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upper control arm/bushing pic

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Posted by: 98LSC32V

Here's a pic of the driver side upper control arm/bushing on my 96 Mark VIII. It doesn't look good. My question is, with it being in this condition is it dangerous to drive the car like this? Also, do I need to replace the whole upper control arm or is there a place where I can just get the bushing?

Posted by: NYC LS8

Just changed both upper and lower control arms on my old 95 for my old man. That rear driver's side bolt is a pain in the ass to get at, being behind the strut tower.

You can drive it like that, but you'll ruin the tires if you run it long enough like that.

Posted by: 93' Blue on blue

Thats how my old ones looked when i did them 3 months ago. When you disconnect them at the knuckles you will see how sloppy the joint has become compared to the nice, tight new ones. I very much doubt the ball joint is replaceable. Get complete new arm(s) soon if you can.

Posted by: 02LSE96LSC91SE84TC

Have to change the whole arm. Not hard but that rear drivers side as mentioned above takes some doing.

Posted by: unity

I sorta cit as whole out to get to the rear, peeled it back and did the work. When done, bent it back and spot welded it. Worked well! lol I think I have photos too....

Anyway. Your car will not likely fall apart with the upper like that. Your alignment will be sloppy so as stated you tire life will drop more and more as they get worse.

You may want to do the lowers too if the uppers look like that - but I have seem uppers in MUCH worse shape.

Posted by: 98LSC32V

Well the car has been in CA all it's life so there is no salt on roads or snow and it has 93,000. I checked out the control arm on the passenger side and it looked perfect.

Posted by: davidm

Just bought a set from Arnott on EBAY for $99 shipped, Had them installed this week, along with the larger horizontal strut bushings, they are $50-60 locally.
On my control arms, the ball joints had tons of play in them.
The best thing is the tire shop shot me a real low labor quote, like 1.8 hours total for both control arms and 1.5 for the strut bushings. It ended up over twice as many hours to do all that. They had to remove the brake master to get the drivers rear bolt.
I went with them because they allow customer parts.
They did do a good job and My Mark handles probably the best it has in years, my Good Year tires are 2 years old, with still even wear.

David

Posted by: unity

David,

Uppers from Arnott may be fine, but DO NOT buy anything else from them without checking here first! LOL

First, they re-sell and do not make there own when it comes to most parts. If you are lucky, yours may be MOOG or TRW. If you get lowers, and they are not TRW or MOOG (which really are the same) then they are likely to rust and bend.

Just a warning, you get what you pay for. TRW is the way to go, often MOOG is stamped TRW. And TRW was OEM.

Posted by: 98LSC32V

Is it really necessary to remove the brake master cylinder to reach the driver side bolt? Seems like a shop with all their tools should be able to avoid this?

Posted by: 93' Blue on blue

Quote:

Originally Posted by unity

David,

Uppers from Arnott may be fine, but DO NOT buy anything else from them without checking here first! LOL

First, they re-sell and do not make there own when it comes to most parts. If you are lucky, yours may be MOOG or TRW. If you get lowers, and they are not TRW or MOOG (which really are the same) then they are likely to rust and bend.

Just a warning, you get what you pay for. TRW is the way to go, often MOOG is stamped TRW. And TRW was OEM.

In their defense, i got my coil conversion from them without problem. (i liked the machined alloy spring seats as opposed to the bent sheet metal ones) I understand their air ride parts are best avoided though.

Posted by: chickenviii

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98LSC32V

Is it really necessary to remove the brake master cylinder to reach the driver side bolt? Seems like a shop with all their tools should be able to avoid this?

4 words
flex-head-ratchiting-wrench
did mine no prob

Posted by: 02LSE96LSC91SE84TC

Flip flopping a open end/box wrench from open end side to the box side and switching the open end side back and forth I got mine done. Took some time but I didn't have to butcher the car or remove anything else.

Posted by: 02LSE96LSC91SE84TC

Quote:

Originally Posted by chickenviii

4 words
flex-head-ratchiting-wrench
did mine no prob

If your in a hurry.

Posted by: billcu

There's also an access hole in the fender well, that you can put a 3/8 inch extension, U joint, and socket through to access the nut. Just use a shorter deep socket.

Posted by: davidm

I did buy my rear air bags from Suspension Alternatives, (Arnot)just bought the Mark and needed 2 in a hurry. They were the lowest price without a warranty. I think they have a updated version on their site at $99 each.
The control arms did not have a name stamped on them, but have the lifetime warranty. If I ever need lowers, will check on the name brands.

David

Posted by: DysfunktinaL

I have a problem similar to this. The pic won't display, I don't know if it is my work computer, or if it is a dead link, but here is my issue...

I took my '95 Mark VIII sideways into a curb last month. Destroyed my driver side rear rim and tire, just got them replaced last night. When they took it off the lift, the left tire tilted in. I don't have any pics yet, but I'll do my best to describe it.

If you are facing the driver side the wheel is tiling in on the top left (10 o'clock position), and tilting out on the bottom right (4 o'clock position). I looked under the car, and it appears that I broke something in my moment of idiocy when I crashed it. I need to figure out what part it is. I've heard someone say it's the spindle, but I can't find it online and the dealer I called can't find anything with that name. The dealer said it may be the knuckle assembly, but I'm not sure. It looks like it's the part that connects the hub to the controll arm. I can't find any pics of Mark VIII's that show that area of the car, otherwise I could point to it.

If one of you could get a picture of the inside of the wheel mounted on the car (driverside rear), I can point out the part that broke, and maybe one of you could tell me what the hell it is called, and maybe a link to a replacement.

Posted by: NYC LS8

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidm

They had to remove the brake master to get the drivers rear bolt.

That's what we did as well. In a shop. With a lift and air tools. Piece of cake after that.

Posted by: Frat-man-du

Here is an explosion of the rear suspension

Posted by: DysfunktinaL

It looks like number 2. From the top of number 2, it connects to the controll arm with a nut/bushing that requires what looks like a star wrench to remove, correct?

Posted by: DysfunktinaL

God, please tell me that is not the knuckle.

http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat... ayCatalogid=0

Posted by: DysfunktinaL

Okay, so.... I was able to locate a used Knuckle for $125, but I was told I can haggle them down lower if I want to. Just an FYI for all you guys out there needing parts for your fords, and you are on a budget, check out www.all-ford.com

All they have on the site is the phone number, but give them a call if you are looking for a part. They are located in Southern Cali, but they may be able to take card info and ship you the part, and they have just about everything.

Hope this helps.

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