ride height measurements when replacing control arms

1977 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by gersting, Dec 21, 2006

gersting

Discussion Starter · Dec 19, 2006 (Edited)

I'm replacing a lot of the front end this weekend (LCA, links, UCAs) and have questions about the ride height. There is no mention of a particular measurement that should be made in the Ford manual.

According to http://planet.tvi.edu/bpearce/1994Mercury/UCA/index.htm
(which seems like another good reference) it should be measured at the beginning. you later lower the car to that height to ensure (I presume) that the suspension is in roughly the same place before tightening.

My questions-
1) where am i measuring this from? or can someone expand on a good way to do this?

2) is this a critical thing to do, given that i know i am rebuilding a large % of the front end and WILL be getting an alignment afterwards.

edit- this also would seem to imply that I have to do 1 side at a time, since I can't lower the car if both sides are up on stands? anyone?
Jason

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LJGriggs

· #2 · Dec 19, 2006

There's an easy way to do this... You will probably have the front of the car on jackstands (because the wheels are still off), so you simply put your floor jack under the lower control arm where the strut rod and spindle connect, and carefully raise that side off the jackstand (about an inch should do). That loads the suspension (sets the ride height). Once you have torqued the UCA nuts, lower it back down onto the jackstand and do the other side. This really only applies if you are using control arms with the stock rubber bushing material. If you are using poly bushings, preloading the suspension isn't required...

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JustinH

· #3 · Dec 19, 2006

You don't need to measure ride height.

Its important to get the alignment done when you replace the lower arms.

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gersting

Discussion Starter · #4 · Dec 19, 2006

alignment will be done, for sure. too many things taken off/replaced to not have it done.

so this measurement, if made, is NOT so much to put everything back in the same place relative to rest of suspension, but just to tell you where to put the vehicle height in order to place some weight on susp. and make sure bushings are compressed?

Jason

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gersting

Discussion Starter · #5 · Dec 19, 2006

what bolts need to be replaced?

I've also read somewhere on here that some bolts need to be replaced. can anyone tell me which ones when replacing LCA, UCA, link?

thanks
jason

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LJGriggs

· #6 · Dec 20, 2006

The only nuts and bolts I replaced were the pinchbolts and nuts on the spindles that secure the ball joints. Those came with the replacement control arm/ball joint kits when I bought them from RockAuto. The rest of my hardware was in good shape. If you live in the "snow country" where they like to put that salt stuff on the roads, you may have some rusty nuts and bolts to replace. Down here in GA we don't have to deal with that...

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gersting

Discussion Starter · #7 · Dec 21, 2006

no longer in snow country. was in IN 94-99, but largely in garage. i'll likely spring for new bolts all around, just to remove the variable of failure or difficulty tightening etc.
here in FL, we only get love bugs, but they rarely attack the suspension

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