[LoadedLX]

Okay. I posted a topic a while back about my squeaky 97 Taurus LX. I got a lot of great ideas there, but finally coughed up the dough and took it to a mechanic to be checked out.

Turns out I need a new drivers side Lower Control Arm. On autozone.com I found a vehicle specific tutorial on how to install it myself. Only problem is, I don't have the tool to compress the spring while I swing the Control Arm out of the Lower Ball Joint.

Do I need this tool? If so, can I like rent it at Autozone? Or is there a substitute?

Any ideas would be great.

 

[diesel600]

You can do it without compressing the spring. However, I highly recommend having a pitman arm puller to separate the ball joint from the control arm. Breaking them free can be a real pain in the arse.

 

[LoadedLX]

What's that and where can I get it?

 

[Tman]

there's no need to compress the spring since the lca is attached to the subframe and hub. all's you need to do remove the lower ball joint castle nut and coderpin and remove the pinch bolt that holds the ball joint shaft to the hub( a good prying on the pinch bolt area and tap of hammer should remove it). The remove the stut rod and then unbolt the rear of the lca from the subframe.

P.S. you can not buy the lower ball joint seperately, you have to buy the entire control arm so theres no need for the puller since you going to replace it anyway so use a hammer and bottle jack(if you have it) to seperate the lca from the hub. Place the bottle jack on the lca and put it up agianst the wheel wheel or something soild and jack the bottle jack. It will push the lca down and let you seprate the balljoint from the hub

 

[maceslin]

Having just rebuilt the entire front susspension of my 96 Duratec complete with inner tie rod, sway bar links and struts I have never heard of replacing a control arm, there are bushings on the end of the LCA but they are the only moving parts. The ball joint drops (it takes the puller to pop it out) into LCA from steering knuckle. Once it was apart I considered replacing ball joints but could not find a shop to press out.

Why did he say you needed to replace LCA, was it damaged in an accident?

 

[diesel600]

Originally posted by Tman@Jun 22 2004, 12:19 AM
there's no need to compress the spring since the lca is attached to the subframe and hub. all's you need to do remove the lower ball joint castle nut and coderpin and remove the pinch bolt that holds the ball joint shaft to the hub( a good prying on the pinch bolt area and tap of hammer should remove it). The remove the stut rod and then unbolt the rear of the lca from the subframe.

P.S. you can not buy the lower ball joint seperately, you have to buy the entire control arm so theres no need for the puller since you going to replace it anyway so use a hammer and bottle jack(if you have it) to seperate the lca from the hub. Place the bottle jack on the lca and put it up agianst the wheel wheel or something soild and jack the bottle jack. It will push the lca down and let you seprate the balljoint from the hub

Not true for Gen 3's and newer, which we are talking about here since he has a '97.

Gen 3's and newer do not use a pinch bolt setup to attach the control arm to ball joint. The ball joint is pressed into the knuckle and then bolts directly to the control arm. Also because of this, gen 3's and newer ball joints can be replaced independently of the control arm. He will not need to replace his ball joint unless it is worn.

 

[LoadedLX]

The mechanic told me that my lca would include the lower ball joint. the part at autozone says it includes the ball joint.

The bushings are bad on the lca, that's why it needs replaced. it squeaks when I hit a bump and squeaks really bad when I turn the wheel at a dead stop. WD40 shuts it up, which is what another mechanic friend of mine told me to do. he said it wouldn't hurt it to drive it for too long, but it would sound like sh*t the whole time.

Again, the bushings are bad, and they can't be replaced independantly. Thanks again for all the help, and if there're any last minute things I need to know, they would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Tman]

my bad i though ford keep the same design..sorry