Lower control arm bushing replacment

hiattwl said:

Aight, so I take the 5.0 to get an alignment today, and they can't do it because my lower control arm bushings are shot on both sides. What's the easiest way to change them? I have the bushings on order, and my haynes manual makes it seems as if i need 10 million steps to get them out. Does anyone have a faq out there on this, or an easier step by step instruction book. Please let me know, i'll be doing the repairs this weekend. I know the bushings have to be pressed in and out, I have that lined up.

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Actually, there ARE alot of steps involved in replacing them. It's not impossible, but it can be difficult to do without the right tools. If you haven't done too much repair work on your 'Stang on your own, I would recommend you take it to a shop. It took me forever to change out my front springs, until I figured out how to do it. Now, it's easy to do.

I paid my mechanic to swap my front control arm bushings, before I knew how to. Next time, I'll be doing it myself.

Basic steps are:

--Jack up car and take off wheels (obviously)
--Detach the front sway bar
--Remove brake caliper and hang it by an old coat hanger. Don't just let it hang by the brake line, you'll damage the line.
--Remove brake rotor
--Put a floor jack under the control arm, then completely remove the strut. I suggest removing the top nut (in the engine compartment) first, then the two on the bottom.
--Remove front spring

I've heard of a few ways to remove the spring. Be careful here, the springs hold a lot of kinetic energy. Your average spring compressor won't work on the front springs of a Mustang. Been there, tried that. I went the expensive route, and bought the Ford-specific spring compressor. Two other ways are:

1. Lower the control arm with the floor jack, until there isn't any pressure left on the control arm. The spring should be loose enough to just pull out.
2. Keep the floor jack right under the spring. Remove the bolts that hold the control arm on, then gently lower the control arm and spring until the tension is off the spring.

Any input from anyone else, on how to remove the front springs?