ponyman

Okay so it looks like I am going to get the BMR UCA, UCA mount, and diff bushing for birthday/x-mas....

I already know that the diff bushing is going to be a bit(h to install, but hole saw + drill bits + wire brush should get me there with just a little bit of elbow grease and some time....

What I don't know is how bad the UCA and UCA mount install is going to be. I know that lowering the tank will require some work, but if I make sure it is pretty empty and get the right bits it shouldn't be too bad....I hope....

What I'm most concerned about is getting in there with enough room to torque down the two UCA bolts (mount and diff) and get the pressure I need to torque them to what 130 lbs (when myself I only way 145-150 depending on the day)....

Any experiences with the install on the garage floor? How much did you hate life afterwards?

2007GT/CS

Can't speak specifically to the control arm install but I did install my own driveshaft which has similar torque requirements.

I had to put the jackstands up on the second to highest notch to get the clearance I needed to get enough arc/leverage on the 1/2 in torque wrench. No problem though - plenty of room. In addition to the jackstands, I use my floor jack and motorcycle lift front and aft to provide an extra measure of security.

CBSTANG

I installed the BMR mount and the BMR UCA a while back, and let me just say that I had to walk away a few times and come back to it, but I am not the most patient person, and I don't own a single air tool, so all my installs seem to take a little while longer than they should I think, but it only took me about 3-4 hours I suspose. As far as the tank goes it wasn't as tough as you might think, I just used two floor jacks with small blocks of would on them on each side of the tank to keep it level and take it down slowly. The torquing the uca down was a bit challenging as well, but if you just take your time you should be fine. Good Luck!

F1Fan

Hi ponyman,

You can do a UCA in the garage, just be safe, use an extra set ofstands for supportandchock on your front tires really well using comercial wheel chocks. I use a floor jack to support the axle under the pumpkin to allowcontrol of the axle positionand I have shop air in my garage to make my life easier with removing large caliber fasteners. You really can do it entirely using hand tools on the garage floor, just take your time and double checkthat all jacks are flat on the floorand that your jacking points are solidly centered on the jackstand saddles so when you start pulling on those long armedbars and torque wrenches the car is not going to budge.You willneed a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a 1/2" drivetorque that is at least 18"-20" long to loosen the bolts if you lack shop air and weight 150lbs. I don't know what you have in terms of tools but you only really need maybe a dozen tools to get the job done right. If I wasyou I would get some Mustang car club buddies to help you do the install work,it doesn't make the work go any faster (more likely slower), but you have more fun doing it and make somefriends along the way.

HTH!

ponyman

Thanks F1,

I haven't had too many problems with getting torque on nuts and bolts to break then and tighten them....24" breaker bar helps

It was more a question of space...with the LCAs, sway, and panhard there is plenty of room, but room becomes an issue on the other side of the axle (being infront and up top)...so I just wanted to make sure I would have enough room to work under there....

F1Fan

Hi ponyman,

Oh yeah, no problem working onthe UCA wthout a lift, just make sure you take some asprin before you hit the shower. LOL! I think the jack stands I use are 18"-20" high and I have had no problems getting in to work onfolk's UCA's but you do need to take care and be certain to remove the brake line and ABS wire retaining bracket boltsonce the car is safely onstands.This is really important as you do NOT want to damage these critical brake system parts which is very easy to do once you remove the lower damper bolts.Then allyou need todo is support the axle under the pumpkin,remove the axle-endanti-roll bar brackets andremove the lower damper bolts and the whole axle can come downplenty far enough to get to the fuel tank and UCA fasteners. Just be sure you leave enough roomon the side of the car so you can still climb into the car once it is up in the air to pull up the rear seat cushion so you can get totheUCA bolts inside the car.

HTH!

ponyman

would it be better to put the front and rear on jack stands or should I use the chocks instead....for the LCAs and everything else I have just used rocks under the front tires....but I do have two sets of jack stands...one of them is for SUVs so they go pretty damn high, the others are stardard 2.25 ton jack stands.....

F1Fan

Hi ponyman,

I suggested leaving the front on the ground to facilitate access to the UCA areaof the chassis andmaximize your space. You could put the front end on stands but then you essentially are lowering the rear end 8"-10". Beg, borroworsteal some heavy rubber wheel chocks, this is a good investment for safety and they last foever. Somebody will probablyborrow or steal yours before you know it andgood ones are not cheap. For saftey reasons four chocks is best, two for each front tire. Buttwo will do fine also just make sure the car is solidly on the jack stands before crawling under the car.

HTH!

D_Gusler

A tip of advise--pull the driveshaft out, makes access much easier. Also, you can use a torch to burn out the excess rubber with ease

retfr8flyr

I did mine on jack stands but had air tools to help. Do like F1 says and remove all the brackets for the brake lines and the ABS, this will let you lower the rear all the way down for clearance working on the bushing. You will have real fun getting the UCA mount bolt under the rear seat out with out an impact wrench. Maybe mine was just more difficult than most but this bolt is in with Loctite and is a pain to break loose. I couldn’t break mine with the 24 inch bar or my impact. I had to borrow a friend’s big impact, which he uses on big trucks, at 150 psi to break the bolt loose.

Earl