Choosing Rear Control Arms, Adjustable

siddag

siddag

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Previous owners did a budget spring lift of 2 inches, but did not bother to measure and adjust for correct ujoint angles, pinion angle.
Improper pinion angle appears to be contributor in worn pinion yoke ujoint saddle.
Still have conventional driveshaft. Not double cardan, CV, yet.

Trying to choose adjustable rear control arms.

Some are adjustable at one end only, requiring disconnecting to make adjustments.

Some are adjustable at both ends, making adjustments easier, it appears.

Single adjusters are less expensive, but not dirt cheap.

Leaning toward single end adjusters for now.
 
My first set of control arms (rear uppers) was single adjustable. Since then I've only bought double adjustable. I won't go back to single adjustable if I have the choice, the ability to adjust without disconnecting everything is worth it. I thought it would be a one-and-done with my initial set up, but that's never the case.
 
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I've got singles. doubles would be handy but aren't a big deal if you aren't going to be changing things around often. I wish I had gotten aluminum uppers just for less weight, but also not really a big difference.
 
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siddag said:
Previous owners did a budget spring lift of 2 inches, but did not bother to measure and adjust for correct ujoint angles, pinion angle.
Improper pinion angle appears to be contributor in worn pinion yoke ujoint saddle.
Still have conventional driveshaft. Not double cardan, CV, yet.

Trying to choose adjustable rear control arms.

Some are adjustable at one end only, requiring disconnecting to make adjustments.

Some are adjustable at both ends, making adjustments easier, it appears.

Single adjusters are less expensive, but not dirt cheap.

Leaning toward single end adjusters for now.
Click to expand...
A 2" lift without a SYE shouldn't need the pinion angle adjusted. Worn bushings might do that, and a perished u joint that was left installed too long might, but your pinion angle should be fine with factory parts.
 
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I bought adjustable arms only one time. I sprang for aluminum double adjustable. I've been very happy with them.
 
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Mike_H said:
A 2" lift without a SYE shouldn't need the pinion angle adjusted. Worn bushings might do that, and a perished u joint that was left installed too long might, but your pinion angle should be fine with factory parts.
Click to expand...

I have a 2.5" lift and immediately got vibes. Needed adjustable track bar and control arms to tame it.

Some get away with factory setup at that height, some don't.
 
Get the double adjustables. It took me about half a dozen tries to get them dialed in just right, and halfway through the process I distinctly remember thinking “I am so glad I went with these over single adjustable”

You never know when you might have to make a tweak, and every time you do, you will be glad you went DA.
 
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WallyWest said:
I have a 2.5" lift and immediately got vibes. Needed adjustable track bar and control arms to tame it.

Some get away with factory setup at that height, some don't.
Click to expand...


Adjusting the pinion angle down to get rid of a vibration using a stock driveshaft is counterproductive even compared to a 1" t-case drop. You loose available downtravel that you could have otherwise been using due to the driveshaft binding up the joints.

An adjustable track bar in the rear is also not needed with the use of rear track bar relocation. If you put an adjustable in without rear track bar relocation, you limit the downtravel to a 22.5" shock length due to the suspension bind created by the low mounted track bar, which will rip off the stock bracket.
 
Go with doubles, in the case you eventually regrease/rebuild/replace a joint it makes things easier (getting the arm out and in, etc). That’s on top of initially setting angles and adjusting them along the way, which doubles are great for.
 
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If I were to offer a 2.5-4" short arm lift, it would include an sye and shaft. I would not even build adjustable control arms for guys to mess with, except for the rear uppers to compensate for different skid plates. The lengths are always the same to clear all components from full bump to full droop and maintain acceptable caster. It literally doesn't matter if its 2.5" lift or 4"
16.25/14 7/8" are magic numbers for the front on 2" bumpstop extension provided you have a track bar like rc that actually fits the extra 1/2" of lower control arm length. If we are running a shock with a collapsed shock length longer than 16.5" which is a 3" bumpstop, we can goto 16.75" with the lower arms, if the track bar is relocated forward with a rc,re,rk,ect frame bracket.
The rear is stock with a stock shaft. Stock lowers, 15.75" and stock uppers, 13.25 even work with a stock 03-06 belly skid using an sye @4" lift. 97-02 can also remain stock upto 3" lift with a stock skid without vibration. We can't move the rear axle back without creating another problem at full bump running less than 3" rear bumpstop extension.
 
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rasband said:
According to savvy’s site for all 8:

Currie SA: 55lb
Savvy DA: 56lb
Click to expand...
One pound?! Across all 8 arms?! I was way off haha.
For some reason that seems a little off, but I really don't know. I guess there's no real benefit to alum arms, other than cool factor :cool:
 
Vasq said:
One pound?! Across all 8 arms?! I was way off haha.
For some reason that seems a little off, but I really don't know. I guess there's no real benefit to alum arms, other than cool factor :cool:
Click to expand...
Double Adjustable, enough said!
 
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