8/15/04
One of the problems with having a 1.5"
lift that also adds 1.5" of droop and OME long travel
shocks that have an extra inch of droop is that the ball joints contact the spring on
full droop. This limits potential travel, can damage the OEM ball joints and make things a
bit noisy.
Camburg makes these nifty control arms that are supposed
to add travel and clearance. They accomplish this by using a 1" uni-ball inset in the
arm. This positions the point of rotatation inside the arm as opposed to below the arm.
The
arms come with very nicely built hardware. Once installed, the arms bolt and unbolt very
easily compared to popping out that top balljoint.
Gear
pullers are a must for this job. Undo the ABS wires and the yellow Airbag sensor on the
driver's side (be careful with it!) Loosen the top castle nut on the upper balljoint and
use a big gear puller with a large breaker bar to pop the joint loose. Position the puller
carefully on the spots with the most area. Unbolt and remove the control arm from the
frame. Remove the snap ring from the balljoint. I used a pair of channel locks to hold one
corner and a screwdriver to pry up the other. From here I placed a length of tube
over the balljoint to press it out of the upright arm.
Press
the Camburg hardware into the upright. A coating of grease doesn't hurt but I still ended
up breaking a set of gear pullers and instead used a vise to alternately squeeze sides up
until it was seated. The new arms are straight forward to install from here.
Interestingly, the Camburg arms appear to add
more castor angle as the hole is set further towards the rear of the vehicle. The arms
have the same reach though. They are just stacked poorly in the picture to allow the holes
to be seen.
After installation, you can see that the upright
arms no longer contact the springs. One of my control arms does just barely contact the
spring.
Amazingly, the suspension has also just found
another 1.5" of wheel downtravel on the driver's side and about 1" on the
passenger. The driver's side previously was more limited in down travel due to the spring
position. This additional travel was an unexpected gift. I guess the balljoint contact was
limiting droop. In case you are wondering, the steering balljoints still have additional
play. Distance from the top of my wheel well (SR5) to the top of my 16" rim is
17.5" on both sides. Distance at full compression is 7". Total front wheel
travel is 10.5". Rear wheel travel is approximately 18".
The arms have greasable nipples. I recommend a gun with a flexible nozzle as some of the nipples are tough to get to. Be careful when greasing (after the first 6 months they might squeak) as over filling may push the bushings out. Stop pumping when things swell.