Which washers do I use for the Savvy front lower control arms?

Chris

Chris

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I'm putting the Savvy front control arms on my TJ today and found that the washers that came off the TJ are big enough that they stay centered perfectly in the horseshoe:

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However, the washers that the Savvy arms come with look like this:

IMG_1065.JPG



Clearly those new washers won't stay centered in the horseshoe, which seems like a problem, no?

And of course, to my frustration (and @jeep_boss's as well), there's no friggin' instructions included with them... ugh.

I looked at the instructions for the Currie control arms, but they don't mention anything about this.
 
bobthetj03 said:
Properly torqued, the clamping force alone will keep the bolt where it needs to be.
Click to expand...
That hole is slotted though in the front of the lower control arms. So I guess it would just go all the way forward in the slot? It's just a bit confusing. Those larger washers center it in the hole, which seem to be more ideal if I'm trying to get control arm measurements exact.
 
Pick an end to the slot and go with it from there or use the tj washers, don't think it matters much ether way. If you can weld you could even tack weld the washer in place to ensure it doesn't move on you in the future.

Also with adjustable control arms I'd be more worried about making sure you get the axle straight by measuring the axle instead of the arm length. Brackets get bent sometimes after all. Just use a plumb bob to find your axle center line on the frame then use a tape measure to measure to a known point on the frame that's there on both sides. That's how I squared mine up after the axle swap and long arm so I knew there was a chance of uneven brackets. (couple of degrees up or down on the axle tube for the bracket makes all the difference in arm length.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
 
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Drizit said:
Pick an end to the slot and go with it from there or use the tj washers, don't think it matters much ether way. If you can weld you could even tack weld the washer in place to ensure it doesn't move on you in the future.

Also with adjustable control arms I'd be more worried about making sure you get the axle straight by measuring the axle instead of the arm length. Brackets get bent sometimes after all. Just use a plumb bob to find your axle center line on the frame then use a tape measure to measure to a known point on the frame that's there on both sides. That's how I squared mine up after the axle swap and long arm so I knew there was a chance of uneven brackets. (couple of degrees up or down on the axle tube for the bracket makes all the difference in arm length.

—
There must have been a time
when we could have said no.
Click to expand...
I like the tacking idea, that would have been very useful in similar situations that I have been in with larger I.D. washers!
 
I just used the stock lower bolts and washers for awhile, until my slick slotted washers arrived.
Figured if they were good enough to hold everyone else's arms, including stock, they'd be good enough for my Savvy arms, temporarily. Just not greasable.
 
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I took the stock washers off, and put them over new bolts. Yes, its a bit of a sloppy fit, but its less sloppy than letting the bolt slide in the slot, if they were to come loose. I think those horseshoes are there to provide some measure of caster adjustment, if you were to buy the proper eccentric washers. From the factory, they just side in the middle of their slots.
 
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I ended up getting a set of those washers from @mrblaine. I don’t know if I truly need them or not, but I like the idea of those control arm bolts staying put and not having the ability to move around (though with the proper torque, I’m not even sure if that’s possible?).
 
Somewhere I read that the JJ washers real intended purpose is to contain grease for the Johnny Joints that use grease bolts.

My Savvy arms came with a large fender washer that fit pretty snuggly inside the horseshoe.
 
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jjvw said:
Somewhere I read that the JJ washers real intended purpose is to contain grease for the Johnny Joints that use grease bolts.

My Savvy arms came with a large fender washer that fit pretty snuggly inside the horseshoe.
Click to expand...

The washer with my Savvy arms is large, but not nearly large enough to fill up the horseshoe as you can see from the photos.
 
Chris said:
The washer with my Savvy arms is large, but not nearly large enough to fill up the horseshoe as you can see from the photos.
Click to expand...
Mine were definitely larger than what you received.
 
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Chris said:
Which makes you wonder why Savvy isn't including these larger size washers to begin with.
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As stated, very expensive to make. In fact so expensive that if anyone wants to quote me 250 at a time for a nice little side job, fire it off. I will tell you up front that getting them laser cut and roughed in to clean up on the mill won't work well. The best thing to do is saw off slugs from round bar stock and machine the oval plug out of that.
 
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bobthetj03 said:
Because not all TJ's have a slotted hole on the axle side lower control arm bracket. Mine does not.
Click to expand...
That would be the very rare bird indeed. So rare that I've never seen one and I have personally purchased 50 30 fronts and had them here on the ground at the same time and that doesn't include the hundreds I've messed with. Are you sure it isn't a late model XJ Low Pinion 30 front? They are the only axle that has holes instead of slots on the LP front. XJ 00-01 are low pinion with holes and in fact that is about the only way you can tell them from a TJ LP 30.
 
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