Rear control arm questions. Please help

fiveoho

fiveoho

15 Year Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,958
16
69
TN
#1
the passenger rear side of my car sags quite a bit lower than the other side. i have sportlines and i hear this is a common issue. i have found a way to correct it by buying a set of rear adjustable lower control arms by granatelli. these allow you to raise or lower each side of the car to the desired ride height. with these, i can level out my rear stance.

http://www.granatellimotorsports.com/product_display.php?gid=127

while i am replacing the lowers, i would like to go ahead and replace the uppers as well. my question is can i mix and match upper and lower control arms without any negitive effects? the set of uppers are ford racing steel non adjustable with hard durometer rubber. the granatelli lowers have poly bushings. will this cause a problem ?

http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=FMS-M-5500-A&N=700+115&autoview=sku
 
#5
Methodical said:
Just in case you didn't know. The bushings for the Ford UCR are sold separately. Also consider getting MM control arm bushing removal tool - worth its weight in gold.
Click to expand...


the summit link in my first post says the bushing is included :shrug:

also, how come i need a bushing removal tool if the CA's already have them?
 
#7
fiveoho said:
the summit link in my first post says the bushing is included :shrug:

What you see in the picture is what you get. The part of the control arm that does not have bushings is what you need to buy. From what I recall I had to purchase them seperately but call Summit and double check though. I would not recommend reusing the old bushing because they are probably all cracked and ripped. Believe me when you finally get those old bushings out you are not going want to back in there.

also, how come i need a bushing removal tool if the CA's already have them?

It makes removing the bushings (i.e. the ones not pictured on the summit site) easier to remove. They are pressed in.
Click to expand...

Here's a link to MM: http://www.maximummotorsports.com/

In the search box put in MMT-1 for bushing removal tool and check the box "Search in Product Description". For the Ford bushings put in E4SZ-5A.
 
#8
Methodical said:
Here's a link to MM: http://www.maximummotorsports.com/

In the search box put in MMT-1 for bushing removal tool and check the box "Search in Product Description". For the Ford bushings put in E4SZ-5A.
Click to expand...


i really appreciate the advice man. i was under the impression i could just buy upper and lower control arms that have bushings in them and just unbolt the old and bolt up the new and not have to worry about changing out bushings.

so what you are saying is that the lower granatelli ca's that i have picked out are a bolt in deal, no bushings to change. but the ford upper ca's require the bushings to be pressed in? if so, heres my questions-

*if the ford upper ca's need bushings, the one end comes with them (as pictured) but the opposite end with the small hole needs bushings in there?

*are the granatelli lowers ready to bolt in?

*does any one make a upper ca that doesnt require you to press in bushings?


i just thought the uppers and lowers could be unbolted and replaced with new ones that had pre installed bushings

sorry for not getting it :bang: . straighten me out
 
#9
just talk to a summit tech rep. he said those ford upper ca's come complete with bushings. the holes on the end opposite of the bushings are for the hardware ( does not come with hardware)

:shrug:
 
#10
Let me clarify something you only need to buy the tool if you are replacing the bushings in the axle housing, not the upper control arm. The uppers come with bushings installed on one side that side bolts to the body and the other end with no bushing bolts up the axle housing bushing.


And yes you can use different upper and lower control arms as long as they are paired together.

If you need the tool let me know I have been letting everyone use the one I bought.
 
#11
Bosko5.0 said:
Let me clarify something you only need to buy the tool if you are replacing the bushings in the axle housing, not the upper control arm. The uppers come with bushings installed on one side that side bolts to the body and the other end with no bushing bolts up the axle housing bushing.


And yes you can use different upper and lower control arms as long as they are paired together.

If you need the tool let me know I have been letting everyone use the one I bought.
Click to expand...

gotcha. so when replacing the whole arms i wont have to worry about the bushings.

really nice of you to offer to lend that tool. greatly appreciated. shouldnt need it tho but again, big thanks :nice:
 
#12
fiveoho said:
gotcha. so when replacing the whole arms i wont have to worry about the bushings.

really nice of you to offer to lend that tool. greatly appreciated. shouldnt need it tho but again, big thanks :nice:
Click to expand...


Sounds like you plan to reuse the existing(stock) axle bushing. At the minimum, please inspect them for cracks and tears. Again, I suggest you remove them and install a set of new Ford bushings so that you do not have to deal with them again for awhile.

By hardware, I think Summit is talking about the nut and bolts.

The lower control arm should be complete and you just bolt on. Be prepared to have some difficulty removing the lower control arm bolts. Mine were like rust in there. I eventually got them out though. You maybe lucky and not have the problem. Just trying to help get you ready for the RR of those control arms. But you will be happy once done.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any ?s.
 
#13
Methodical said:
Sounds like you plan to reuse the existing(stock) axle bushing. At the minimum, please inspect them for cracks and tears. Again, I suggest you remove them and install a set of new Ford bushings so that you do not have to deal with them again for awhile.

By hardware, I think Summit is talking about the nut and bolts.

The lower control arm should be complete and you just bolt on. Be prepared to have some difficulty removing the lower control arm bolts. Mine were like rust in there. I eventually got them out though. You maybe lucky and not have the problem. Just trying to help get you ready for the RR of those control arms. But you will be happy once done.

Good luck. Let me know if you have any ?s.
Click to expand...

man, im just not getting it. im confused. the guy at summit said i wont need any bushings nor will i need to pull any out. the way he explained it, the one end of both uppers already have rubber bushings installed. the other end of each ( small holes ) are just used for the hardware, which i can reuse from my existing arms

where do the uppers connect to the axle bushings? thats where my confusion is :shrug:


thanks again for the help...
 
#14
Ok, I'll try to explain from scratch, maybe a differrent point of view will help you out.

Each control arm has two nut/bolt/washers on it (one at each end). These bolts are not included with any of the kits...

Now for the lower arms... the new arms have all the bushings you need and assume you will re-use your stock hardware. If your car is anything like mine you will probably want to use new hardware. But these are just unbolt and re-bolt thing. Just be carefule as these capture the spring pressure.

Upper arms. Two sets of bushings. One pair is on the axle, the other is built into the arms. You need to replace the ones on the axle to get all of the benefit of new arms. new bushings are cheap and not that hard to change even without the tool. I did all of mine (Stock arms) in about 2-3 hours. Again, new hardare is not included but reccomended.

Did this help at all?
 
#15
maybe.

axle bushings are not part of the upper arms ? a picture of the axle bushings in relation to where the uppers and lower arms would help me understand better. that would probably be a diffcult picture to take


thank u for your help
 
#16
OK, here's a site with a good photo of a complete set of rear control arms. The longer set on the left are the lowers; see they have black bushings on both ends. The shorter ones are the uppers; note they have only one bushing each.

They show they have one bushing each, and the second bushing is separate:

http://www.atomicperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=575

Now take a look at my Cobra Conversion thread. the first two photos show the rear axle out of the car. At the top of the axle are these "ears", they have a white line through them. Those are the axle bushings:

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?p=7430291

Does that help?
 
#17
For what it's worth, I've heard about/seen pics of failed Granatelli control arms. If I remember correctly they were breaking at the welds. I would also recommend changing the UCA housing side bushings. New ones from MM and the tool aren't that expensive.
 
#18
Chythar said:
OK, here's a site with a good photo of a complete set of rear control arms. The longer set on the left are the lowers; see they have black bushings on both ends. The shorter ones are the uppers; note they have only one bushing each.

They show they have one bushing each, and the second bushing is separate:

http://www.atomicperformance.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=575

Now take a look at my Cobra Conversion thread. the first two photos show the rear axle out of the car. At the top of the axle are these "ears", they have a white line through them. Those are the axle bushings:

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?p=7430291

Does that help?
Click to expand...


im going to get the car up on a lift in the next few days. im a visual person. i think if i can see how things are connected , i can place that with what you guys have said and have a better understanding
 
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