How To: Upper Control Arm / Ball Joint Replacement (Lots of Pictures)

[MountaineerGreen]

Bolts have to be re-installed the same way otherwise the alignment cannot be done. They use the bolt head to move the cam and adjust the alignment.

 

[Biker Joe]

MountaineerGreen, thank you for the information.

When I took the spindle off, the dust shield was on the floor in peaces and the metal ring was still on the hub. I looked on the drivers side and that one was in bad shape. I ordered new ones from Ford. Not a stock item.

The bearings in the spindle have some dirt/grease build up. Can I clean them with brake cleaner and do I put a little high temp grease on the, I don't know if you call it a gear or spline, were the axle slips into the spindle?

I heard you can't reuse the spindle nuts. $17.00 apiece from Ford. Again, Not a stock item. Can I just use the old ones (first time taken off) with red loctite?
I only have a 75ft.lbs max, torque wrench. They say 221/300 ft.lbs. Can I torque the nut as much as I can, then have the alignment shop re-torque them or will I damage the bearings driving 10 miles?

I just received my parts from RockAuto. One of the control arms was used. I have to send it back and they will send me a new one. But not until FedEx picks up the used one and the driver scans the return label.

I can't do anything till I get the dust shields and now get the bad part replaced. O-boy.

I ordered the alignment kit/bolts from NAPA. I called the shop and they said they can't use the ford stock bolts. They would need to change the bolts and charge me, $99.00. + parts. My parts, $27.00, labor $00.00.

 

[CDW6212R]

Install the UCA bolts the same way as they came out. The issue is not the alignment camber washers, they adjust those with the square hole in those. The issue is that with the bolts turned around, it is very very difficult to tighten them the last few turns. That means that for the alignment guy, they would need help holding the camber washer while they fight to tighten the bolt and nut. You have to hold both ends, the bolt head and nut. It's easy with them as they are in place like stock, but not the other way around.


The 4WD/AWD spindle nuts need to be very very tight. You can do that easily with the tire on the ground like when you loosened them. Make them mas tight as you can without hurting yourself, that's plenty and permanent.

FYI, those nuts are not the same for every axle maker, some use different threads. I have reused those nuts many many times, the issue is not about them coming loose. It's about the threads becoming hurt from multiple uses. Be very sure the threads all look great, and the nuts thread in easily to start. Feel free to use a drop of loctite red for insurance. Regards,

Go to another shop if they blather on about the stock bolts and charging you $100. Bad shops do that, where I go is now $45 and they don't do stupid things like that.

 

[Biker Joe]

Thank you for the information. Are you saying the alignment shop can use the stock bolts/my old ones. I don't need to buy new ones?

Thanks again.

 

[CDW6212R]

...I ordered the alignment kit/bolts from NAPA. I called the shop and they said they can't use the ford stock bolts. They would need to change the bolts and charge me, $99.00. + parts. My parts, $27.00, labor $00.00.

Thank you for the information. Are you saying the alignment shop can use the stock bolts/my old ones. I don't need to buy new ones?

Thanks again.

If you mean the stock UCA bolts for a normal alignment, they can. If you need the special camber washers(or the other kits with bolts), then that's different.

The aftermarket camber washers help to gain a little more camber range. The kits that include new bolts and nuts supposedly help a hair more. I have used both of those kits, they worked about the same for my trucks. I do recommend those, they help the alignment guy. Do those with the UCA's if possible.

If you take a truck for the alignment and need those, they will charge you some to swap those in. They can do them in about 30 minutes, a new person may take two hours or more. Regards,

 

[haphop]

Very good thread. At 163k mi. mine still seems to be ok with no unusual tire wear but all the boots are torn and I am planning to take about a 5000 mi trip and don't want any problems. A local shop wants $900 to replace BJ's and align. DIY would save me a few $ if I order from someone like RockAuto. Your thread has been a great benefit for us ordering online. I would like to clarify a couple items.

>The one piece RH UCA was approved by Ford and appears is the one now preferred.
>Probably should order and install the UCA Camber kit to facilitate alignment. My frt end shop wanted $135 for alignment kit and alignment. I assume this is what he was referring too.
>Are the lower BJ usually replaced with the standard size or oversize BJ's?
>Most here are installing MOOG parts. Is there any place that actually do studies on all the different brands? It sure would be nice to know if one could get by with a cheaper part, not cheaply made.

 

[SailorKane]

Great thread. Thanks!

I have a dumb question. I'm ordering the parts to do the upper control arms. Unfortunately, I will have only a couple days to do the job and need to pre-order all the parts. I'm just trying to make sure I order everything I need. Truck is 1997 XLT 2WD 5.0L.

I understand I need:
Moog K8710T
Moog K8708T
Moog K80065 Camber bolt kit (Quantity 2)

Is that it?

Thanks, Mark.

PS: In particular, do I need two of the K80065 kits? or is one kit for both sides?

 

[CDW6212R]

Those camber kits need to have four total, washers or including four bolts etc. Most have been two kits.

 

[SailorKane]

Each camber kit seems to have 2 bolts, 2 nuts, 4 flat washers and 4 cam washers. So that would appear to be only one side per kit. So it does seem I need two kits?!?

 

[CDW6212R]

Yes, the key is the four special washers. Only half of the OEM washers contribute to the camber adjustment, four are almost normal.

The new four washers are just about the same as the OEM four good washers. They are shaped to enable the arms to be moved farther in or out than with the normal washers. I've installed both types, I think the camber washer kits do the same thing as the kits with bolts and more washers/nuts.

 

[Fat B]

Wow! I can't thank MountaineerGreen enough. I did both my upper and lower ball joints and a tie rod end over the weekend and this write up helped more than any Chilton book or service manual ever could. I have a 99 4-door XLT.

I figured I would share my experience since i read alot but don't post very much and I've never done suspension work but I'm fairly handy and knowledgable. Maybe this will help someone else out.

I had several questions going into the whole thing that research didn't really answer.
1. Do I really need the cam/caster bolt sets?
2. How bad is the control arm going to be to get bolts out and the metal lines in the way that everyone talks about?
3. Was the pinch bolt going to be a bear to get back in?

I'm sure I had more questions but here goes. I sprayed the whole thing down with PB blaster every weekend for 4 prior weekends to prep it. Since the explorer is from northn wisconsin and has never seen a garage until I bougth it with 144,000 miles, it was pretty rusty down there. Nothing really stopped me, it was just really slow going, even with a heavy dosing of PB blaster. It took my father and I 8 hours and then I still had an hour of putting back together the next day. Everything was slow to remove- no big problems. And I did do the uppers and the lowers at the same time.

We also work fairly slow generally and have no power tools. I like working on my vehicles and it switches from fun to work if I feel rushed.

I'll hit up the major points that might help someone.

1. Yes, you need the kits if they've never been put in. It sucks because they were almost as much as my lower ball joints themselves but they needed to be there. I have no clue how anyone could have adjusted the old set. I'll post pics when I get a chance.

2. The drivers side was the only upper bolts that gave problems. Even then it wasn't a big deal. Slowly work things back and forth and rotate, etc... and eventually then came out. Along with removing the power steering bracket bolt that was attached to back of the same bracket that held the front upper control arm bolt in. That was the key. You can get at it from the wheel well but see it better from the engine compartment. The lines aren't glass, they can be presuaded to move a little. Just don't pry with a bar or anything. The passenger side had nothing in the way.

3. I pryed the pinch bolt wedge open a little, placed a jack under the lower control arm, lined things up and jacked until the upper ball joint went back into place. When it got close I placed a block of wood on top of the upper control arm and pounded with the 48oz hammer until they fit together.

So patience and research helped out greatly. Once again, thanks MountaineerGreen!!!!

p.s. the spark plugs are much easier to do on the passenger side when you do this.

 

[Fat B]

And I ordered all of my parts from Amazon. I put Dormans in the uppers and Moogs in the lowers. With 144,000 miles on it, I figured the dormans will probably outlast the vehicle. Some people only put moogs in but I heard some good things about Dormans and my bet saved me $88 total for the 2 upper control arms. We'll see how well it works.

 

[ThePhoenix]

I finally ordered my upper control arms and lower ball joints from rock auto. I cant be cheapskate any longer...its getting dangerous. I have that "arm coming out of the socket" wobble when parking

I will take photos of the install. I foudn a mobile mechanic who will do it for $150. I will accept that as a way of doing it so I can make sure it goes together right

 

[TheJackal]

One more thing I learned after this is that I think the OEM arms might be TRW:

I can't swear if these are the originals or not now... I thought they were... :scratch:
I think the driver's side had this on it too, but I threw that one out already.

Glad to hear the Dormans are good parts.. I ordered off RockAuto too and got Dorman upper arms and Motorcraft lower joints. Rather the cheaper ones on top since now that I have the tools I can get the uppers off in minutes. Lowers are a little more involved.

 

[skytribe]

Eventually got round to replacing UCA and lower ball joints on 96 Ford Explorer Sport and thought I’d identify some of the problem areas and ways we worked around it in the offchance that it may help others.

Passenger Side.Not too much corrosion on this side. I’d used some PB beforehand. Upper Control arm and Knuckle would not separate in vehicle. Ball joint fork was right the way in and they just wouldn’t separate. As I was replacing them both took whole assembly out of vehicle to avoid hitting shock in the vehicle. Harbour freight ball joint splitter helped but didn’t quite do the job. After they were out of the vehicle a BFH did the trick.
LBJ – hammer out came out real easy. Putting LBJ in, Configuring of ball joint press – with the Harbor Freight press it required reconfiguring half way through pressing in new joints. The instructions aren’t great on the config and it was only when I saw a You Tube video that talked about reconfig half way through that it all became clear. Went in real easy and reassembly was very easy. Did try the jack method but was jacking up the whole front end.

Driver sideMuch more corrosion on this side, and again the UCA/Ball Joint would not separate. The removal of UCA was easy on front but back was tough. There is an earthing strap that was interfering and the hard lines (Brake and Fuel Lines) that makes removal of bolt near impossible especially with the OEM on piece camber bolts. Eventually removed earthing strap from top and hacksawed very carefully through bolt allowing its removal. BFH to break them apart out of the vehicle.
Getting back in – the MOOG camber bolts are easier because the adjust is not welded to the bolt but still difficult at the back. Lots of jiggling. And when moving lines just a little but to help get the angle to get the bolt in. If the adjust washer is on the thread of the bolt it causes it to bind and get stuck, get it on the smooth shaft of the bolt. It helped to get the UCA far back in mounts to limit interference with lines. Used a small block of wood and rubber mallet to move it and a pry bar underneath to lift it to get alignment. Once this bolt was in rest went in real easy.
LBJ – it didn’t want to separate either. Used lots of PB and socking which helped. A block of wood and hammer to knock knuckle away from LBJ. Once knuckle was free, the LBJ didn’t come out anywere as easy as the other one. But putting it in was easy and didn’t need to reconfig press as I simply pushed it in with press – I could see how the jack method may have worked on this side.
Most of it was straightforward except of a few issues which chewed up a lot of time. And most of the problems involved getting the old parts off. A long breaker bar is extremely useful as is a collection of BFH.

Passenger Side (Total Time 4 hrs)
1. Separation of UCA/Ball Joint in vehicle
2. Configuration of Press to press in.

Driver Side (Total Time 5 hrs albiet we did stop for dinner break)
1. Separation of UCA/Ball Joint in vehicle
2. Rear bolt clearance with hard lines – getting out and in.

 

[skytribe]

2. The drivers side was the only upper bolts that gave problems. Even then it wasn't a big deal. Slowly work things back and forth and rotate, etc... and eventually then came out. Along with removing the power steering bracket bolt that was attached to back of the same bracket that held the front upper control arm bolt in. That was the key. You can get at it from the wheel well but see it better from the engine compartment. The lines aren't glass, they can be presuaded to move a little. Just don't pry with a bar or anything. The passenger side had nothing in the way.

When putting the new camber bolts in be very aware of them when tightening things up they tend to want to rotate which would make later adjustment a real pain. Ended up not looking initially when starting to get things threaded to a point where I'd start torquing up before I noticed.

3. I pryed the pinch bolt wedge open a little, placed a jack under the lower control arm, lined things up and jacked until the upper ball joint went back into place. When it got close I placed a block of wood on top of the upper control arm and pounded with the 48oz hammer until they fit together.

Did exactly the same thing - it seated correctly when you can look through the hole in the knuckle and see through unobstructed. Otherwise it just wont go through - when everything aligned a simply tap with a rubber mallet with get it through. Didnt need to pry the pinch bolt open at all.

 

[ThePhoenix]

i paid a mobile mechanic $180 to change my upper control arms and lower ball joints yesterday. The best $180 I ever spent. He said 3 hours, it took him 8. right when I was ready to leave work, he was putting on the last bolt

my ball joints were BAD. lowers took 3 hours to PB blaster and whack out of there. we then had the problem of one bolt not catching the thread. finally, we got it on.

no more squeak.

just have to get it aligned and tires still

I am going to take some photos of what not to do...what happens if you wait way too long to do these repairs.

chaz

 

[skytribe]

I can see how that would look simple but end up taking hours longer than expected. Both sides had there issues (The thought was that the 2nd should take a lot less time as we had done one, but ended up being a different set of issues with hard line clearance).

I'd set aside time to account for problems but obviously some people have easier time that others. Perhaps air tools would help, lots more soaking in PB beforehand but ultimately the advise I would give is to ensure you have loads of time to achieve carry this out - plan for the worst and if everything comes together easily you just have a few hours to kick back with ice cold beer.

 

[ThePhoenix]

first photos are of my mobile mechanic and his work area (back of my job)
see how bad the ball joint was! the lowers were worse.
and the bald tire I was driving on!

the last two are the new tires I got from a yard. a cherokee that had been t-boned. tires are almost new. $20 each! I just have to mount them.

I am getting aligned and new tires tomorrow morning! I can already tell it drives much better than it has since I had it. I am stoked

 

[nealomatic]

Rattle after replacement of parts

Hello I hope that you can help me.

I have a 2000 EB 2WD with a 5.0L V8. I used the forum write ups to replace upper and lower ball joints on both sides, sway bar links, cam bolts and front and back shocks. and now I am getting a rattle under the passenger side front of the car. The rattle seems to happen when the wheel suspension operates independently of the driver side although I am not certain. It is not consistent over all bumps for instance you cannot hear it going over speed bumps but you can hear it from the vibrations on the road at around 40 mph. It sounds like metal on metal and you can feel it more in the passenger side foot well more than any other place.

The changes I have made are:

Driver side:
Upper control arm/ball joint was replaced with Ford OEM part
Lower ball joint was replaced with Moog ball joint

Sway bar links were replaced with Moog links

Passenger side:
Replaced UCA with ford recommended OEM switching from two piece control arm to one piece control arm
Lower ball joint was replaced with Moog ball joint

Replaced factory control arm bolts with Moog cam bolts at the insistence of the alignment shop.

Replaced front and rear shocks with Monroe Sensa trac shocks

The alignment tech was able to get everything in spec with the addition of the cam bolts. We have double checked all the connections and bolts and have discovered that the rattle is not coming from the suspension or the steering components. The alignment tech verified this as well. We checked all the mounting brackets and the C.converter to make sure that the exhaust system is secure and the rattle was not coming from that area. Is it possible that with the new parts that the wheel assembly is now hitting that long stabilization bar that runs down the length of the car? So far I have had two mechanics and father-in-law look at it and while they say it is safe to drive no one can identify the source of the rattle. HELP!