upper ball joints

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defflepp1

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is there a way to change the upper ball joints without having to replace the entire control arm
 
lol i found 10 or more threads that answered that question..*shruggs*
 
hell even the nitwit at the autozone parts counter would likely give the correct answer in this case.


that being said, if a curious person were to actually "look" at the uca..it'd be pretty evident as to why its a non-serviceable part.
 
Very true....


P3260022.gif
 
off the subject, but does anyone know of a cheaper place than rockauto to buy the control arms? has anyone ordered from rockauto? Good or bad experience?
 
Rockauto is good... I am buying all my strut rod bushings and lower ball joints from them this week... ANYONE HAVE A DISCOUNT CODE?
 
Arnot sells UCAs, have not had any problems with mine.

They are not Moog but have a price of $129.
 
Everybody talks crap about Arnott. And I did have a semi-bad experience with them a few years ago. Got a set of air spring/shocks for the front of my Mark and they lasted just over a year. I did buy another set from them last year. The new Arnott front air spring/shocks are much improved over the older versions. I've had them on my '96 for over a year and have had no problems at all...knock on wood. I haven't tried the Arnott UCA's yet, but I may. I need some for my '97 LSC. And I'm on a budget. Yeah, I know.
 
why would you not change the whole thing, the bushings on the fork end wears out just as bad as the ball joint does. changing only the ball joint would be like changing a tire with good tread that leaks for a bald banana peel tire that holds air.
 
In my case...the UCAs are stock and the bushings at the frame are shot, but the ball joints are still good...so there ya go...take that as an age/milage reference for REPLACE the WHOLE ARM....
Knuckle heads

I have a commercial account with all local parts houses, so I get all my stuff about 1/2 off ...if you're in the area, or want to pay by CC over the phone and shipping, I can get pretty much anything
 
You can get them from Arnott for $99 shipped.

I've had a pair for a year now, so far, so good.
 
I called Advance here's what they said

Moog (my cost) 114.38 , list 227.39
TRW ............88.31.............139.34
Dorrmann........71.77...........114.68

like I said I get a commercial discount since I am a mechanic, and that just one store I called
 
defflepp1 said:
is there a way to change the upper ball joints without having to replace the entire control arm
Click to expand...

Now that the search nazi has gotten his bile out of his system....:p jk, don't be hating X

You've just done a coil conversion, if I'm not mistaken. The prices you're seeing in this thread are for Mark Viii UCA's. They are much more expensive items because of the little ball that you hang the ride height sensor off of....which you only need for an Air Ride equipped car.

You no longer need that little ball, so if you look up parts for a 4.6l T Bird,(same year as your Mark) you'll find the exact same part for about eleventy million dollars less, cause it doesn't have that all important little ball on it for the ride height sensor.

Which you no longer need. :)
 
Good point, t bird UCAs are far cheaper

For spring conversions....
Dorrmann ( lifetime warranty) my cost 37.51 list 89.96
moog , my cost 90.00, list 176.
Trw , my cost 70.00 list 143.00

hope that helps, good luck
 
DLF said:
You can get them from Arnott for $99 shipped.

I've had a pair for a year now, so far, so good.
Click to expand...
You forgot to mention, in that year with the new UCA you only drove ~2k miles?! lol :)

I thought you told me to get the Moog upper control arms? These Arnott ones are way cheaper. If you, the Mark VIII suspension expert, is approving of these, then I'm going to order a set.............keep in mind I drive more than 2k miles per year. :p

For LCA you're still suggesting Moog and for Strut Rod Bushing OEM, right?

Gotta cut some costs here, the Vette needs new tires now.

Ken
 
14.6@97MPH said:
You forgot to mention, in that year with the new UCA you only drove ~2k miles?! lol :)

I thought you told me to get the Moog upper control arms? These Arnott ones are way cheaper. If you, the Mark VIII suspension expert, is approving of these, then I'm going to order a set.............keep in mind I drive more than 2k miles per year. :p

For LCA you're still suggesting Moog and for Strut Rod Bushing OEM, right?

Gotta cut some costs here, the Vette needs new tires now.

Ken
Click to expand...

:D

The best arms, upper and lower, are the Ford/TRW pieces, but the Arnott uppers seem to be OK, in my limited use. ;)

I'd still recommend the factory Thunderbird SC LCA's (~ $95 ea.), with TRW as a second choice, and Moog as a third.

And yes, only OEM for the strut rod bushings (both ends).
 
Sapperfire said:
I called Advance here's what they said

Moog (my cost) 114.38 , list 227.39
TRW ............88.31.............139.34
Dorrmann........71.77...........114.68

like I said I get a commercial discount since I am a mechanic, and that just one store I called
Click to expand...

Having been a Commercial Specialist/manager for Autozone I'd advise you to take a look at the DIY/walk in pricing, not list pricing. The prices we tell you are "list prices" are a completely arbitrary number that we pull out of out ass. At AZ they're usually exactly double 'your' cost, depending on the pricing tier (based on sales volume) your account has achieved. Even our tier 5 accounts rarely got more than 20% off. Our governmental accounts were the only ones that approached 50% off on some items. The items you're getting at 20% off are our highest profit margin items, we're talking about items where your pricing is still 80-100% over cost. It's a shady scheme to get you to think you're getting a great deal when you're still getting the shaft.

Just checked Advance's website, Moog UCAs are 122.99. So not surprisingly Advance runs the same scheme that AZ does.

/off topic.
 
Moog and trw are the same thing [produced by the same people I mean].
 
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