Anything special about replacing control arms?

M

MaddShadez

Registered
Hi folks, I just ordered upper and lower control arms for both sides from rockauto.com. Anything special I should know before I replace them? Tips, tricks, suggestions are welcomed. Hopefully they'll be here by the weekend and i can get started. It's supposed to be beautiful.
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

The uppers are kind of a pain. The driver's side especially. A 15mm Gear Wrench allows you to get the nut off without removing the brake master cylinder. I had to decompress and move the struts to get the bolts out. Some people say they don't need to do that.

You may need to lubricate with USMC approved magic words – the more toxic the better!
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
You may need to lubricate with USMC approved magic words – the more toxic the better!
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If that don't work, some drilling tools are in order... a 5 foot bar and a 16 pound sledgehammer oughta work.

j/k :)
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

My uppers weren't too much of a problem. Just one stuck bolt, tried to cut it with the saws all and relaized it was a hardened bolt!! I got all new bolts from ford anyway. I haven't done the lowers yet, how's that job?
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

When doing the lower control arms, you will also want to replace the strut rod bushings that go through the arm. These bushings are not that expensive and will save you the hassle of replacing them later.

Best of luck
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

I would remove the strut to remove the upper control arm. Also make sure not to round off the inside heads. I had a 24" breaker bar and my 1/2" ratchet and 18mm open end wrench, no swear words required. Also I had the ol magnet on a stick which helped greatly on that hidden nut on the rear.

The lower control arm is shockingly easy, and yeah replacing those bushings that are in that strut arm lower control arm intersection is the way to go since the old ones need to come out anyway.
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

Gearwrenches are almost necessary for the uppers.

The lowers aren't too tough, but make sure you carefully mark the position of hte eccentric so that the car drives reasonably straight on the way to get an alignment. Also, the manual says not to put a wrench on the bend of the strut rod, so position the wrench toward the end of the flat part when you are removing the bolt from the strut rod.

Have fun!
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

How about that!

I guess I should have looked under all that fancy padding.
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

When I changed them on my '93 Cougar, I remember the rearmost driver-side bolt was a pain in the ass, but it was nothing my dad and I weren't able to accomplish without a normal set of sockets/wrenches/extensions and a moderate amount of cussing.
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

Cussing is an authorized auto repair tool. The tool has been approved for use by the all auto manufacturers world-wide. Some manufacturers' product need more applications of the tool than others.
 
RE: Anything special about replacing control arms?

I just wanted to bump this old thread, because the access hole tip was a lifesaver. It should really be in the tech articles! I think the Mark VIII assembly line began with the driver-side control arm, then they just built the rest of the car around it. :p

FWIW my 3/8" swivel broke, and even if it didn't, I don't think the ratchet would've provided enough leverage. However a large breaker bar along with a 1/2" swivel and 2 wobble extensions made it easy to remove that evil nut.
 
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