How bad is this control arm bracket?

DadinaJeep

New Member
Joined
Dec 18, 2021
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6
Location
Beaverton, OR
I've been going around and tightening bolts on my 2000 TJ and have been well rewarded with a quieter and more steady ride.

Today I tackled the front lower control arm on the driver side. When I took it off to clean things up (PO let things get real nasty) I thought the bracket didn't quite look right.

How badly messed up is this? Is it worth taking in to have it fixed, or is it something I can live with?

IMG_20230318_162538.jpg


IMG_20230318_162458.jpg


IMG_20230318_162356.jpg
 
I'd replace them with some Artec brackets. That's what I did, anyway.

HERE, if you chose to go that route, and have adjustable control arms. They have a slotted version too, if you wanted to give that a whirl again.
 
I've been going around and tightening bolts on my 2000 TJ and have been well rewarded with a quieter and more steady ride.

Today I tackled the front lower control arm on the driver side. When I took it off to clean things up (PO let things get real nasty) I thought the bracket didn't quite look right.

How badly messed up is this? Is it worth taking in to have it fixed, or is it something I can live with?

View attachment 408439

View attachment 408440

View attachment 408441
It appears the hole is so elongated it might slip over the bushing inner sleeve and not torque properly-

Artec and a good welder.

Axle stability is key to good road manners in these.
 
I've been going around and tightening bolts on my 2000 TJ and have been well rewarded with a quieter and more steady ride.

Today I tackled the front lower control arm on the driver side. When I took it off to clean things up (PO let things get real nasty) I thought the bracket didn't quite look right.

How badly messed up is this? Is it worth taking in to have it fixed, or is it something I can live with?

View attachment 408439

View attachment 408440

View attachment 408441
It appears the hole is so elongated it might slip over the bushing inner sleeve and not torque properly-

Artec and a good welder.

Axle stability is key to good road manners in these
 
That one is a bit past straightening. I know that Blaine has recommended Iron Rock for lower brackets if you want brackets without the slot and horseshoe.
 
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What do your control arms look like? Looks like a solid far end, how about the axle end? If they're solid on both ends they might have caused that twist.
 
What do your control arms look like? Looks like a solid far end, how about the axle end? If they're solid on both ends they might have caused that twist.

It's a solid control arm. I haven't pulled the passenger side co troll arm yet, but the bracket looks straight to me. The top of the bracket is parallel to the the axle, at least, which is much more than can be said for the driver side.
 
Factory control arms look a little wimpy - on purpose. They flex. Good aftermarket control arms have at least one end which flexes (twists). Solid control arms don't have enough flex, and when you get one tire high and one tire low offroad, the control arms can twist off the mounts.
 
Thanks everyone for the help
I'll get new brackets installed and see if I can't grow the budget a little for some new control arms with flex. Gotta be ready for the dry weather!

Which leads me to my final question for the evening: Any recommendations for a shop in/around Portland, OR to swap in new brackets when I get them?
 
Iron Rock makes good stuff, I've got some of their shit on my JT, and they're local to me.

But calling the artec brackets worse than barf seems like a bit of a stretch lol. Fill me in on what makes the IRO brackets infinitely better? Or even just regular better?

I wasn't aware of IRO's existence back when I bought my Artec brackets.
 
Iron Rock makes good stuff, I've got some of their shit on my JT, and they're local to me.

But calling the artec brackets worse than barf seems like a bit of a stretch lol. Fill me in on what makes the IRO brackets infinitely better? Or even just regular better?

I wasn't aware of IRO's existence back when I bought my Artec brackets.

Iron Rock lower control arm brackets have a ramped face similar to stock brackets with Currie mini skids. For some reason Artec designed theirs with a nearly vertical face that doesn't slide over an obstacle. It's an objectively bad design.
 
Iron Rock lower control arm brackets have a ramped face similar to stock brackets with Currie mini skids. For some reason Artec designed theirs with a nearly vertical face that doesn't slide over an obstacle. It's an objectively bad design.

Interesting, the things I wish I knew then.

If anybody has a picture of the IRO mounts welded up it'd be cool to compare side by side.

PXL_20230319_035721846.jpg


Here's a picture of the Artec bracket for the sake of the conversation. It does seem rather prominent
 
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