JeepinAl's upper A arm install on KJ

[Mutt]

Well, today was the day to tackle the installation of the JeepinAl's upper A arms.

Here is a shot of the KJ before work commenced. Ya'll normally see the other side, so I threw this one in for good measure:



I started off by loosening all the lug nuts, jacking it up, removing the wheels/tires, and placing it on jackstands.

On the passenger side, I removed the airbox by loosening the straight screw driver on the intake boot before snapping it out and removed the other bracket by removing the two 10mm bolts:


Pay no mind to that covering of Carolina sand all over the inside of my engine compartment. I should have washed it thoroughly before work commenced.

Loosen the 21mm nut that holds the UBJ to the knuckle and smack the knuckle with a hammer to release the UBJ and A arm:


Two 18mm nuts and 15mm bolt heads hold the A arm in place, remove those from inside the engine compartment:


At this time you are ready to grab the A arm and with a firm tug remove it from the Jeep:


Here is what the Al's arms look like compared to the stock units:


Fit the A arm into the slots, it may take some jiggling to get the bolts back into the holes and then torque both front and rear nuts to 90 ft/lbs.

Using a floor jack, raise the lower A arm assembly to facilitate inserting the UBJ into the knuckle:


Al's A arms come with new nuts which are 23mm so be prepared, I wasn't and had to head back to the shed to dig the socket out of my rollaway. Then torque the UBJ nut to 60 ft/lbs.

You're then ready to pack the UBJ full of grease via the handy zerke fitting installed on top:


I packed enough grease into the boot that it was escaping from the lip of the boot and out of the zerke fitting.

Reinstall two 10mm nuts on bracket and snap your airbox back into place while reinstalling the intake boot and tightening up the cinch band.

Now you're ready to reinstall the passenger side front wheel/tire, remove the jackstand from that side and torque the effected lugnuts.

Total time of passenger side install was less than one hour.

I'm soaked with sweat from near 90 degree temperatures and will be tackling the driver's side in a bit. I expect the drivers side to take a bit longer due to more interference, ie; steering linkage, battery, fusebox, etc;

More to follow.

[Mutt]

Alright kids, just finished the drivers side. Didn't remove the battery or anything else. The front bolt is a piece of cake to get at from the front. The rear bolt is a little more difficult, but I also got it from the front using about 36" of extension and a swivel!

My alignment is better already, the severe toe in is gone. No more rattling clunk either. I'm happy dog, happy dog, hubba hubba hubba hubba.

The wheels are turned slightly to the left, but you can tell they aren't toed in:

[GMEMUD]

Thats some very handy info there mate. What size lift you got there? I'm looking at doing a 3" lift on my '04 soon. Any vibes from the drive line?

[Mutt]

The Frankenlift is advertised as a 2.5", but it is really closer to 3.5". I've also installed 1/2" packers above the rear springs. I have no driveline vibration at all. The a arms are a necessity with a 2.5" lift to correct the steering geometry and to get the stock a arms off the springs. Before I installed the arms it was a clunking rattle trap.