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Rear control arms

Jasonfoxbody

New Member
New memeber looking for some advise and info. Looking to upgrade rear control arms or bushings. 1990 gt. Its a daily driver. A few mods done. Upper and lower intake. 70mm throttle body. CAI. Headers to full exhaust. 373 gears. Tires are 245/45/17. Rear lower oval bushings are worn out. Cant find stock replacements. Don't think I need to go tubular arms but would like some kind of upgrade. Quick search I found polyurethane bushings kits for stock arms. Waste of time? Whats my best value? Looking to replace rear springs also. Sagging a little in the rear. Should I go with variable rate or constant rate springs? Any suggestions would be great thanks
 

347HO

Active Member
You just drive it?
I suggest replacing the bushings.
Rubber is better than poly bushings due to the no maintenance feature of them.
If you're set on going poly bushings...
I suggest greasable style, but you're going to have to modify your control arms to install grease fittings.
If you don't do this, you'll have to put up with all the squeezing they give.
 

Jasonfoxbody

New Member
You just drive it?
I suggest replacing the bushings.
Rubber is better than poly bushings due to the no maintenance feature of them.
If you're set on going poly bushings...
I suggest greasable style, but you're going to have to modify your control arms to install grease fittings.
If you don't do this, you'll have to put up with all the squeezing they give.
 

Jasonfoxbody

New Member
I dont mind the maintenance. I'm a technician and have my car in the shop regularly. What would you suggest for springs? Something close to stock ride height
 

347HO

Active Member
I dunno about factory style springs.
I went straight to coil overs.

You probably can contact TeamZ or Maximum Motorsports for their suggestions.
 

broncojunkie

Well-Known Member
347 is correct about the stock rubber bushings. Ford used rubber because it has some "give" to it. If you go with aftermarket upper control arms and or poly bushings, you'll want to install torque box reinforcements. The uppers will bind and destroy the stock torque boxes unless they're reinforced. If you literally just putt around town and cruise the highway, it should be ok. But one half-decent launch could cause some damage with aftermarket uppers. The lower control arms are a little less prone to binding, but same theory applies.

For my cars, I go this route: I reinforce upper and lower torque boxes using the Wild Rides Battle Boxes. I use stock uppers with rubber bushings, but I box-in the control arms with a piece of sheet metal. I use aftermarket lowers. Also, don't be tempted to use the cheap/generic tubular arms. The bushings fall apart and welds break.
 

Scotty Bleed

New Member
I'm redoing my suspension and want tips on removing the rear upper control arms. The car is on jack stands and I've removed the lower arms and coil springs. What's the recommended steps to get the uppers off the car?

I've purchased the Prothane Urethane (PU) bushings which come with PU super grease. I only drive around time and the occasion burn out
 

broncojunkie

Well-Known Member
Everyone usually has their own process, but I'll tell you how I do mine. I place a floor jack or transmission jack under the center of the diff. Lift it up and remove the bolts from the rear end side, leaving the upper arms attached to the chassis.

No matter how you do it, an extra set of hands is preferred (although I almost always end up doing it by myself).

Installing them is tricky. I loosely attach the lowers on both ends and then jack the rear end up to meet the uca's, which I have attached to the chassis. If you have a helper, you can usually put the springs in during the process. If not, you can go ahead and attach them and then go back and put the springs in each side after the control arms are in. You can jack up the opposite side to open it up enough to accept the spring. It still takes some wrestling to get them to clear. Install the shocks after the springs are in. Just make sure you have the car back on the ground with weight on the springs before torquing everything down.
 

broncojunkie

Well-Known Member
I'll also add another suggestion. They are producing spherical bushings now for the uca's. They install into the ears cast into the rear end end housing. I've talked to a few people who have them and they're generally satisfied. Easy install and it pretty much eliminates the binding problem with the uppers. They're not terribly expensive. The cheaper ones on Amazon were around $80, last I checked.

I don't think you'll find them very helpful, but for anyone reading this later, it's worth mentioning.
 

Scotty Bleed

New Member
Everyone usually has their own process, but I'll tell you how I do mine. I place a floor jack or transmission jack under the center of the diff. Lift it up and remove the bolts from the rear end side, leaving the upper arms attached to the chassis.

No matter how you do it, an extra set of hands is preferred (although I almost always end up doing it by myself).

Installing them is tricky. I loosely attach the lowers on both ends and then jack the rear end up to meet the uca's, which I have attached to the chassis. If you have a helper, you can usually put the springs in during the process. If not, you can go ahead and attach them and then go back and put the springs in each side after the control arms are in. You can jack up the opposite side to open it up enough to accept the spring. It still takes some wrestling to get them to clear. Install the shocks after the springs are in. Just make sure you have the car back on the ground with weight on the springs before torquing everything down.
Removing the shocks is a must, correct?
 

Jasonfoxbody

New Member
347 is correct about the stock rubber bushings. Ford used rubber because it has some "give" to it. If you go with aftermarket upper control arms and or poly bushings, you'll want to install torque box reinforcements. The uppers will bind and destroy the stock torque boxes unless they're reinforced. If you literally just putt around town and cruise the highway, it should be ok. But one half-decent launch could cause some damage with aftermarket uppers. The lower control arms are a little less prone to binding, but same theory applies.

For my cars, I go this route: I reinforce upper and lower torque boxes using the Wild Rides Battle Boxes. I use stock uppers with rubber bushings, but I box-in the control arms with a piece of sheet metal. I use aftermarket lowers. Also, don't be tempted to use the cheap/generic tubular arms. The bushings fall apart and welds break.
Thanks for the info. Upper arms and bushings are still in great shape. Just the lower oval bushings are in rough shape.
 

Middleagecrisis

New Member
You just drive it?
I suggest replacing the bushings.
Rubber is better than poly bushings due to the no maintenance feature of them.
If you're set on going poly bushings...
I suggest greasable style, but you're going to have to modify your control arms to install grease fittings.
If you don't do this, you'll have to put up with all the squeezing they give.
Hi 347, I know this is an old posting, but I have a set of SVE Upper Control Arms that need new bushings. I was going to try and use rubber bushings, but the stock replacements have a steel outside shell, which I don't see going into the SVE control arms. Any suggestions?
 

347HO

Active Member
My experience is you will need aftermarket bushings that allow you to press rubber or urethane into the aftermarket arms, then install the steel inserts.
I may have the manufacturer I used but will have to go thru my receipts to find it.
Give me a short time
 

Aerocoupe

New Member
I ran H&R Super Sport springs with Maxiumum Motorsport LCA's and stock UCA's as per MM's advise. I ran the H&R springs on all four corners with Tokico Alumina struts and shocks. This was with stock front control arms with new rubber bushings. I probably put over 60,000 miles on that setup and I was not nice to the car on the street at all. I built it to drive and drove it hard. Hands down one of the best ride/performance suspensions the car every had. I will say that the MM caster/camber plates are an absolute must.

It is now a full MM car (tubular front, torque arm, phanhard bar, blah blah blah) and still fun to drive on the street but the ride is a bit stiffer.
 
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