My upper control arm bracket is bent. How does this happen? What do I do about it? I think that this is the cause of a clunking sound and a little axle movement.

 

with the upper arm still installed, try to hammer and chisel/prybar the side of the bracket back into place. Once you've gotten it seemingly close to its original shape you can either make your own or they sell the pre-cut bracket "cap" that gets welded to the face of the bracket itself. When it comes to actually welding the cap to the upper link mount - thats pretty straight forward. Potentially consider replacing the bushing afterwards due to the heat from welding if it really concerns you.

 

That is just stamped sheet metal and that can happen. You can take a hammer to it and fix it that way. As long as the bushing is good, it shouldn't be a problem

 

If that is the bracket on the axle, that happened on my old 92. I took an exhaust u-bolt the size of the bushing and gently hammered it into the gap. It spread the metal back to normal and it fits snug ( the collar) enough to keep everything in place. You want it so the threaded parts face front. I used it for years with no issues. That truck is long gone so I don't have any pictures

 

https://barnes4wd.com/products/tj-lj...bracket-gusset

 

Yes yes.

Heim heim arms might help to to keep less bind on poopcan oem fabrication