Temporary control arm fix? Can it be done?

[lostcreek21]

Hey guys, I'am sitting here without any money and thinking of things to do. I have about 4.5 inches of lift and stock control arms. My steering is kind of sloppy so if I get some longer control arms in there hopefully that will help the problem. I also want to go up another inch. What I was wondering is, can I cut my stock Control arm in half and weld a pipe or tube inside of it to make it longer. Has anyone done this and do you think it would be safe. I think it would be safe because the pipe/tube would be thicker than the LCA and the welds would be very strong but I don't know. If I do this i will cover the tube with sheet metal to make it look stock until I can get some real LCA. Thanks

 

[csudman]

If your going to the trouble to cut and reweld the arms you might as wheel make new ones. Its not gonna be much harder. And no. You cant do what you are asking.
Sorry

 

[RCP Phx]

You "can" do everything you talked about(its been done by many).But,lengthening your control arms may or may not do anything for you.What are your alignment specs?What is the "real" description of whats going on?What condition is the condition of all the TRE's and Ball-joints?

 

[lostcreek21]

Well I want to make new ones but I've heard that you have to have special sleeves to fit the stock bearings and I don't have the money. I wanted to take the stock bushings and shave some off so I don't need a special machined sleeve. Has anyone done this or anything else without buying the machined outer sleeves. Thanks

 

[csudman]

I stand corrected. I just dont want to ride with or near you.

 

[lostcreek21]

Well if it's not safe than I probably wouldn't do it but I haven't seen any reasons why it wouldn't be as strong or stronger than a stock arm. I mean winch bumpers are welded together and they can stand up to the force of 6000 lbs or more. I'm just looking for anyone that has done it or has any tips.

 

[old_man]

I tried that a few years ago. I'm an engineer, I should have known better. The control arms are designed to flex, not only in the joints but the whole structure. If you cut and lengthen and reweld, you modify that structure and make it stiffer. It didn't take long to rip a control arm in two. Luckily if failed on the trail. It wasn't faulty implementation, it was faulty design.

 

[lostcreek21]

Thanks for the info. That is exactly what I was wanting to know. I will be making my own when I can get the money. Has anyone found an easier way to set the bushings in some custom made LCA's without the machined sleeve?

 

[RCP Phx]

You can now buy them for like 10$.

 

[lostcreek21]

Ya I saw that website once but I can't find it now. Do you have a link? Thanks

 

[csudman]

I dont think thered be anything wrong w/ cutting off the bushings and welding them to some dom tubing or something. Make sure that you get alot of contact. But your only talkin 40.00 for all 4. And no headaches. I think you could do the whole thing for 50.00

 

[old_man]

You really need to add some swivel in the arm if you are going off road. Otherwise you will limit your flex or worse.

 

[lostcreek21]

You mean like johnny joints or Rubicon Express's joints? Does anyone have any that I could buy for cheap?

 

[old_man]

You can normally get by with OEM rubber $5 ea on one end and RE large johnny joints on the other. The RE's run $30 each and you can get a bushing like shown above for $10 each. It still helps to have a rotational joint in the shaft.