I got my lower control arm bushings replaced by some guy who is suppose to be a mechanic, but it sounds worse than before and it scrubs when you turn hard now. I don't know why doing that would've gotten air in the steering system, or it might be the alignment now. He told me I need upper control arm bushings now. It still pops when driving and it squeaks where you can hear it from outside when you go into a steep driveway or over a speed bump. I was going to replace the sway bar bushings just because it shouldn't take too long and they're not too expensive. To do the upper control arm bushings, they're available as a whole arm with balljoint, so I will buy them like that. I looked through the Ford service guide and it appears pretty straightforward to do. I just don't understand how the marking of the camber bolts goes. I'm not familiar with those. I know what they're for but just don't know how they work or what I should be marking before I unbolt them. If I do it myself, I'll probably have a different mechanic helping me out, he's better than the one that did my lower control arm bushings so I will have some help. Is it a hard project to do? Is there anything that will make easier or speed up the time it takes? Do you have to remove all the brake components or can you just let it drop or be supported?

 

OK.. Jack the vehicle up from under the lower control arm.

Remove the wheel. Remove the nut and bolt that bolts the upper ball joint to the knucle.
There is NO NEED to remove the brake, just be careful not to let the hose stretch real tight when the assembly "folds out"... you'll see what i mean.

Using a hammer, smack upwards from under the upper control arm... it'll take some pretty hard hits, but you'll eventually knock the ball join stud loose from the knuckle. Sometimes it helps to spray some WD40 or something in there before you hit on it.

Before you remove the upper bolts, use white out or something to mark a spot on the offset washer and the frame... use this as a reference point when you reinstall it (in other words, line the marks back up when you reinstall the bolt).

When you get both bolts out, the control arm should pretty much fall out into your hands... but sometimes you have to work it a bit.

Reinstallation is the same, just in reverse order. Just keep in mind the left side can be a bit of a pain, sometimes you have to work around fuel and brake lines there, but the 2wd isn't nearly as bad as the 4wd.

Also when putting the ball joint stud back into the knuckle, don't hammer on the ball joint.... hammer on the control arm.. just keep tapping it'll eventually work itself in, especially if you pretreat the hole with WD40.

You'll probably have to tap the new ball joint bolt in also.

As far as getting air in the power steering, anytime the wheels are turned left to right or right to left when the engine isn't running, it'll suck air into the system, so try not to do so while replacing the control arms.

I'm confused though.. did your mechanic replace the lower control arm bushings? or the lower ball joints? The bushings typically don't go bad. You might check the lower ball joints before you take the wheel off... just jack it up from under the lower control arm and using a long pry bar pry up from under the tire while observing for movement in the ball joints (helps if you have a partner do the prying while you do the looking).

 

My 99 B3000 had a popping noise from the left front and I was sure that it was the ball joints. Took it to the alignment shop to have it checked out and he said that it was the inner tie rod and it was dry and causeing it to make the noise. Wasn't sure on whether to believe him, but since I have used him for several years I went ahead and it solved the problem.

 

Yeah inner tie rods can cause a lot of noise and "popping".. mine are doing that right now as a matter of fact.. I've just been too lazy (and poor) to replace them yet...

but... at least I know what it is... and I know how far i can push it...

 

My mechanic replaced all four lower control arm bushings and one lower balljoint. I had the other balljoint replaced a few months before because the boot had cracked and got rusted and squeaked. I topped off the power steering fluid with Mercon and worked the air out of the steering system and it no longer scrubs or shudders when you turn. The slight popping is still there over virtually all road surfaces. I thought for sure it was the lower control arm bushings, they were squeaking really bad along with the balljoint, now it is no longer squeaking and it feels more firm standing and tighter in the corners. I thought the lower control arm bushings get more abuse than the upper control arms. The uppers look fine, but you can see some cracking in the rubber. I can both control arms for less than $60 and hopefully with or without some help install them without a great deal of trouble. I'm also going to go ahead and replace the sway bar links and sway bar bushings, since I can get those discounted too. I have not even checked the tie rods. I've only had the alignment done once, I've taken each time I've gotten a new set of tires and the guy has said it's perfect the last 3 times. It's never worn a set of tires unevenly before. So I didn't suspect the tie rods to be loose. This guy has been doing alignments for 20-30 years. I will also replace the rear sway bar links and bushings if I can find them available anywhere and figure out how to replace the link bushings. The link bushings for the rear are available at the parts stores but I don't if you have to press them out or you can get them out by hand. The rear sway bar bushings I have not been able to find at any parts store, only the dealer. I pulled the rear sway bar from long bed 96 Ranger that had a 3.0. It mounted right up and made a big difference in the cornering of the truck. It's just hit 190,000 miles, and a lot of it was put on in downtown Atlanta, where the roads aren't too smooth, so the suspension could use a refreshining. Is it possible to replace both upper control arms in a day?

 

Actually when the tie rods cause a popping.. it's not because they are loose.. it's because they are dry.

They kind of get stuck in one position and when you hit a mild bump in the road (more often "uneven surface" more than a bump) they "pop" loose and that causes your noise and feeling in the steering wheel.

Trust me, just because there's no play in the inner tie rod ends doesn't mean they aren't causing the problem.

Good luck.

 

It looks like I'm going to have to replace the upper control arms myself on my 98 Ranger. The guy the was suppose to help me tomorrow didn't call back today, so he probably won't answer tomorrow. My worry is, what way do you support the brake assembly while the control arm is off? I won't have any help at all, I'll be the only one home. I've got to get it done in one day. I've got the new control arms. I was also wondering where to place the jackstands for this procedure and where should I put the jack to start raising it up? It said to put a jackstand under the lower control arm. Do they mean a jack or jackstand that hold the truck up. Because it will be hard to support the truck with a jackstand under the lower control arm, there isn't really anywhere for the jack to sit securely with the weight of the vehicle on it. Or do I just raise the jack up until it's just hitting the lower control arm?

 

You'll want the weight of the truck sitting on the lower control arm. I would definately jack it up high enough to get a jackstand under there, as you'll be hammering and all on the control arm, and the vibration may knock it off of the floor jack.. but that's entirely up to you.. at least you wont be laying underneath the vehicle.

As far as supporting the brakes, you really don't have to. Once you get the wheel off, hand tighten one of the lugs as far as it'll go just to make sure the rotor doesn't try to come off... otherwise you don't have to remove the caliper or anything... Sometimes when you separate the ball joint stud from the wheel knuckle the weight will try to push it outward but nothing extreme.. just be careful to hold it in place and gradually let is fall out so it doesn't stretch the brake hose too much (but regardless you should be ok).

It's not that big a job, I wouldn't sweat it too bad. Good luck!

 

I just finished up the upper control arm replacement. I put them on, put the cam bolts back in as close as possible to how I took them out, and as closely aligned as I could. But one of them is off a bit I can tell. I put the nuts on the cam bolts and finger tightened them and tightened the ball joint pinch bolt tight and dropped the truck and then tightened the cam bolts tight. That's how it's done on my Charger, and that's what I was told from everyone I asked. They said you should tighten the bushing bolts tight when the truck is on the ground. I drove it around the neighborhood and everything seems great. There seems to be an improvement in the ride and I haven't heard the popping. I was looking at the control arms I took off, and they don't look bad. Everything came out easy and went back in easy. It took me about 2 and half hours to do both sides. The labor guide said it should take 2 hours, so that's not too bad considering it's my first time messing with it. I now want to replace the front sway bar bushings and links. Should I do that first or can I get the alignment done first?

 

Go ahead and get it aligned... replacing the sway links/bushing will have no bearing on the alignment.

I'm glad to hear that it worked out for you!

 

Do the upper ball joints look like they can be removed and replaced?

Book says no, parts suppliers and others say yes .. would prefer to replace ball joints vice the entire control arm ...

Thanks!

 

I already replaced the upper control arms. It was quite easy. I did both sides in probably an hour. I imagine the time taking each control arm off and having the ball joints pressed out and new ones in would take more time and probably more money. The whole arms with bushings and joints are available at Advance auto parts. For like $60-$70. I still have popping in the front around the turns, but after what the kid did who worked on it originally I can see why. It needs lower balljoints again. He messed the one good one up by removing the lower control arm and then he messed the new one up when he put it in. So I have to do it all over again.