This thread is in response to me getting a really good deal on a set of RK Control Arms (Upper & Lower) from Ross. Thanks again!
As these are used CAs I am in the process of disassembling and cleaning everything up to see what I truly have to work with. After trying everything in the book on how to break the jam nuts loose, my neighbor and I resorted to a BFH and a BFWrench! I also soaked them with penetrating oil to help. I did notice that one of the joints jam nut was not tightened all the way down against the arm and providing the necessary stretch to the threads. I'm not sure if this was due to RK removing them from Black Betty or not??
I finally got all the joints broke loose. Those things were on there tight! I then cleaned them up and it looks like a couple are ruined. Some have the innards hanging out. I will probably go through the process of replacing all the joints with RK's Monster Pros. I will start out with the LCAs since I already have 2 new replacements. I will buy the other 2 in the near future and will assemble them onto my Jeep.
As of right now I am taking the paint off the arms and repainting them. It's a long process since it's so hot and humid outside that I can only work in the mornings. I will have more time to work outside starting tomorrow as the kids head back to school. Right now I have one Rear Upper painted and another Front Upper taken down to bare metal. I will start on the Lowers tomorrow morning.
When I ordered a RK T-shirt, I was lucky enough to receive a complete set of new Control Arm Decals for the Lowers.
As I started removing the original paint I did notice that all the CAs are stamped on the end with serial numbers that match to each pair. This is excellent quality control on Rock Krawlers part.
Most likely when I get the 2 new Monster Pro Joints in I will most likely have them installed by an Offroad shop in OKC. That way they can do the work and align everything at once. I will need to find out how much that will run. I met a guy (local Jeep club) a couple weeks ago that has a brand new 2014 and has used the shop to completely redo everything from suspension to driveline on his Jeep. They came highly recommended.
I'm still going at this slowly so I don't get something screwed up. Also, I can't post pics from my phone so I will update with pics when I get my wifi back up and running.
I have also researched and I can take these Arms up to the 3.5 X Factor with the swapping of my current springs and adding a front trackbar bracket and a new rear trackbar. I also need to pick up the rear spring correction wedges when this happens. Something I'm thinking of doing so I can run up to 37/38" tires.
Stay tuned
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