upper control arms, why is left and right different

[reserved50]

how much are they different from each other,I mean the one piece design, thanks

 

[Turdle]

The driver side is a one piece design, and passenger side is two piece, for caster adjustment. The passener side is adjusted to match driver side.

 

[reserved50]

yea but some aftermarket pieces like on my truck are one piece, I was wondering if you layed the one piece arms on top of the each other, are they fairly close? ( all the angles), I tried a few stores, they just had two piece arms to compare

ok i'll say the reason why(the question above im asking is still about "stock" Exploders

I bought the AIM industries upper adjustable control arms, I dont think anyones tried them yet, im looking for a 4" drop when Im done, I heard people using the 2 piece OEM style passenger upper and using it on the driver side with a spacer on both sides, just wondering if the arms are almost identical to be able to do that, so thats why i was wondering if the one piece upper arms are similar

 

[gijoecam]

The arms are symmetrical, but mirror images of each other. I would not recommend using the right side arm in place of the left side... it cants the ball joint at a slight angle in the wrong direction.

Also, the new redesigned parts are single-piece arms. Ford has done away with the two-piece arm... not sure why as you lose the ability to match the caster...

-Joe

 

[carlover]

The left side and right side one piece arms are not identical. I accidentally switched mine up when i replaced them a month of so ago. One is angled differently and slightly longer than the other. You can go with the one piece design like i did and just replace your alignment cams with aftermarket ones that allow for the adjustment of caster/camber.

 

[Turdle]

Wait!
How are you getting caster adjustment with camber adjusters only???

caster is this \ l / adjustment angle, when viewed from side

Camber adjustment corrects this / \ to this l l when viewed from front.

 

[gijoecam]

Wait!
How are you getting caster adjustment with camber adjusters only???

caster is this \ l / adjustment angle, when viewed from side

Camber adjustment corrects this / \ to this l l when viewed from front.

Indeed, caster is top in or out, camber is top front and back. You cannot adjust caster using camber adjusters.

 

[reserved50]

UMM IM ALMOST 100% SURE YOU CAN ADJUST CASTER BY, oops caps on, by rotating the camcentric washers unequally, if you adjust the front of the arm out more it'll give you more postive caster by twisting the upper arm back which would angle the ball-joint towards the rear, but if you need more camber on that side also and the caster is maxed you are SOL

I know a few people that have done the 2 piece upper arm flip with spacers and they say it works fine, but i havent layed the arms out to see for myself. Moog still makes the 2 piece upper arm(not sure if it comes with the inside of the two piece arm/bushing part)

 

[jp450]

Caster is only needed on one wheel... It is why your wheels, should, return to the straight possition after you make a turn and let go of the wheel.

Here is a good read on caster angle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caster_angle

Think about a shopping carrage and its front wheels. They have a pretty big caster angle. It is why a carrage's wheels keep tracking straight when pushing. This is what is suposed to happen with a car, only an extreme caster angle would look quite silly on a car. When your wheels are aligned to spec (Caster, Camber and Toe) you only need one side castered slightly to keep the wheels tracking properly.

 

[gijoecam]

UMM IM ALMOST 100% SURE YOU CAN ADJUST CASTER BY, oops caps on, by rotating the camcentric washers unequally, if you adjust the front of the arm out more it'll give you more postive caster by twisting the upper arm back which would angle the ball-joint towards the rear, but if you need more camber on that side also and the caster is maxed you are SOL

I know a few people that have done the 2 piece upper arm flip with spacers and they say it works fine, but i havent layed the arms out to see for myself. Moog still makes the 2 piece upper arm(not sure if it comes with the inside of the two piece arm/bushing part)

I hadn't thought about doing it that way, although yes, technically you could... In my mind, it's not the *right* way to do it as it would become very difficult to adjust caster independent from camber like you can with the 2-piece setup.

My best guess is that they simply set the passenger side caster to match the driver's side. There's no need to adjust the driver's side as long as it's close to spec, and with the current manufacturing methods, (or a broad enough spec) the driver's side will fall in-line. Then, adjust the passenger side to eliminate a pull, and you're done. No need to adjust both sides.

-Joe