ponyman

Would a complete control arm replacement be a one day job? How many hours are we talking to replace the LCA's, add the reclocation bracket, replace the UCA, UCA bushing, and add the UCA mount???? Are we talking 3-4 hours or more like 6-8 hours???

CrazyAl

I have no idea what the Ford tool costs exactly, however I wouldn't be suprised to see it over $100. I have bought similar specific-pupose tools before and they are not cheap. If you're lucky you might be able to get your local dealership to loan you one.

If you're handy you could rig one up with a peice of threaded rod, a couple nuts, some thick washers, and a couple pieces of pipe. A piece of water pipe could be used for the larger tube (the one on the left in the drawing) and you could use a socket for the smaller one.

A cordless drill would work on the rubber so long as it's a decent one. At my work we have a few different drills. There'sa couple of small/cheap cordless ones that certianly wouldn't cut it. But those bigger ones would work fine. I have a 14.4 volt DeWalt and it would do the job no problem.

As for the time required? The LCAs you can do in an hour no problem. The upper + bushing would probably take two. I'd figure 3-4 hours for the whole project you just listed...perhaps a little more if you have to futz around with the bushing for a long time.

scramblr

A buddy and I took 9 hours to do the following in one day: UDPs, springs, shock/struts, LCAs, adj UCA and panhard bar. An hour of that was screwing around with the damn bushing on the differential and finally gave up. Now I know how to take it off, but that's a project for another day.

CBSTANG

Hey CrazyAl

I am still a little confused. You said
but after that you said
I mean it does make sense basically, but since you said that all I need was one poly and one spherical then wouldn't I be able to go with the spherical bushing from steeda in the diff and a poly UCA from BMR. I understand it would cost more, but it seems like a lot less hassle to me and I achieve what I am looking for. I mean you would just have to push the OEM bushing out and then push the Steeda one in, and bolt in the rest of the setup. I wouldn't have to mess with the torch or the drills, or putting the poly bushing in the old casing. I guess I just like to keep things as simple as possible.

CrazyAl

Yes, you could certainly go this route! I didn't suggest it becasue of the increased cost, but from a performance standpoint it would achieve the same goal as my suggestion!

Butkeep in mind that pressing out the OEM diff bushing is not going to be a walk in the park. I personally would much rather attempt to remove the rubber (using any method)than press out the whole bushing, sleeve and all...unless you happen to have the Ford tool. Then it should be pretty easy, but getting the tool may be tricky and/or expensive.

CBSTANG

Well thats sounds good, and I mean the tool itself looks simple enough to recreate. It is possible that Imight get lucky and a local parts store will have one to rent or be able to order it. Either way thanks for the information you've been a great help.

ponyman

Would the UCA Bushing Removal Tool from Maximum Motorsports work?

http://www.livermoreperformance.com/tools.html - Go down to the middle of the page, or search for MMT-1 and that should get you there.

OR

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/ - Go to Product Search and search for MMT-1

It is only $40, but if it saves me hours, frustration, and flame...then it might be worth it, if it will work....I e-mailed them to ask if it will work on the S197s, so we will see what they say....

CrazyAl

Those tools were made for the older generation Mustangs. However, they could work on the new ones....but I don't know. Asking them was a good idea.

Red06

I called Maximum Motorsports and the person I spoke to said he doubted the MMT-1 would work on a S197 Mustang but they have not tried it. He said they do not have a tool specifically designed to remove the UCA bushing on the new Mustangs.

If someone gives it a try, please report back and let us know if it works. I’m out of the garage until spring.