Trainmaster
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- November 24, 2019
- Messages
- 130
- Reaction score
- 57
- City, State
- Rockaway Beach NY
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- 2010 Expr Ltd; 2016 XLT
A very easy job today. Noticed upper bushings were goobered out while changing a lower ball joint last week, so I ordered a pair of Ford upper control arms. The old ones have 138,000 miles on them.
The Motorcraft parts were $70 each from Rock Auto and an exact match to the originals. Both the top ball joint nut and the control arm bolts are 18mm and easily accessed. The holes on the frame are elongated to permit caster/camber adjustment. I marked the locations of the old bushing nuts next to the springs with a paint marker and reinstalled the new ones to match.
The upper control arm is supposed to be tightened with the distance from the hub center and the top of the wheel well opening at its normal curb distance. Jack up under the lower control arm to meet this distance. This way, the bushings are not twisted at rest.
Torqued the control arm bolts to 111 ft/lbs and the ball joint to 41 ft/lbs using blue Loctite on everything. Ford says the Nylock nuts and control arm bolts should not be reused. I reuse them with Loctite anyway. Cheaply, Ford does not include a new one with its ball joint.
About 1-1/2 hours in the driveway. The 19mm wheel lugs were torqued to 100 ft/lbs.
A check of the alignment found everything good.
Love these USA-made OEM parts!
The Motorcraft parts were $70 each from Rock Auto and an exact match to the originals. Both the top ball joint nut and the control arm bolts are 18mm and easily accessed. The holes on the frame are elongated to permit caster/camber adjustment. I marked the locations of the old bushing nuts next to the springs with a paint marker and reinstalled the new ones to match.
The upper control arm is supposed to be tightened with the distance from the hub center and the top of the wheel well opening at its normal curb distance. Jack up under the lower control arm to meet this distance. This way, the bushings are not twisted at rest.
Torqued the control arm bolts to 111 ft/lbs and the ball joint to 41 ft/lbs using blue Loctite on everything. Ford says the Nylock nuts and control arm bolts should not be reused. I reuse them with Loctite anyway. Cheaply, Ford does not include a new one with its ball joint.
About 1-1/2 hours in the driveway. The 19mm wheel lugs were torqued to 100 ft/lbs.
A check of the alignment found everything good.
Love these USA-made OEM parts!
