Does This Look Right? UCA In Contact with Fuel Tank

[Candy10]

Heard some weird knocking besides what’s normal with these solid bushings. Got under the car to see the bracket and end of the UCA both in contact with the edge of the fuel tank. Now my
memory ain’t the best, but I don’t think it’s supposed to be this way. The main bracket bolt inside the car seems to be tight. Steeda arm and bracket. Am I overthinking, or is this just wrong? Part has been on the car nearly 2 years with no issues

 

[Miker]

I would say common sense says that's not right. Is it longer because it's a 2010 or because it's adjustable? My 2005 stock piece isn't even close.

 

[Candy10]

I would say common sense says that's not right. Is it longer because it's a 2010 or because it's adjustable? My 2005 stock piece isn't even close.

View attachment 108195

Yeah it doesn’t seem right. The shop reused the main bolt, and I found that it shouldn’t be reused. So maybe the bracket itself isn’t fully seated, even though it’s torqued correctly

 

[Candy10]

Went over everything, all bolts and jam nuts are tight. But I noticed the arm itself was kinda twisted at the axle side. Hard to explain, but I have a spherical bushing on that end as well, and it wasn’t centered. Anyway, centered that up and there was no more noise on the test drive. So that little twist must have been causing some binding.

So it seems the arm/bracket touching the tank isn’t the source of the noise, but I still don’t think they should be touching

 

[whitmanink]

this is correct and you ok,
the aftermarket part you have sometimes requires u to loosen the fuel tank straps and lower the tank a tad to install those aftermarket uca bracket,

infact ,, if you check out LMR website , they have a video showing how to replace these items and even says lowering the tank may be required on aftermarket uca bracket..
and its touching the heat shield shell for the tank ,, no biggie


the more ya know

 

[whitmanink]

on another note ,, them welds look like poop lol , they looked triggered and spaced soo far apart,,
they should be closer than half way each stack of the weld ,
i know you didnt make them ,,
but me being a certified welder of exotic metals and knowing what i know ,and doing military (made PPU units for THADD)..
i just had to say that seeing how its a good company with such sub par craftsmanship

 

[whitmanink]

2009 mustang gt rear upper control arm replacement - Search Videos

www.bing.com

 

[whitmanink]

Its also critical that the arm is perfectly centered and it's facing the orientation.. flat plate goes against body/frame.
In other videos it describes this

 

[Candy10]

Thanks for the input @whitmanink . And I 100% agree on the welds! I have zero welding experience and even I can tell that’s a shit job haha

 

[Midlife Crises]

There is no way I would allow that bracket and the fuel tank to be in contact with each other and the control arm end should definitely not contact the fuel tank. It is true that the aftermarket upper brackets are often “trapped” in position and cannot be removed/installed without lowering the fuel tank a bit but they do not touch each other when mounted. It looks like you have installed a late model bracket that uses the longer arm on an S197 that came with the shorter style arm and bracket. The 2010 GT came with the shorter arm.
Perhaps the bracket could be removed and a small amount of metal ground off for clearance. I would not remove material from the rod end but would not allow it to rub on the fuel tank.
The welds look like they were done with a TIG while the bracket was in a jig. They could be reinforced.

 

[GriffX]

I did some research if it is possible to install a 2011+ UCA on the 07 model and remember that it was sometimes necessary to bend this lip. The tank changed from year to year and there were different vendors. Didn't get a clear yes or no though.

 

[Candy10]

There is no way I would allow that bracket and the fuel tank to be in contact with each other and the control arm end should definitely not contact the fuel tank. It is true that the aftermarket upper brackets are often “trapped” in position and cannot be removed/installed without lowering the fuel tank a bit but they do not touch each other when mounted. It looks like you have installed a late model bracket that uses the longer arm on an S197 that came with the shorter style arm and bracket. The 2010 GT came with the shorter arm.
Perhaps the bracket could be removed and a small amount of metal ground off for clearance. I would not remove material from the rod end but would not allow it to rub on the fuel tank.
The welds look like they were done with a TIG while the bracket was in a jig. They could be reinforced.

Just double checked my order from Steeda (bought direct) and it is the one for the 05-10 cars. Now my car was ordered in early 2009 and delivered DEC 2009, but that shouldnt matter if this arm is for those years. Unless Ford had a weird one-off run of fuel tank design first year of the 2010s. I will say though, I dont like it at all, and sent the pictures to Steeda to get clarification

 

[Candy10]

I did some research if it is possible to install a 2011+ UCA on the 07 model and remember that it was sometimes necessary to bend this lip. The tank changed from year to year and there were different vendors. Didn't get a clear yes or no though.

Its definitely the 05-10 part though. So we'll have to wait and see what Steeda says

 

[GriffX]

Comparison of the 2 mounts, 11+ is the upper. The 11+ arm is longer, not sure if the angle is different also and if the mount fit in a earlier model.



PS, the bolt under the seat has to be torqued to 475 Nm which can be a big hurdle for the 11+.

 

[whitmanink]

it looks like its touching the fuel tank shield ,,, i cant see for sure .. but if thats all its hitting , i wouldnt be too worried ,,
if it is touching the real fuel tank tab , u can ,, just put an adjustable wrench on the edge and pry the lip up or down out of the way,, or sand it ,,

ive never heard of this issue before if it is indeed hitting the tank ,, and not the tank shield

 

[Candy10]

Comparison of the 2 mounts, 11+ is the upper. The 11+ arm is longer, not sure if the angle is different also and if the mount fit in a earlier model.

View attachment 108210

PS, the bolt under the seat has to be torqued to 475 Nm which can be a big hurdle for the 11+.

Again, according to the part number I ordered, I have the 5-10 mount and arm. So if that is indeed the case, Steeda sent me the wrong part, I dont think so though.

it looks like its touching the fuel tank shield ,,, i cant see for sure .. but if thats all its hitting , i wouldnt be too worried ,,
if it is touching the real fuel tank tab , u can ,, just put an adjustable wrench on the edge and pry the lip up or down out of the way,, or sand it ,,

ive never heard of this issue before if it is indeed hitting the tank ,, and not the tank shield

Yeah its definitely the lip of the pinch weld(?) of the tank itself. Sent the pics off to Steeda. Awaiting their feedback.

 

[Candy10]

Got a little bit of an update. Drove the car to the gym this morning and all was good, no "knocking" until I pulled into the parking lot when I heard it faintly. But then on the way home it was bad, even worse than the first day I posted this. Im kinda fearing that the main mount bolt has broken, allowing the mount to hang to the gas tank. And the knocking sound is the mount hitting the body. If this is the case though, its odd that its still tight from the cabin side. Because its still tight, perhaps this piece on the mount has broken? Its all strange.

Im not going to try and drop the tank to see without the car on a lift, it would be a bitch on the garage floor (and shes still at about half tank). I also dont want to drive it because if it is a broken bolt, that means the two smaller bracket bolts are taking a beating, dont need to cause more damage (elongated holes or damaged threads).

So anyway, until I can get her towed to a lift, she has to sit. Sadness.

 

[GriffX]

To check this, you can try to loose the bolt under the seat, if it is really broken I would not move the car at all.

 

[Candy10]

To check this, you can try to loose the bolt under the seat, if it is really broken I would not move the car at all.

Definitely not driving it, ive probably already caused more damage on this mornings trip. My try to pull the bolt this evening, its about 110 degrees in my garage right now

 

[Candy10]

If that bolt is broke, and the shop reused it when they werent supposed to, is there any liability? Installed almost two years ago, probably not