upper control arm replacment

dwayne

Banned
my 89 sc needs a upper control arm bad ball joint d-side i have replaced on t-bird but is a sc is this the same part or do i need one for sc only .
 
Hmmm.........!

Don't have an answer for ya! but I have a solution, go down to the local parts house and ask them! they will be able to cross ref. the number to see if both have the same p/n. cheers and beers, White Lightning
 
I beg to differ, there different

When I replaced both side for my 94 I used 94 lx ones from a local yard. The lx ones were thinner from the bolt busshings to the ball joint, the arm sections were also flattened instead of being round and thicker as the SC ones are. What I did notice was that the older body style has the stronger thicker ones that look very sinmilar if not the same as the stock SC ones I had. I couldn't use these as bad luck had it they had worse ball joints then I was replacing:rolleyes:. I also checked out the 96-97's and they seem even thinner or at least the thin arm section is longer to save metal while still the same measuremtnts. Does this make any difference? maybe.. For me I'll just avoid teasing death with hairpin turns and defying gravity.:p


P.S. Due to certain criminal court cases tomarro, I might not be around to give my 2 cents for 6 months to a year. Hope for the best.....
 
The upper control arms are all the same. The reason you saw a difference is the aftermarket ones are not the same as the original OEM Arms (at least those on very early SC's). It may have also been a running design change to get some weight out of the cars too. I believe TRW made both the upper and lower control arms for Ford. I know for a fact they made the lowers...and they do supply to correct upper ball joint which is teflon lined (reason there are no grease fittings).
 
Fun job...with a capital "F"

I just redid the upper arms on my car not too long ago, I'm gonna say that you'll need a 18MM ratcheting wrench...if i remember correctly, the rear bolts were very very very hard to get to, and tight enough that i broke my brand new ratcheting wrench on the first use...

~Darrel
 
...and they do supply to correct upper ball joint which is teflon lined (reason there are no grease fittings).

Duffy,

Are you saying that we can replace the ball joint in our upper control arms? If so, this solves my "can't find correct upper control arms" issue. Is this a parts store item, or Ford-only?

Thanks,

JD
 
No...what I was saying is the TRW Replacement arms for the Upper Control Arms have the correct teflon lined ball joints supplied as part of the assembly.
 
Jerry,

I have seen listings for the ball joint and bushings separate from the control arm. I don't know what is needed to replace them, but it looks like they're pressed in. I can imagine how they can be removed, but have no idea how they would be installed. :confused: Check out Rock Auto. They seem to have a comprehensive list of parts. On a side note... they ship PDQ.

I ordered the motorcraft UCAs both sides for about $40 less than the trws.. they do have the grease fitting. Haven't noticed any difference in the ride. :cool:
 
Teflon lined balljoints aren't there for ride quality...they were installed to lower steering system friction and improve road feel.
 
upper control arm

thanks for the info,i have replaced these,s on a t-bird lx with no problem it took 30 minutes a side. why is it so complated on a sc.also to anyone sent pictures of my 89 sc tonight.dont know where they will end up .
 
Not a complicated job....the problem is physical clearance to get to the nuts/bolts holding the rear of the arm in place. You have the Teves Mark II Hydraulic Actuator to contend with on the driver's side. On the passenger side it is the Accumulator Dryer and the AC hoses that gives the clearance issues. You can't swing a wrench far enough to loosen or tighten the nuts very easily.
 
uca

on the lx i just went through the finder well put wrinch on shock tower used air gun on inside finderwell was a simple job.havent really loked at mine,not really that bad. a little movment rubber is half missing.is sitting in garage and figured i would replace it is put up for winter anyway plus $3.09 for gas is unreasonable anyway.
 
uca

on the lx i just went through the finder well put wrinch on shock tower used air gun on inside finderwell was a simple job.havent really loked at mine,not really that bad. a little movment rubber is half missing.is sitting in garage and figured i would replace it is put up for winter anyway plus $3.09 for gas is unreasonable anyway.
 
on the lx i just went through the finder well put wrinch on shock tower used air gun on inside finderwell was a simple job
About the same on the SC also. If you move the wiring harness out of the way on the pass side, its easier. Also, for the nuts on the back side of the shock tower, you only need something to hold the nut from turning. A monkey wrench will work just fine. Other thing to know is to pry the tabs off the bolts so that a 6pt socket can fully seat on them; you'll round them off otherwise.
 
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