'99 Exp Sport RIGHT Upper Control Arm Help PLEASE!!!!

[Thoth7475]

I'm trying to replace the upper RIGHT control arm on my '99 Exp Sport & have run into some trouble I hope can be solved here. The Control Arm I have comes is in two pieces & I can only find the half with the ball joint (Napa, AutoZone, Pep Boys...etc) when I need the other half that is connected to the frame, The guy at Napa told me I had to go to Ford for this part, is that true? Also, after looking at some of the stickys, it seems that there is a one piece option to replace the two piece one, is that true?

Any help here would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,
Bob

 

[Jakee]

I got a complete kit from e-bay. I'm not sure what you mean by two pcs? The upper control arm I got for the passengers side was one pc. but I did all the ball joints, tie rods...ect.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Why do you need the whole thing? The ball joint is on the outer part, its the only part that needs to be serviced.

Moog makes a 1 piece part for the passenger side if you really need the whole thing.

 

[Hokie]

Why do you need the whole thing? The ball joint is on the outer part, its the only part that needs to be serviced.

The bushings could be going bad

 

[MountaineerGreen]

Oddly enough, even though everything else has been replaced, sometimes more than once, I still have my original upper ball joint on the passenger side. 142,000+ and still just fine.

 

[mounty71]

You can order a one piece Moog arm from rockauto.com for about $100, i ordered it a few days ago and got it yesterday. I don't know how it compares to prices from ford though.

 

[gijoecam]

You can order a 1-piece arm to replace it (mirror image of the driver's side) or you can replace the outer portion. I'm on my third set of ball joints, and still using the original inner portion of the pass. side upper arm. The bushings are still good and tight with 150,000 miles on the odometer (turned 150 on the way to work this morning! )

Just swap the outer half... it's fine.

 

[Steeda90GT]

I just did the outer half last week. No need to do the arm unless you know for sure that the bushings are bad. I sprayed the bushings with white lithium grease just to make sure.

 

[Thoth7475]

First...Thanks for all the replies. As for why I need to replace the inner part of the arm, I know the bushings are bad on the frame part of the arm because after way too many hours removing, testing & re-installing parts with pounds of grease & cans of WD-40, it's the only thing left that can be making noise. So now that I know I can replace it with a one piece design, my next question is: Does the one piece go right in place of the two piece or do I need to get out my adjusting mallet & torch? Also, can I use the old bolts & shims or does the one piece need new/different sized bolts & stuff?
And finally, it seems that the major difference between the one & two piece is how the alignment is done & since I plan on paying for that, is there any other reason to not make the switch?

Once again, thanks for all the help,
Bob

One more note: Called my local Ford dealer today & was told that you have to buy both pieces plus the bushings for the arm come seperate (they won't put them in the arm unless you have them do the whole install) and the parts come out to almost twice the price of the one piece (MOOG Part # K80068 {Control Arm w/Ball Joint} Frt Susp; Upper; RH; 4WD; 1 piece design; Incl. bushings) from rockauto.com

 

[Thoth7475]

bump

 

[JDraper]

If you have any Advance Auto stores, they have them readily available in the single piece design. If not, you can order them through their Parts America website. Check out the link below:

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList.aspx?PartType=85&PTSet=A

And yes, the single piece goes in without needing the heavy equipment. Remove the two control arm bolts, pull out the old two piece, and install the new one piece. You use all existing hardware. I did one recently on a '96 Sport. Worst problem was getting the bolts in and out due to bumping into brake lines.

 

[MountaineerGreen]

If you have O'Riley Auto, they have them as well.

 

[Steeda90GT]

Autozone, $32 for the outer piece with balljoint. It seriously would've take me 20min if my balljoint wasn't rusted on.