We got a little snow and I couldn't resist the urge to get out and play. I was on a trail coming over a hill when i slid forward into a dirt bank with my driver's side tire. I definitely bent the lower control arm bracket. The drivers' side tire sits back a bit now and I get rubbing at full lock to the left because of it.
Here is the result.
From the back looking to the front of the vehicle.
So should an offroad shop be able to fix this? Am I looking at some costly repairs/replacement axles or what? Anyone here want to tackle removing my current CA brackets and welding new ones on? Perhaps ones with skids on them too?
Definitely gonna need to cut the brackets off and weld on new ones, but nowhere near new axles. I'd take a look at your trackbar as well, 'cause for the axle to shift like that, you either bent that bracket as well, or bent the bar itself.
I gotta ask, how fast were you going!?
The best way to fix that would be to pull the axle and have someone weld on new brackets out from under the truck. There are a few people capable of that task in the club. You should be able to get beefier brackets from a variety of sources, but Rubicon Express is the first that comes to mind. You might also check the vendor's section of Pirate for places that sell suspension brackets.
I'd run it by there and see what their initial reaction is, couldn't hurt. If the guy starts to freak out about vehicle abuse, I'd run though. You don't want him blacklisting you in the computer for future unrelated warranty repairs.
I've found some control arm brackets at Rusty's Offroad, and I figure if I get some steel plate to create skids for the brackets themselves... they should be beefy enough for future trail abuse.
