Cyriac

So first off, find some second hand (or buy new if you can afford them) WJ front control arms.

Note that I boast about not removing the wheels, but it helps a lot if you do remove them, it's just that I have 19" alloy rims on mine so I preferred to work around them because they're not easy to put back on (heavy)...

Naturally you must remove the old arms first, remove the nuts then tap the screws out, if you can't pull them out by hand, you'll have to unscrew them out. Don't bother unscrewing both, once you unscrew one, tension will be relieved from the second and it will slide out effortlessly.
For the lower arms make sure to note the adjustable nut's position so you can avoid doing an alignment. The control arms are exactly the same length hole to hole so if you bolt the new arms just as the bolts were you'll be fine.

For the lower arms you'll have to shave off 1 to 2 millimeters off each side of the metal sleeve of the bushing on the body side. I used a grinder to do this. Be careful not to grind for too long, I read that you mustn't heat it up too much to avoid making the rubber separate from the metal sleeve.
You'll need to grind a bit less for the axle side bushing. I think not enough is better than too much. I'd rather force the bushing into the support by tapping lightly, rather than having to torque the bolts really hard so as to bend the supports inwards to jam the sleeve. Of course, you can always measure precisely the support's inner width and the bushing's width and grind accordingly to match for a perfect fit, that's up to you.
The new lowers can be mounted on quite easily, bolt the body side first (non-adjustable) without torquing the nut, then insert the axle side bolt and tighten until you rotate it back to it's initial position. Torque the body side bolt down and you're done for this side. Repeat for the opposite side and you're in business for the lowers.


For the uppers, most will think it's impossible to do without jacking up your Jeep, removing the wheels, etc. But I did it wheels on the ground with a friend.

Indeed, start by removing the nuts off both screws, the body side is the easiest though you'll have to push some tubes out of the way on the driver's side, nothing major. However, the axle side has the INFAMOUS T50 torx bolt.
I swear. I will shout at the engineer how thought using a torx bolt was a good idea. Good lord it was a pain...

Luckily, the WJ control arms I bought also had some bolts included so I used those and replaced that son of a torx.

Tap the screws out if you can, I had to unscrew one of them, the axle mount is simply too far offset to just push the bolt out, I had to unscrew it and I spent a very long time doing so. Once the UCA is off just place your new WJ UCA in place. To my great surprise: WJ UCAs are a direct fit on ZJs, they are exactly the same length hole to hole and both bushings are exactly the same width. Just pop the axle screw back in place without torquing the nut.
But you'll find that the axle has veered slightly forwards and there is no way you can push the body screw back in. The CA is just too far forwards! I tried prying the CA in place but I just couldn't get any leverage in the confined space!

Here's the secret I'll share with you: Use the stock jack supplied with the vehicle! Wedge it between the top of the UCA axle mount and the anti sway bar. Then jack it up! This will slowly turn your axle and effectively push the CA inline with the body side mount holes. Have a friend push the screw in once everything is inline so you can release tension from the sway bar. Operating the jack can be done by hand but for the less strong ones you can use a big flathead screwdriver to turn it more.

Because I only took one arm at a time I didn't need to push a lot, I needed perhaps 5mm more and the jack did that very well!

Once both screws are in you're good to start wrenchin'! I hope you replaced the axle bolt and you're not reusing the torx screw!

Once you're done on one side, you're good to start over on the other! And once that is done you're finished! Verify all bolts if you wish and go for a ride!


The WJ arms mean you'll have a full turning radius without any tire rubbing (maybe not with any tire! I have 255/50R19s and they don't rub at all at full lock). The "super" NVH bushings on the lowers will make the ride quality better and their boxed construction means the steering and handling will feel firmer. And if you were lucky enough to buy used WJ arms in good condition, your bushings are good to go for the same amount of miles as your old ones!
I finished mine just a few hours ago and needless to say I am very proud and happy to have done it! Not rubbing the tires when parking the ZJ is a relief and the new bushings actually eliminated the wobble I had at 50 mph! Also, those WJ arms look infinitely more superior to the stock "bent sheet metal" arms!

All in all I strongly recommend this swap for all stock to slightly lifted ZJs. 100% beneficial in every way and also cheap!

Feel free to ask any questions! ;-)


Disclaimer: I'm AM NOT claiming that this is easy. The upper axle-side bolts are very difficult to access without making the axle droop. It's possible with lots of patience but not easy. YOU WILL CURSE.
Among other things, the oil pan, brake lines, fuel lines, exhaust, engine block, lower CAs, differential... will all be in the way when you work on the upper axle side bolts. But you can slide your hands and tools around them! ;-)
So if you don't have a car lift like me, or a fancy set of jack stands then by all means, follow my guide above and you'll see you won't need any of the above! :-)

Bustedback

I've planned on doing this swap for a while. The stock ZJ/XJ arms are flimsy pieces of junk. I'm sure the WJ arms are a lot stronger and help with the handling quite a bit.

AubieJeep

Somewhat off topic to your thread but do you happen to know if ZJ's and WJ's use the same track bar? Or same size track bar bushings?

Cyriac

I have no idea! Have you researched this? I don't think there is any advantage to using the WJ trackbar instead of the ZJ's. If running stock suspension I suppose you'd be better off just using the OEM track bar.