Rear control arm differences and bushings

Rusty67 · Jul 28, 2006

What is the difference between the rear control arms from the 94-98 and the 99-04 cars ? I know that Lakewood and some other companies have different arms depending on which car you have. Are the arms chasis specific or rear end specific ?

When I pulled the 7.5 rear end out and put it back into the donor car (95GT), I used my stock arms off my v6 (2000). It all went back together just fine. The 8.8 that came out of the donor has aftermarket arms on it but I don't know who makes them. They are box type and are greasable, however I think the bushings are rubber. I would like to replace the bushings with poly but the energy suspension kit has the oblong bushings for the stock lower arms. The other reasons I want to replace the bushings is that the lower control arm shaft is too small for my stock bolt to fit through and I don't want to use a smaller (thinner) bolt on something that bears that much wieght on the car. There is a reason Ford made it with a bolt that thick and I'm not willing to put a thinner one on. Secondly, the upper arms did not fit snugly into the box when I went to bolt them to the frame. I suppose I can shim that with a washer to fix it but I think new bushings would ultimately solve that problem. Third, the metal shaft that goes through the center of the bushings does not sit in there firmly at all. In fact, its basically the opposite of a tight fit. It slides right through as if there is no friction holding it in place what so ever.

I think a new set of bushings for the arms will solve all my problems and then everything should bolt together smoothly. Any opinions on this ? Anyone know where I can get replacement bushings ?

Torinalth · Jul 28, 2006

you can get replacement bushings from the maker of the LCA... more the likely steeda. MM, SS, granatelli, and i believe metco all use tube LCAs... while steeda i think is one of, if not the only, company that uses square tubing.

secondly, if its an aftermarket LCA i seriously doubt its rubber bushing, they use poly, spherical, or both... if in fact it IS, then toss the LCA and start over. i do not know of a quality LCa off hand that uses rubber anywhere.

it sounds like the UCA bushings have been worn, like you thoughht, and i would go ahead and replace them with poly bushings, however... you need to ask yourself if you ever plan on getting something more for the rear suspension... comverting to 3 link maybe? which would either eliminate the need for the bushings, or replace them with the MFGs own bushings to match the 3 link.

Torinalth

Rusty67 · Jul 28, 2006

The problem I am having is that I don't know who made these arms. There is no makers marks so to speak on them anywhere that I have found. I'm going to try and clean them up because they are a little dirty but I don't think any of the mung on it is covering anything up. I could be wrong.

I need a set of replacement bushings no mater what. I'm not planing on doing anything crazy to the rear end any time in the forseeable future. The arms were free and definately better than stock, so I'd like to put in a set of good bushings and enjoy my "free upgrade".

tomustang · Jul 28, 2006

try to get a picture of the LCA's just by looks someone might be able to narrow it down to who the company is

Rusty67 · Jul 29, 2006

Here are some pics I snaped of the control arms tonight:

View attachment 452348

View attachment 452350

View attachment 452352

tomustang · Jul 29, 2006

They look like Mac Control Arms, 80% positive

Rusty67 · Jul 29, 2006

I think you are correct about this. I went tho their website and it looks just like them. Thanks a lot, now I can replace those shot bushings and have me a safe ride =)

tomustang · Jul 29, 2006

Rusty67 said:
I think you are correct about this. I went tho their website and it looks just like them. Thanks a lot, now I can replace those shot bushings and have me a safe ride =)

have fun, ask any questions if you run into anything

GettinThere · Jul 30, 2006

Rusty67 said:
...the lower control arm shaft is too small for my stock bolt to fit through and I don't want to use a smaller (thinner) bolt on something that bears that much wieght on the car. There is a reason Ford made it with a bolt that thick and I'm not willing to put a thinner one on.

For future searchers:

I got a pair of Lakewood LCAs from Summit. They were black and box type, and were shipped unassembled. I ordered the correct set advertised for the year of my car (2002). After some time and effort in the driveway assembling the Lakewood LCAs, jacking up the rear of my car, removing the wheels, removing the swaybar, dropping the exhaust some (to access the chassis bolts of the LCAs), and removing one of the stock LCAs, I discovered that the stock bolt was too big for the metal sleeve (in the center of the bushing) of the new LCA.

So I had to put everything back; a lot of effort for nothing.

Summit was cool about the refund but should not have advertised that certain set of Lakewood lower control arms for a 2002 Mustang GT.

Rusty67 · Jul 30, 2006

What I have found is that the bolts used on the 94-98 Mustangs were smaller then the ones used on the 99-04s. The Lakewoods that you got were for the previous modle car. From what I understand, the only difference is the ID on the bushings/sleeve.

blubullett · Jul 30, 2006

those control arms have grease fittings on the bushings. that means that they arent rubber bushings, just clean them up, use a grease gun to squirt some fresh grease into the fittings and go smoke some rice rockets!

1low03gt · Jul 30, 2006

GettinThere said:
For future searchers:

I got a pair of Lakewood LCAs from Summit. They were black and box type, and were shipped unassembled. I ordered the correct set advertised for the year of my car (2002). After some time and effort in the driveway assembling the Lakewood LCAs, jacking up the rear of my car, removing the wheels, removing the swaybar, dropping the exhaust some (to access the chassis bolts of the LCAs), and removing one of the stock LCAs, I discovered that the stock bolt was too big for the metal sleeve (in the center of the bushing) of the new LCA.

So I had to put everything back; a lot of effort for nothing.

Summit was cool about the refund but should not have advertised that certain set of Lakewood lower control arms for a 2002 Mustang GT.

That happened to me with the proforms i got from a buddy that were still new in the box.Was i p!ssed.So what i did is drilled out the innner metal sleeves out of the stock lower control arms,and then i popped out the inner metal sleeves out of the after markets lower control arms,got a drill bit close to the size as the stock control arms inner sleeves,then drill the inner diameter of the urathane bushing and put the stock control arms inner metal sleeves into the proforms lower control arm,and voila,done.This was the first thought that came to my mind.I had everything ripped apart,and it was on a sunday,everything is closed,and i was dammed if i was going to put all the stock parts back in .So that is what i did to make them work,and i get to keep the original sized bolt too .And no it didn't chew up the bushing as i drilled them as the urathane aren't as rubbery as the stockers.If you do do this,do not over drill the inner diameter of the urathane bushings,or your sleeves will be loose,and you will have play in the cotrol arms.

Rusty67 · Jul 31, 2006

blubullett said:
those control arms have grease fittings on the bushings. that means that they arent rubber bushings, just clean them up, use a grease gun to squirt some fresh grease into the fittings and go smoke some rice rockets!

The reason I thought they were rubber is that the guy who had them before me had the bushings so shot they looked like rubber, when I inspected them later I realized they were just poly that had been beat to hell.

Rear control arm differences and bushings

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