Lower Control Arm questions

[JRD56]

In looking at the grease zerks on the FFR front lower control arms and the FFR rear tubular lower control arms it does not appear grease makes it way to inside of the metal sleeve. It seems to me that is where the pivot actually will take place and thus should be greased. Should there not be a hole in the metal sleeve to allow grease around the bolt?

I'm also confused about which bolts to use on the front of the lower control arms. The holes in the mounting brackets on the frame are 1/2" but the inside diameter of the metal sleeves in the control arm are more like .480", which may be 12mm to match the Ford factory bolts. I have both 1/2" bolts and .480" bolts but if I use the smaller bolts they are sloppy loose in the frame. Do I need to bore the metal sleeves out to 1/2".

I'm building an un-assembled Mark III from 2008 so I thought someone out there may have faced this in the past.

JD

[edwardb]

First question -- The metal sleeve doesn't move. It's captured between the frame tabs and held tight by the bolt. So no grease needed between the bolt and sleeve. The movement, and grease, is between the outside of the metal sleeve and inside of the bushing. Since you have an older kit, you may not have the most recent bushings. The newer ones have small grooves in the ID to allow grease to flow better. When you pump in grease, you should see it squeeze out the end of the bushing and sleeve. Without the grooves, sometimes the grease wouldn't go in properly.

Second question -- No need to be bore out the metal sleeves. Use the bolts that fit through the sleeves. .020 (a little over 1/64-inch) clearance between the bolts and the holes in the frame tabs is fine. Those get torqued tight to 100 ft-lbs (as I remember... check my memory) so they're not going anywhere.

[JRD56]

Thanks for quick response. So the sleeve locks in place, i get it. I do see the small groves in the bushings. However, there is about 3/16 gap between the ends of the sleeves and the frame brackets. Do I need a washer or short bushing on the inside of the frame brackets to ensure the sleeves locks in place. There is no way the frame brackets will pull in that far. I'm seeing that on both front lowers and rear lowers.

[edwardb]

It's normal to require a spacer or large washer on the inside of the rear mount when using the FF LCA's. The rear tabs are purposely wider to accommodate donor LCA's. But nothing should be required for the front tabs. Are you sure they're really off as much as the rears? It's not unusual for the tabs to need to be moved in or out a little. But not 3/16-inch.

Have to ask. Do you have an instruction manual? Some of this is covered there. Also important stuff like torque settings, etc. I know the manual doesn't have everything, but I can't imagine not having one.

[jrcuz]

I was in the last build school in mid July and one thing they covered was to continue the grooves in the bushings onto the flat ends using a hack saw blade to aid in complete lubrication.
JR

[JRD56]

I do have the manual, but didn't see anything about spacers i'll look again. The gap in front may not be quite as much as the rears, buts it still signicant and will require a spacer. Another issue on the front is that sleeves are not fully inserted into bushings. Now that i understand the concept I can make it work. Thanks again.

[rich grsc]

Use washer to fill in the space. You want to keep the tabs as close as you can to parallel.

[JRD56]

I did find instructions on the lower control arms but not in the manual. The lower control arms were purchased as options and I found the instructions on FFR's website. It does talk about using washers as spacers. Lesson learned for me is to look for any supplemental instruction sheets before I ask for help. Thanks for all the help I should be good to go now.

Jim

[edwardb]

I did find instructions on the lower control arms but not in the manual. The lower control arms were purchased as options and I found the instructions on FFR's website. It does talk about using washers as spacers. Lesson learned for me is to look for any supplemental instruction sheets before I ask for help. Thanks for all the help I should be good to go now.

Jim

Sounds like you have the base kit (e.g. donor) manual. If so, it's going to show installing the Mustang LCA's that don't require spacers. You're right. If changing parts, e.g. adding options, you need the separate instructions.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Just concerned if you didn't have the manual you could be missing a lot of important information.