No you shouldn't. The right side upper control arm bracket is just a piece of tin. If you are not able to weld you should find a local jeeper that can weld and ask for help, not saying that he should do it for free but I have helped out other people with their projects and all I ask for is that it doesn't cost me anything as far as steel, welding rod, etc. I did this upgrade to my bride's heep just a few months ago and it take quite a bit of beating unless you have the propper tooling.
Currie JJ inserts for front Axle
Currie has the front axle kit to replace the bushings that are mounted on the axel for the upper control arms. The JJ for the drivers side slips in place of the existing bushing, but the pass side replaces the mount with a weld in peice. I don't weld, not yet. My question is; can I use a 2" JJ to replace an existing bushing on the pass side upper control arm mount like the one on the dirvers side for the upper control arm. I have adjustable lower control arms with JJs, but stock upper arms. The bushings on the stock upper front arms are shot and I would like to just replace with the JJs to tighten it up a bit. Can I just remove the stock bushing and repace with a 2" JJ ? O.D. of the 2" JJ looks like the same size of the stock bushing. I was thinking just press it in like it was a stock bushing into the stock arms/mounts.
just use this ?
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestor ... px?id=2889
Just realized 4 of those would be more expensive than the entire axle kit, but would also replace the bushings on the body side of the front upper control arms.
just use this ?
http://www.currieenterprises.com/cestor ... px?id=2889
Just realized 4 of those would be more expensive than the entire axle kit, but would also replace the bushings on the body side of the front upper control arms.
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Gotcha, the price is not bad for the Currie axle kit, I will just do that, Good excuse to buy a mig and do some learning.
I think if you do a search you will find a thread about this subject. I believe there are some on here that have replaced it without welding.
That may be, but the factory bracket on the axle at teh passenger side is pretty weak. The Currie part is solid steel. You use the lower part of the OEM bracket to position the Currie one for welding.
Actually, you weld the new part directly to the cut-off OEM bracket. There's only a 1" bead that the instructions suggest doing on the front edge of the new part against the axle. In fact their website says that there's no welding necessary on the axle, so even that 1" weld is evidently optional. It is that "pretty weak" OEM bracket that provides the support.Jough said:You use the lower part of the OEM bracket to position the Currie one for welding.
I have this kit, and a buddy in my Jeep club welded it up for me. I had it clamped in place ready to weld, and he welded both that bracket and the Clayton trackbar bracket for me in less than 30 minutes.
The part of the original bracket that is left behind is by far the strongest part of the bracket. The top part of the bracket that holds the stock bushings is so flimsy that I doubt you can remove the bushing without bending the bracket.
When you weld in the Curry bracket, the bead you run around the perimeter effectively boxes in the stock mount, making it far stronger than it was originally, and if you also run a bead at the front edge on the axle, even better...
The part of the original bracket that is left behind is by far the strongest part of the bracket. The top part of the bracket that holds the stock bushings is so flimsy that I doubt you can remove the bushing without bending the bracket.
When you weld in the Curry bracket, the bead you run around the perimeter effectively boxes in the stock mount, making it far stronger than it was originally, and if you also run a bead at the front edge on the axle, even better...
So, did anyone notice any drivability improvements with this mod?
Yes, not as huge as replacing all the arms and the other 14 bushings, but noticeable.
For me, yes. Eliminated a persistent death wobble that showed up when I went to 37 inch tires.
X2, this is a very worthwhile mod and well worth the effort to install. I had a constant vibe/wobble I couldn't eliminate prior to the addition of this kit. Haven't had it since for the last few years since install. You'd be surprised at how poor those rubber bushings really are and how much better things perform with a good, solid joint.wsm04rubi said:For me, yes. Eliminated a persistent death wobble that showed up when I went to 37 inch tires.
Best of Luck,
Mike
[quote='05TJLWBRUBY]
Best of Luck,
Mike[/quote]
X3 While not exactly turning the heep into a Porsche, it is a h*ll of a large improvement in the handling department. I don't feel like I have to have two hands on the wheel 100% of the time now and can even glance off the road to admire some of the scenery in warm weather.
X2, this is a very worthwhile mod and well worth the effort to install. I had a constant vibe/wobble I couldn't eliminate prior to the addition of this kit. Haven't had it since for the last few years since install. You'd be surprised at how poor those rubber bushings really are and how much better things perform with a good, solid joint.wsm04rubi said:For me, yes. Eliminated a persistent death wobble that showed up when I went to 37 inch tires.
Best of Luck,
Mike[/quote]
X3 While not exactly turning the heep into a Porsche, it is a h*ll of a large improvement in the handling department. I don't feel like I have to have two hands on the wheel 100% of the time now and can even glance off the road to admire some of the scenery in warm weather.
X3 While not exactly turning the heep into a Porsche, it is a h*ll of a large improvement in the handling department. I don't feel like I have to have two hands on the wheel 100% of the time now and can even glance off the road to admire some of the scenery in warm weather.[/quote]f9k9 said:[quote='05TJLWBRUBY]X2, this is a very worthwhile mod and well worth the effort to install. I had a constant vibe/wobble I couldn't eliminate prior to the addition of this kit. Haven't had it since for the last few years since install. You'd be surprised at how poor those rubber bushings really are and how much better things perform with a good, solid joint.wsm04rubi said:For me, yes. Eliminated a persistent death wobble that showed up when I went to 37 inch tires.
Best of Luck,
Mike
X4 for me. I had a weird rotational vibration that I could not track down. I replaced all the Control Arm Ends and the Front Axle Housing with JJ's and now my Jeep handles much smoother. I have not done a tremendous amount of offroading with the JJ's installed, but the on road characteristics is enough for me to justify the expenditure. I had a buddy drive my Jeep and he was very impressed with the handling.
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