Has anyone ever tried drilling out the factory upper arms and putting a zerk fitting in? ...Was contemplating this today...

 

Intriguing, but no. Replaced mine with Moog, now they have zerks!

 

Probably the best solution, IMHO.

 

has anyone replaced the bushings for the upper control arms?
is it worth the effort?

 

No, it's not. New Moog control arms will come with new bushings and ball joints with grease zerks.

If I may, I'll pass on a recommendation. Before I began my truck's ball joint replacement last summer, I called the alignment shop and asked them for any tips. They requested I replace the original factory cam bolts that attached the upper control arms to the frame with a Moog adjustable cam bolt set. I did as they requested and received their thanks in return. Made their job a whole lot easier.

 

what are grease zerks?

 

Little nipples on ball joints or any front end part so you can grease them. Oem usually don't have them especially Ford.