What have you done to your mustang today?

[Mach2burnout]

Mustang on stilts.
Love the Steeda jacking rails. Want a set for the wife's Shelby. They make lifting the car so much easier. One lift per side for each pair of jackstands.
This was because I wanted to replace the driveshaft rear bolts. They didn't go in right when I first installed them, so this time I took them out, cleaned the threads, and put new bolts in, at the right torque, "Gut-n-tight", a German torque rating that applies to everything

View attachment 87766

View attachment 87765

Been using those torque specs my whole life!


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[MrBhp]

My first serious girlfriend was German. According to her it meant something different. Close, but different.

 

[GriffX]

My first serious girlfriend was German. According to her it meant something different. Close, but different.

Direct translation would be "gut und fest", it is a really old saying
The more used saying for torquing is "nach fest kommt ab" (beyond tight comes loose, loose follows tight)
BTW, the cucumber at the Chrismas tree isn't German

PS: I remember a variation: "passt, sitzt, wackelt, hat Luft" (fits, fixed, wiggles, some space left) means, tight, but not too tight.

 

[Mach2burnout]

Last night I installed a 2011-14 rear upper control arm bracket and Whiteline UCA on my 2005 GT. I’ve heard they are better because of the longer UCA. Has anyone else done this? Did any modifications have to be made for the gas tank. It appears to be really a right fit, maybe even touching. Just don’t want any noise or to damage the tank down the road.


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[Mach2burnout]

Last night I installed a 2011-14 rear upper control arm bracket and Whiteline UCA on my 2005 GT. I’ve heard they are better because of the longer UCA. Has anyone else done this? Did any modifications have to be made for the gas tank. It appears to be really a right fit, maybe even touching. Just don’t want any noise or to damage the tank down the road.


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Ok if you have an 05-09 and haven’t done this mod, you are missing out!!


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[MrBhp]

Ok if you have an 05-09 and haven’t done this mod, you are missing out!!


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Tell me more.

 

[Mach2burnout]

Tell me more.

So, the 11-14 UCA is 1” longer than the 05-09. I’m not sure which way the ‘10 falls. This sets the attachment point on the bracket 1” further forward. This don’t sound like much and really isn’t, but it’s enough to make the rear work much better and smoother.
Also, I installed the Whiteline UCA with poly front bushing. This one:

https://www.cjponyparts.com/whiteline-rear-upper-control-arm-adjustable-2011-2014/p/KTA205/

And I installed the rear upper bushing by Steeda. This one:

https://lmr.com/item/ST-5554104/mustang-rear-upper-spherical-axle-bushing-05-14

Now, before you think that all the difference was from these aftermarket parts, I also installed the same parts on my 14 a few weeks ago. The improvements on it were very noticeable! But with the longer bar and the better uca and bushing, it is an amazing change.

I have found since day one that the 05 uca was basically bound up all the time. I’ve actually pulled the inside rear wheel off the ground through corners while auto xing on the stock uca and bracket and with the BMR uca and BMR bracket. Even the stock 11-14 uca has much more movement than the 05-09.

I have a bit of experience with 3link suspensions from my old modified dirt car days. And these suspensions have to be free and have travel to work and the longer the 3rd link(uca) the better.

Sorry for the book.


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[MrBhp]

What does this do to pinion angle? I installed either the Whiteline or the BMR upper several years ago. Don't remember which. Also installed BMR non-adjustable lowers with relocation brackets. If I'm thinking this through properly, the adjustable lowers would be required for the longer upper to work. Is that correct? I wonder if my upper has enough adjustment to lengthen it to a better geometry. Or maybe the Whiteline piece that I have is the longer one. The car hooks very well for drag racing. But it is horrible in the curves. Very unpredictable.

 

[Mach2burnout]

What does this do to pinion angle? I installed either the Whiteline or the BMR upper several years ago. Don't remember which. Also installed BMR non-adjustable lowers with relocation brackets. If I'm thinking this through properly, the adjustable lowers would be required for the longer upper to work. Is that correct? I wonder if my upper has enough adjustment to lengthen it to a better geometry. Or maybe the Whiteline piece that I have is the longer one. The car hooks very well for drag racing. But it is horrible in the curves. Very unpredictable.

You must have the 11-14 uca bracket to use the corresponding uca. It relocates the mounting point 1” forward.
The stock 05-09 uca is 8.5” long from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The 11-14 uca is 9.5” from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The newer(longer) uca and bracket are a direct replacement for the older(shorter) version. Doesn’t change static pinion angle at all. Reduces the amount of change as the power comes on.

I know I’m not explaining this very well. I’ll try to put some info together for you.


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[DieHarder]

You must have the 11-14 uca bracket to use the corresponding uca. It relocates the mounting point 1” forward.
The stock 05-09 uca is 8.5” long from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The 11-14 uca is 9.5” from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The newer(longer) uca and bracket are a direct replacement for the older(shorter) version. Doesn’t change static pinion angle at all. Reduces the amount of change as the power comes on.

I know I’m not explaining this very well. I’ll try to put some info together for you.


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Maybe I'm missing it but this doesn't make sense. If you lengthen the UCA the pinion angle "has to change." What is your pinion angle now and what else is required to achieve the requisite -2 deg (which if I remember correctly is the requirement). So the bracket moves the rotation point so it's a direct replacement for the shorter version? Is that what's happening? Would need to see a side by side comparison. If so, how is that an improvement?

 

[GriffX]

the lower ist the 05 UCA mount, the upper 11+. Static pinion angle is the same with the corresponding arm. I think the roll center (?) of the car is changed?

 

[Miker]

I was just looking at that bracket this morning. Do you drop the rear end out to get to the rear end upper bushing? That is the last part of the suspension that I have not replaced.

 

[DieHarder]

the lower ist the 05 UCA mount, the upper 11+. Static pinion angle is the same with the corresponding arm. I think the roll center (?) of the car is changed?

View attachment 87849

OK, so provided the arms meet at the same point on the diff then I agree it's probably a one-for-one replacement. I've been using a J&M UCA setup which has served me well to date. Will have to check that out if it truly improves hookup/traction/handling.

 

[oldVOR]

Last night I installed a 2011-14 rear upper control arm bracket and Whiteline UCA on my 2005 GT. I’ve heard they are better because of the longer UCA. Has anyone else done this? Did any modifications have to be made for the gas tank. It appears to be really a right fit, maybe even touching. Just don’t want any noise or to damage the tank down the road.
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When I did the same swap with an '05, I gently bent the metal flange of the tank halves away from the UCA bracket just to create more clearance so there wasn't any interference between the two. There was maybe a 1/16" to start with and I rolled them to have about 1/2".

 

[oldVOR]

I was just looking at that bracket this morning. Do you drop the rear end out to get to the rear end upper bushing? That is the last part of the suspension that I have not replaced.

It is much easier if you remove the rear to replace all the bits, but you can remove/replace all the parts with the axle in the vehicle if you have the right lengths of extensions AND don't get frustrated easily from having to be a contortionist in the process.

 

[Gabe]

I was just looking at that bracket this morning. Do you drop the rear end out to get to the rear end upper bushing? That is the last part of the suspension that I have not replaced.

If you're taking about the single bushing on top of the rear diff, no you don't drop the rear end to replace it. Just let it droop. I've done the one in my wife's '08 Shelby and the one in my '13 GT.
Need to have a hole saw or other way to cut out the old rubber bushing, then a way to scrape out the rubber remnants. I used a cordless drill and a wire brush to get in from both sides, then some sandpaper to smooth it out

 

[Miker]

If you're taking about the single bushing on top of the rear diff, no you don't drop the rear end to replace it. Just let it droop. I've done the one in my wife's '08 Shelby and the one in my '13 GT.
Need to have a hole saw or other way to cut out the old rubber bushing, then a way to scrape out the rubber remnants. I used a cordless drill and a wire brush to get in from both sides, then some sandpaper to smooth it out

Yes that is what I was talking about. My car is not lowered and chassis has 150 K on it. They were very easy miles for the most part. I replaced the rear LCAs with the 09 GT500 ones which are very similar to the originals. If I did replace that upper bushing I would probably stay with the stock rubber one to keep the NVH away. Is there a way to determine the health of that bushing? Is it toast with those miles or could it still be fine?

 

[Gabe]

Yes that is what I was talking about. My car is not lowered and chassis has 150 K on it. They were very easy miles for the most part. I replaced the rear LCAs with the 09 GT500 ones which are very similar to the originals. If I did replace that upper bushing I would probably stay with the stock rubber one to keep the NVH away. Is there a way to determine the health of that bushing? Is it toast with those miles or could it still be fine?

You can get a pretty good look at the sides of that rubber just by raising the back end and letting the axle hang. Have a flashlight nearby. I used my phone camera with the flashlight on, made a movie sticking it in there, moving it slowly so it would focus. Saw the cracks clearly

 

[Gabe]

You must have the 11-14 uca bracket to use the corresponding uca. It relocates the mounting point 1” forward.
The stock 05-09 uca is 8.5” long from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The 11-14 uca is 9.5” from cl-cl of the bolt holes. The newer(longer) uca and bracket are a direct replacement for the older(shorter) version. Doesn’t change static pinion angle at all. Reduces the amount of change as the power comes on.

I know I’m not explaining this very well. I’ll try to put some info together for you.


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This picture should explain it pretty well.
They're both BMR upper control arms with their respective brackets.
The '11-'14 unit on the left, the earlier-cars unit on the right.
You get a longer arm but same mounting point because the bracket is different

 

[Gabe]

Yes that is what I was talking about. My car is not lowered and chassis has 150 K on it. They were very easy miles for the most part. I replaced the rear LCAs with the 09 GT500 ones which are very similar to the originals. If I did replace that upper bushing I would probably stay with the stock rubber one to keep the NVH away. Is there a way to determine the health of that bushing? Is it toast with those miles or could it still be fine?

You get a great look by removing the upper control arm bolt that goes through that bushing and lifting the arm up and out of the way.
This was the OEM bushing in my wife's '08 in 2020 when I replaced it, it had about 77k miles on it at the time.