New JBA A-Arms came in!

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:17 pm

The new JBA (Jeepin By Al) upper control arms came in this week. Ordered them from JBA Thursday around 1pm - they shipped the same day - showed up on Monday (great customer service too). New factory UBJ/arms were quoted $800 for a pair installed at the stealership :eek:

So when the ball joints went on the Liberty for the 3rd time :evil:

We decided to upgrade to the JBA arms. They come with greasable/replaceable Moog ball joints and are designed for lifted Liberties. $385 for a fully assembled pair (btw - stock factory replacements are $150-$200 each) Just need to find time to replace them this weekend.

The instructions have me getting at the A-Arm bolts from the engine compartment and removing the battery, air box, and all sorts of other stuff under the hood

Is there anyway to get at the bolts from below? Any tips or trick for the JBA arm install? I know I'll need an alignment after the install - does the Gen 4.5 mess up the caster & camber so far that I won't be able to have it professionally alligned? I also have to do the tie rod ends while I'm in there. We have a trail ride 200 miles away October 11th and I want to make sure the KJ can drive there and back without toasting the tires :evil:

I appreciate the feedback of JBA Gen 4.5 folks - Thanks

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:26 pm

Actually they make it easier to have aligned. As for getting to all the bolts from below: not possible. you'll have to remove the battery and air box, as well as disconnect a driver side brake line bracket to get around the line for the front mount. Otherwise, you have to disconnect the line itself. You'll see what I mean when you do it. (Dis)connecting the driver side rear bolt is the hardest part.

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Thu Oct 02, 2008 11:43 pm

Dje Ryu wrote:

Actually they make it easier to have aligned. As for getting to all the bolts from below: not possible. you'll have to remove the battery and air box, as well as disconnect a driver side brake line bracket to get around the line for the front mount. Otherwise, you have to disconnect the line itself. You'll see what I mean when you do it. (Dis)connecting the driver side rear bolt is the hardest part.

Thanks for the input - glad that the JBA arms are OK for alignment.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:10 am

I am lazy... I never removed the battery only the air box, other than the left rear bolt its a walk in the park :wink:

Pablo · **Joined:** Thu Feb 02, 2006 10:06 pm **Posts:** 1201

I would not drive 200 miles before getting the alignment checked, as the probability of eating your tires is very high.

Dje Ryu · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 12:58 am

Pablo wrote:

I would not drive 200 miles before getting the alignment checked, as the probability of eating your tires is very high.

Agreed. I went about 75 but I made sure about half of those were some nice rough wheelin'!

Jeep4me99 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 6:15 am

i didn't remove the battery either, but did remove the air box, the passengers side was much easier than the drivers. that rear one is a PITA!!!! but I did it by myself in about an hour.

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:00 am

Pablo wrote:

I would not drive 200 miles before getting the alignment checked, as the probability of eating your tires is very high.

I plan on having it aligned before driving it anywhere - just wanted to make sure it was easy/able to align it after the JBA arms were installed.

So... the rear driver side bolt is a PITA? What's the best way to attack that one?

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 8:54 am

JeepinMaxx wrote:

Pablo wrote:

I would not drive 200 miles before getting the alignment checked, as the probability of eating your tires is very high.

I plan on having it aligned before driving it anywhere - just wanted to make sure it was easy/able to align it after the JBA arms were installed.

So... the rear driver side bolt is a PITA? What's the best way to attack that one?

with extensions and swivel from the front, snaking it back through to the nut, not hard but time consuming or more so than the rest. I would snug mine up and then when on the ground finish torquing them, if you tighten them when its up in the air it preloads them and it will set way high, either that or take it out and go through some dips etc before the alignment to settle the new arms in

Sport · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:12 am

Those arms are sweet much improvement from the old. I need to upgrade my gen 3 for these

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 9:45 am

Sport wrote:

Those arms are sweet much improvement from the old. I need to upgrade my gen 3 for these

lots, no LOTS of difference between the 3s and the 4.5s for sure, much better design/engineering

jeepkj02 · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:11 am

Sport wrote:

Those arms are sweet much improvement from the old. I need to upgrade my gen 3 for these

JBA Upgrade Program: http://jeepinbyal.com/cat-Als_Upgrade_Program-28.aspx

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Fri Oct 03, 2008 10:11 pm

Thanks for the tip on the install! Doing a wrenchfest tomorrow to get it done in time for the Columbus weekend ride. If anyone is interested in helping/learning - we are wrenching in North Eastern CT - Pizza and Beverages on me (PM me)

I'll try to document the install for the next newbies to learn from

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Sun Oct 05, 2008 12:10 am

Got them in today. As expected - Driver side was a pain. :evil:

Thanks to the suggestions and tips from LOST folk - we were successful

Follow JBA instructions (nice install info + pictures)

Some install notes:

Driver Side:
removing all the battery, battery tray and fuse block makes it easier.
Using a 18mm swivel socket on a long extension + impact gun helps taking out the back bolt in 5 minutes (thanks for the tip Tommudd

)

Passenger side:

The same swivel socket(21mm this time) + extension + impact gun worked great for the ball joint bolts (learned that one on the driver side after the wife practiced rowing a boat using a ratchet and a pipe for leverage on the passenger side :oops:

(fun to watch though...)

A pickle fork works good for separating the old ball joints

Have a bottle jack available to compress / support the lower control arm during the install

Installing the passenger side arms takes a few minutes if you have a helper/second set of hands

Installing the drivers side is a PITA - You have to reach your arm across several flesh cutting protrusions to insert the bolt- after that - use the previously mentioned swivel socket & extension

New v Old

Clearanced the pockets for more droop

Finished product

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 05, 2008 11:42 am

those are awesome!! im going to definitely have to get a set of those! i got my passenger side replaced under my extended warranty, as well as the tie rod ends, because right after the lift they wouldnt align it because those parts were worn. otherwise if i had to pay, i would have just gotten the JBA arms

i would recommend you getting the teraflex bumpstops in the front upper. and notch it out for the grease zerk fitting, so when the arm goes up, it wont possibly break off the fitting. and if you dont get the upper teraflexes right away, i would drill a hole where the grease zerk would touch so it can go up inside the bumpstop

i helped jon install these on his, they are very beefy arms, well made! but yes, taking out the battery, batterybox, and airbox takes the most time. the left rear bolt is a PITA, but what everybody else said, more of a patience thing, than being actually hard to do

spoonplugger1 · **Posted:** Sun Oct 05, 2008 10:16 pm

Guess I've been asleep at the wheel, didn't know there was anything wrong with my black set, why would I need to change again? To late now anyway.

AdamIsAdam · **Posted:** Tue Oct 07, 2008 10:26 pm

I upgraded my Gen 3's for the 4.5's. My old ones were creaking for some reason. Not sure if UBJ's were wearing out or the bushings were, but they seemed ok other than the noise.

Anyway, I just did a writeup for www.jpfreak.com on them (and also on www.jeeptales.com). Marlin got me the new arms quickly as he always does (amazing service).

Also, on mine, where I had tires rubbing on the old arms, they do not rub on the new ones.

I went off roading with them two weeks ago right after the install, and they were great. Tight turns, etc.

If you have the older ones, Marlin suggests checking around the welds by the ball joints regularly for signs of cracking. If they appear ok, there's no need to upgrade. But the new ones are substantially better made and designed. I personally feel safer with them.

tommudd · **Posted:** Tue Oct 07, 2008 10:50 pm

Talking about checking around the welds is a great idea, I bought a set of the Gen 3 from a member on here. He said they were good but when I got them and started to sand them down to repaint them I noticed that they had some small cracks along the welds, almost unnoticeable to the naked eye if you were just glancing at them. The member that I bought them from had no idea that they were bad (and made it right with me)
BUT just saying check them close around the ball joint where its welded!

JeepinMaxx · **Posted:** Tue Oct 07, 2008 11:50 pm

Got the alignment done today - it took two test drives - but it worked out... The tech commented on the new JBA arms and liked how easy it was to align the new arms vs stock

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Wed Oct 08, 2008 12:49 am

JeepinMaxx wrote:

Got the alignment done today - it took two test drives - but it worked out... The tech commented on the new JBA arms and liked how easy it was to align the new arms vs stock

Wow, that's good to know, I'm surprised it made any difference at all concerning it's ease for alignment.

New JBA A-Arms came in!

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