07-09 GT500 Front Control Arm Upgrade Question

2006GTVERT

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Hey all, I've got a 2006 GT I want to do the GT500 control arm upgrade to. I bought some arms and was kind of shocked as to what I saw. But I'm seeing pictures of these arms other places too. I cannot believe these are true Ford Performance parts based on what I see. It looks like someone hacked the end off a regular GT arm and welded a chunk of random metal to it, that holds a ball joint with no structural support for the end. Has anyone come across this or know what this is? I'm not sure I want this on my car.

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Dino Dino Bambino

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Those aren't genuine Ford Performance parts. Someone's done a hack job on those, stuck a FP part number, and ripped you off. Return them and ask for a refund. They look downright dangerous where the ball joint ends have been welded on. If either of those broke while driving you'd have a serious accident.
I chose to have my original GT control arms refurbished with new Moog ball joints plus Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings and I couldn't be happier. This saved me a bunch of $ in purchase and shipping costs, and the polyurethane bushings should last as long as the car.
Front Control Arm.jpg
 

2006GTVERT

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Those aren't genuine Ford Performance parts. Someone's done a hack job on those, stuck a FP part number, and ripped you off. Return them and ask for a refund. They look downright dangerous where the ball joint ends have been welded on. If either of those broke while driving you'd have a serious accident.
I chose to have my original GT control arms refurbished with new Moog ball joints plus Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings and I couldn't be happier. This saved me a bunch of $ in purchase and shipping costs, and the polyurethane bushings should last as long as the car.
View attachment 80337

Exactly what I thought. It looks like others have these shown in pictures on American Muscle. I got mine off Amazon and the seller even responded with "what on earth are you talking about" when I left a review about how dangerous those arms are to warn others. There's no support at the ball joint, it could easily bend up at the end or break. I ordered a new set from LMR. I'll see how those look, but it's scary stuff like this is out there being sold to people who just don't have the knowledge to even notice this. It really infuriates me that someone would do this and put someone else' life in danger to make a buck.
 

2006GTVERT

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Those aren't genuine Ford Performance parts. Someone's done a hack job on those, stuck a FP part number, and ripped you off. Return them and ask for a refund. They look downright dangerous where the ball joint ends have been welded on. If either of those broke while driving you'd have a serious accident.
I chose to have my original GT control arms refurbished with new Moog ball joints plus Energy Suspension polyurethane bushings and I couldn't be happier. This saved me a bunch of $ in purchase and shipping costs, and the polyurethane bushings should last as long as the car.
View attachment 80337
On a side note, where did you get the bushings for your factory GT arm? Did you rebuild them yourself? How much of a PITA was it? Just in case these ones from LMR show up looking the same as these paper weights I have now.
 

Dino Dino Bambino

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I bought the bushings and ball joints from Summit Racing. I don't have a hydraulic press so I hired my trusty local mechanic to do the job. Getting the old rubber bushings out requires a bit of patience, and the trick is to burn them out with a blow torch. The original bushing shells are reused so care must be taken not to damage them before you press in the new polyurethane bushings. The rest is pretty straightforward and the job can be completed in less than three hours.

Obviously this is only a worthwhile exercise if your control arms are rust free. Otherwise it's better to replace them altogether.
 

2006GTVERT

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I bought the bushings and ball joints from Summit Racing. I don't have a hydraulic press so I hired my trusty local mechanic to do the job. Getting the old rubber bushings out requires a bit of patience, and the trick is to burn them out with a blow torch. The original bushing shells are reused so care must be taken not to damage them before you press in the new polyurethane bushings. The rest is pretty straightforward and the job can be completed in less than three hours.

Thanks. Sounds like the same nightmare I went through doing my upper control arm bushing on the rear end. I've got a press, so I'll probably go that route if I can't get legit Ford GT500 arms. I'm hoping LMR comes though though. I've always had good experiences with those guys (shouldn't jinx it lol).
 
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Hey all, I've got a 2006 GT I want to do the GT500 control arm upgrade to. I bought some arms and was kind of shocked as to what I saw. But I'm seeing pictures of these arms other places too. I cannot believe these are true Ford Performance parts based on what I see. It looks like someone hacked the end off a regular GT arm and welded a chunk of random metal to it, that holds a ball joint with no structural support for the end. Has anyone come across this or know what this is? I'm not sure I want this on my car.

View attachment 80334

View attachment 80335

View attachment 80336

I thought that the pic looked familiar and found this on American Muscle. Is this what yours looks like? It is $270 a piece and they call it "Ford Motorcraft Lower Control arm" (11-14) but they are out of stock. I'm pretty sure they are not a "hack job". Remember that a good weld can actually be stronger than a single piece
https://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-mustang-motorcraft-lower-control-arm-passenger-side-mcf2309.html


410530
 
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2006GTVERT

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I thought that the pic looked familiar and found this on American Muscle. Is this what yours looks like? It is $270 a piece and they call it "Ford Motorcraft Lower Control arm" (11-14) but they are out of stock. I'm pretty sure they are not a "hack job". Remember that a good weld can actually be stronger than a single piece
https://www.americanmuscle.com/ford-mustang-motorcraft-lower-control-arm-passenger-side-mcf2309.html


410530

Well that's interesting. So I have the wrong arm. Not saying you're wrong about the weld, but I'm not sure id want that arm on anything. There's no support for the ball joint. Granted it's thick metal but yikes. Thanks for posting up. Guess that solved my mystery.
 

tabstang

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Imo these are fine, and you have no reason to diss the part and vendor without reason. It's your choice to send them back but you're projecting your opinion without basis. The upgrade is about adding stiffness which can be done in more than one way.
 

2006GTVERT

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Imo these are fine, and you have no reason to diss the part and vendor without reason. It's your choice to send them back but you're projecting your opinion without basis. The upgrade is about adding stiffness which can be done in more than one way.

Not really projecting an opinion without basis and my opinion is they are not fine, but hey it's an opinion and that doesn't make anything fact. My basis was that there is no support for the ball joint as stated above, just flat metal. Also the weld spot does nothing for stiffness. The added stiffness in this particular case would come from the bushings. All that said, they're a reputable vendor, so I'm sure it's an ok part to run, it just won't be getting put on my personal car and that's ok, because it's my car and my life, so I will do what I feel is good for my specific situation.
 

akylekoz

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These cars have struts, so the ball joints job is to locate primarily in the X and Y direction. Z or up and down there is little force other than what it takes to deflect the bushings. Those are plenty strong, mild steel doesn't just snap. The stock ones are a thin stamping that is flared where the ball joint presses in, not exactly a substantial amount of material there. The thick welded arm is way stronger.
 

2006GTVERT

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These cars have struts, so the ball joints job is to locate primarily in the X and Y direction. Z or up and down there is little force other than what it takes to deflect the bushings. Those are plenty strong, mild steel doesn't just snap. The stock ones are a thin stamping that is flared where the ball joint presses in, not exactly a substantial amount of material there. The thick welded arm is way stronger.
I wasn't thinking it would break, just bend/deflect. But fair enough. I suppose most of the weight is supported by the spindle as you are saying. Either way I'm not running them. They were sent back.
 

Forty61

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The upgrade is about adding stiffness which can be done in more than one way.

That’s what she said.

I personally would have been wary of them too, I’m sure they’re fine but they sure look cobbled together with that tab welded on there!
 

2006GTVERT

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That’s what she said.

I personally would have been wary of them too, I’m sure they’re fine but they sure look cobbled together with that tab welded on there!

Thank you! lol. I do agree they are probably fine; I for sure trust Ford Performance. I was unaware that the 11-14 arms looked this way. I bought them off Amazon and their picture did not match the actual arms I got, so when I saw this craziness, I was like ok here we go lol.
 
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Well that's interesting. So I have the wrong arm. Not saying you're wrong about the weld, but I'm not sure id want that arm on anything. There's no support for the ball joint. Granted it's thick metal but yikes. Thanks for posting up. Guess that solved my mystery.
It might not be the wrong arm. Here is an video of installing a Ford Performance control arm that also has the welded tip on 2005- 2010 Mustangs. It sure looks beefy to me.
 
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2006GTVERT

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It might not be the wrong arm. Here is an video of installing a Ford Performance control arm that also has the welded tip on 2005- 2010 Mustangs. It sure looks beefy to me.

Well I guess I'll find out when I get the arms from LMR. If they look the same maybe I'll just run them. Just crazy that's how those things are built. It really threw me off. I almost don't trust them but it there are that many out there I guess they'll be ok.
 

SVT Rider

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The arms for the FRPP 2005-2010 Mustang that I received were the same way with the welded tab and ball joint. I installed them back in 2016 and daily drove them, and now am doing HPDE track events with them on fairly sticky tires and high loads. I trust them, but yeah not sure why they switched from the earlier drawn-out steel version that pictures show.

You will be fine to run them.
 

2006GTVERT

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Thanks guys for making me feel better about these things. Seeing that crazy welding and having had them come from Amazon wigged me out. I'm still shocked that's how Ford builds them, but ok on the car they go.
 

SVT Rider

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It is good to be suspicious in today's world of counterfeit and riff-raff. After all, it is your safety at play. It surprises me too, but Ford Racing does their load analysis and engineering. They obviously felt this was the correct way to assemble it and many have tested it out over the years without issues.
 

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Gents, that's exactly what they look like. I thought the welded tabs were kind of hokey too when mine arrived but they work fine and really stiffened up the front end. Car handles much better now. Surprised me since I had Moog ball joints installed in my old ones but that's another story.

The way you can tell if they're original or not (besides the Motorcraft sticker) is whether they have the heat shield tabs. Most of the aftermarket won't spend the extra money to add them.... Best prices I could find were around $300 - 340 for the pair. If you're paying less likely they're not OEM. Beware some listings appear to show two arms when actually it's only one. My recommendation is to also purchase the heat shields to protect the bushings and extend the life of the arms. Add'l remove the blue covers prior to installation. They're just there to protect the ball joints for shipping.
 

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