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Mopar LCA swap

blnewt

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Just ask @cosine he knows!
The bolts are marinating in PB Blaster now. Big boy pants are ready, and steel jock strap, too :CWL: A variety of tools are laid out ready to go to work. It's gonna be interesting. Hope the weather cools down a bit. Thanks for all the answers.
There is a few ghetto ways to remove tight bolts like putting a floor jack under the wrench and jack up the wrench to loosen, and you can always use your foot on a torque wrench as long as you can feel or hear the click when it meets the torque setting :)
But you didn't hear it from me :)
Glad you found your pants :)
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Jmos4

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Hi,

Swapped my LCA's this past Saturday, and must say my 22 JLUR is like a totally different handling vehicle, was a bit darty before now hardly any steering corrections needed, probably the best mod I have fone so far, thanks for the suggestion and sharing this mod is definitely worth the effort

Regards,
Jim
 

kilian73

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The only thing that’s difficult about this swap is the 190 lb/ft of torque you have to apply with the tires on terra firma. Not a ton of room to work the torque wrench so one little click at a time. Woof. Otherwise, it makes a great difference on the XR. Recommended.
I just got a JLUR XR and am looking to improve the handling. Which LCA's did you install?
I wasn't sure if the longer mopar LCA's that come with the 2" lift kit would be long enough, but hoping they are to save some $$.
 
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blnewt

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Just ask @cosine he knows!
I just got a JLUR XR and am looking to improve the handling. Which LCA's did you install?
I wasn't sure if the longer mopar LCA's that come with the 2" lift kit would be long enough, but hoping they are to save some $$.
I'd get em unless you plan further lift, should be just about right w/ those added, if not you're only out about$80 :)
 

NULL POINTER

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There is a few ghetto ways to remove tight bolts like putting a floor jack under the wrench and jack up the wrench to loosen, and you can always use your foot on a torque wrench as long as you can feel or hear the click when it meets the torque setting :)
But you didn't hear it from me :)
Glad you found your pants :)
Got them on without much fuss. I did have to go out and buy a swiveling impact socket to break the passenger side forward bolt loose, factory must have torqued that one to 300 ft/lbs :CWL:. The other 3 were easy to get off. With a couple of clicks on the ratchet strap and the passenger side holes were lined up. No issues at all on the driver side, holes lined up perfectly. Getting to the 190 ft/lb mark was a beeatch. The deed is done.

Damn, this was worth it. The jeep will track straight now with no hands. It is much easier to keep it in its lane, even with a breeze.

So in order of improvements for wandering:
Lowering tire pressure from 37 to 34 cold - minimal change
Falcon Steering stabilizer - slight effect
Mopar track bar upgrade for 2018 jl - no effect
Drag link end replace due to wear - noticeable change
Steel gearbox replacement - noticeable change tighter steering no dead spot
Mopar LCA swap - noticeable change wants to stay in direction steering is pointed, no wandering so far. Best change for the money out of all of these except possibly the drag link end replacement.

I would call this successful. This was a worthwhile project. The bushings on the new LCA's look like they will be better than the old ones.

I would like to thank the OP, blnewt, and roky for their insights and encouragement. There were also many other great contributors to this thread. Thanks all.
 

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blnewt

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Got them on without much fuss. I did have to go out and buy a swiveling impact socket to break the passenger side forward bolt loose, factory must have torqued that one to 300 ft/lbs :CWL:. The other 3 were easy to get off. With a couple of clicks on the ratchet strap and the passenger side holes were lined up. No issues at all on the driver side, holes lined up perfectly. Getting to the 190 ft/lb mark was a beeatch. The deed is done.

Damn, this was worth it. The jeep will track straight now with no hands. It is much easier to keep it in its lane, even with a breeze.

So in order of improvements for wandering:
Lowering tire pressure from 37 to 34 cold - minimal change
Falcon Steering stabilizer - slight effect
Mopar track bar upgrade for 2018 jl - no effect
Drag link end replace due to wear - noticeable change
Steel gearbox replacement - noticeable change tighter steering no dead spot
Mopar LCA swap - noticeable change wants to stay in direction steering is pointed, no wandering so far. Best change for the money out of all of these except possibly the drag link end replacement.

I would call this successful. This was a worthwhile project. The bushings on the new LCA's look like they will be better than the old ones.

I would like to thank the OP, blnewt, and roky for their insights and encouragement. There were also many other great contributors to this thread. Thanks all.
Great report back, glad it went well, and hopefully many thousands of great miles in your new&improved Jeep!
 

blnewt

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Has anyone went back a week or so later and checked the torque again? If so, what was the result? Should blue Loctite or comparable be used?
I put an exhaust loop skid on my drivers side so I had to remove the rear bolt on that LCA, it was still tight AF, I don't think there would be an issue if it is tightened to spec, although a little dab of loctite blue is rarely a bad plan.
 

kilian73

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Hey all, I have read through this whole thread and there was some really great info here. I am getting my new LCA's installed tomorrow. I have a question that I don't think has been addressed though. It may be a very dumb question, or I may have missed it in this massive thread (I did skim some posts...)

I think I read in this thread that adding a spacer would lower the caster angle, is that correct? Does that mean that my having added a winch would also affect the caster in some way?

My 22 jlur xr is a little squirlly on the back roads that I am always on and definitly wanders a bit on the highway. I only had it for a few days before the winch was installed and I don't remember what it drove like before that.
 

blnewt

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Hey all, I have read through this whole thread and there was some really great info here. I am getting my new LCA's installed tomorrow. I have a question that I don't think has been addressed though. It may be a very dumb question, or I may have missed it in this massive thread (I did skim some posts...)

I think I read in this thread that adding a spacer would lower the caster angle, is that correct? Does that mean that my having added a winch would also affect the caster in some way?

My 22 jlur xr is a little squirlly on the back roads that I am always on and definitly wanders a bit on the highway. I only had it for a few days before the winch was installed and I don't remember what it drove like before that.
If your winch dropped your front end 1/2" but you end up adding a 1/2" spacer then no real affect on caster, if you don't add the spacer your caster will increase (since you shortened your lift). Just a rough estimate, but for every inch of lift you decrease caster by approx .75 degree (up to a point).

The Mopar lift LCAs will net about 1.5 to 2 degrees of caster increase. The Rubicons, and Sport/Saharas w/ Rubicon springs have a caster in the 4 degree range, so adding the longer LCAs put the caster in the sweet spot of 5.5 to 6 degrees give or take.

Hope that makes sense :)
 

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kilian73

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If your winch dropped your front end 1/2" but you end up adding a 1/2" spacer then no real affect on caster, if you don't add the spacer your caster will increase (since you shortened your lift). Just a rough estimate, but for every inch of lift you decrease caster by approx .75 degree (up to a point).

The Mopar lift LCAs will net about 1.5 to 2 degrees of caster increase. The Rubicons, and Sport/Saharas w/ Rubicon springs have a caster in the 4 degree range, so adding the longer LCAs put the caster in the sweet spot of 5.5 to 6 degrees give or take.

Hope that makes sense :)

Hey, thanks for the reply and help.

I have heard it takes time for the jeep to sag after getting the winch on, how long should i wait to measure the rake? It's only been on for like 2 weeks or so. My concern is I get the caster fixed with the lift LCA's, but then mess it up with a spacer.
 

Mabar

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Hey all, I have read through this whole thread and there was some really great info here. I am getting my new LCA's installed tomorrow. I have a question that I don't think has been addressed though. It may be a very dumb question, or I may have missed it in this massive thread (I did skim some posts...)

I think I read in this thread that adding a spacer would lower the caster angle, is that correct? Does that mean that my having added a winch would also affect the caster in some way?

My 22 jlur xr is a little squirlly on the back roads that I am always on and definitly wanders a bit on the highway. I only had it for a few days before the winch was installed and I don't remember what it drove like before that.
I have a winch on my 2-door, JL Rubicon. It now drives great with the longer, lower control arms.
 

blnewt

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Hey, thanks for the reply and help.

I have heard it takes time for the jeep to sag after getting the winch on, how long should i wait to measure the rake? It's only been on for like 2 weeks or so. My concern is I get the caster fixed with the lift LCA's, but then mess it up with a spacer.
I put my steel front bumper, then my winch after installing my Rubicon springs (along w/ the longer LCAs), I dropped about a 1/2", I ended up putting in a Rugged Ridge 3/4" spacer up front and all is well in looks and the drive :) I can run down the hwy tracking straight at 80 mph w/ one finger on the wheel (as long as there's no wind, lol)
Here's a pic of the winch/bumper, then w/ the 3/4" spacer, not real noticeable but worked out great IMO.

Jeep Wrangler JL Mopar LCA swap IMG_0346.JPG
Jeep Wrangler JL Mopar LCA swap IMG_0386.JPG
 

Jazzicon

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The bolts are marinating in PB Blaster now. Big boy pants are ready, and steel jock strap, too :CWL: A variety of tools are laid out ready to go to work. It's gonna be interesting. Hope the weather cools down a bit. Thanks for all the answers.
You got this! 💪👍🏼
Jeep Wrangler JL Mopar LCA swap BF8AE96A-6711-44DA-9E2A-330D10E38145
 

kilian73

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Got the LCAs in today and it definitely isn't as squirlly on the backroads. Do these readings look normal/ok? How big a deal is .4 difference from one side to the other? Should I take it back in?

Jeep Wrangler JL Mopar LCA swap IMG_0099
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