Front Suspension Question

[zidane45]

Im putting on new 10 way struts and have a found that my ball joint is blown. They all say u have to repllace the whole a-arm to fix this. is this tru?
if it is do they make any tubular-arms that work with the non-coilover stock setup? thanks

 

[04sleeper]

Im putting on new 10 way struts and have a found that my ball joint is blown. They all say u have to repllace the whole a-arm to fix this. is this tru?
if it is do they make any tubular-arms that work with the non-coilover stock setup? thanks

No you do not have to replace the A-arm. You will have to take it off and bring it to a shop to have the old ones pressed out and new ones pressed in. I personally have never seen tubular A-arms with provisions for stock springs.

 

[zidane45]

thanks.

i thought qa1 made one that i saw. maybe not.
do u know if the x2 from steeda will work? it says 94-04, or is the local parts store the best place? i dunno of any places that make aftermarket ones..help

 

[04sleeper]

The X2 balljoint fits 94-03 Mustangs. It also fits 87-93 Mustangs that are equipped with the Ford Racing M-2300-K Cobra Brake conversion kit or Baer 13" or 12 " American Sedan Brake kits. It will not work with stock 87-93 brakes
because of interference between the rotor and the repositioned control arm.

I would go with ones from the parts store. If you can get "Moog" they are good replacements.

 

[zidane45]

hey....thanks a lot man. big help. its a good idea to replace the control arm bushings right? energy suspension?

 

[MrKwik]

You dont even need to pull the A-arm off the car if you have a ball joint press. I have done it several times and its like a 15 minute job. If you have o'reily auto p[arts by you, they will loan you the tool for free. Its like a big c-clamp with some pieces of tubing. You support the a-arm, disconnect spindle from the ball joint, press it out and press in the new one.

 

[04sleeper]

hey....thanks a lot man. big help. its a good idea to replace the control arm bushings right? energy suspension?

If they are in bad shape I would replace them at this time. No sense in doing the work twice.
MrKwik is also right if you want to do it that way. I just brought mine to a friends shop to have them done. And now it really doesn't matter because I have tubular A-arms and coil overs.

 

[zidane45]

i have 132,000 on my car. i was wondering if a new set of bushings would be a smart thing to do....? while i got my car all tore apart. (rebuilding the rear at the moment also). cause i'll be leaving for school and i won't have as much time to do work on it.

 

[jwzg]

i have 132,000 on my car. i was wondering if a new set of bushings would be a smart thing to do....? while i got my car all tore apart. (rebuilding the rear at the moment also). cause i'll be leaving for school and i won't have as much time to do work on it.

Go ahead and get the front bushings replaced. If you go with Energy Suspension, you will find that getting the old bushings along with the sleeves out is like a bad dream without a press. You may also think you have more time than money, but take my advice and have all of this done at a reputable shop so you can have all of your new parts installed while everything is out (less labor cost), get the alignment set and the work will be backed by a warranty. Some trimming of the front bushing may be needed to keep it from squeaking. In addition, stay away from doing the rears with only poly bushings. Wait until you can afford a decent set of control arms such as the Maximum Motorsport set with the axle side spherical bushing. No axle bind and less stress on the torque boxes. FRPP HD uppers work best with those lowers.