever lift it even more.
Did your new mopar LCA come without bushings? I just took a look at the ones I received and there are no rubber bushings on the ends. Did I miss something?
 

Jeepjunkie

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Did your new mopar LCA come without bushings? I just took a look at the ones I received and there are no rubber bushings on the ends. Did I miss something?
Mine had bushings installed.
 
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MotoMax

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The bushings should be in there. They aren't removable. Picture?
OK. Update for me...…
I ended up buying the longer Mopar LCA's from AllMoparParts. For $60. and free shipping I figured I didn't have much to loose. The adjustables will have to wait for now.
Pretty easy install. Left the Jeep on the ground. Used an impact with a short 15/16th's socket on the bolt head end and an adjustable for the nut end. Since the new arms are longer I used my floor jack with a short stack of hockey pucks to jack one side and twist the axel enough to pop the new arms in there.Once they were both in there THEN I retightened all four bolts with the impact.
My torque wrench doesn't go to 190 ft.lbs. so I gave the impact about all she had to retighten them.

The outcome: Much better. But not a perfect driver. Still wanders some but not like before.
Just had the steering stabilizer recall done at the OBX Jeer dealer in KDH. I had made an appointment to wait. 15 minutes in and out.
Just walking up to the front of the Jeep I could see the stabilizer was installed correctly (not upside down).
I honestly could not tell any difference in the steering afterwards.

So bottom line... So far it was the longer front LCA's that made the biggest difference not the steering stabilizer.
Next up: Hopefully this week, the Rubicon is going on a Hunter alignment rack to see where my "caster" and "total toe" is at.

Sigh… If only FCA's freaking engineers did their job correctly in the first place!...
 

Jeepjunkie

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I replaced my Mopar longer LCAs with adjustables, upper and lower actually. I installed a prorock44 and it was needed to get the geometry right. It has about 6-7* of caster now and drives really well. I have a sport but with rubicon springs and shocks and 1/2” spacers. So close to rubicon stock. My lift will come this winter fwiw.

I agree that 6+ degrees of caster really helps.
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