Video link:
I was noticing handling issues (squirrley/unpredictable) while taking high speed turns and instability at high speeds. I also noticed that the passenger side wheel was 1/4" back in the wheel well when compared to the driver's side.
Given all of my suspension components are quality items and I had replaced the front lower A-arms (and added Moog ball joints) only three years ago I looked closely at everything else (front and back) which all checked out but handling didn't improve. Since I knew the car wasn't supposed to feel this way (and I was concerned about the 1/4" setback difference I finally decided to bite the bullet and replace the front lower control arms/A-arms. This time upgrading to the Ford OEM GT500 units.
Doing this job yourself on jack stands is quite the adventure. A few tips if you're going to do this on your own. 1) Ensure you can loosen all of the bolts/nuts before getting deep into the job. The hardest ones for me to loosen/remove were the 18mm bolts behind the steering arm (I found a 3/8 breaker bar and a short universal socket (see pics) would just fit behind the steering arm boot and allowed me to loosen that bolt. It's on there tight so be prepared to muscle that mother or use your leg to move it like I did. You can get the bolt out if you turn the wheel all the way to one side (towards the bolt) but I also had to disconnect the rod-end and tie it up out of the way to get enough clearance. 2) Take the long vice quick route (see video link) by removing the brake calipers, rotors and wheel spindle from the strut to take weight off of the A-arms. I tried it the quick way (leaving everything connected) but found with my GT500 calipers there was too much weight hanging from the struts to get all of that hardware to hang out of the way and still allow enough room to get the new arms in place. 3) On the driver's side I couldn't get the tie rod and pinch bolts to separate from the spindle so I removed the lower control arm/spindle as a unit and got them out on a bench. Also had to disconnect the anti-lock sensor cable; easy enough once you remove the fender liner. 4) Helps to have a complete tool box and I found that I needed a couple of specialty items (see pics) that really helped quite a bit (18mm ratcheting wrench; 3/8" breaker bar and short 18mm socket). I would also recommend a 21mm ratcheting wrench but they were out at the hardware store when I tried to buy one.
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Installation was uneventful for the most part. Just ensure you take the time to clean up everything while you have it apart and clean/repaint/grease appropriate areas prior to/during installation. Torque down all bolts/nuts for the control arms prior to re-installation of the spindle and re-install the spindle/rotor/brake calipers prior to connecting to the strut towers (the extra weight helps when pushing the A-arms down to get the strut bolts in). Torque everything down to spec and recheck your work.
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That said, glad I did all of the work as I found both of the Moog ball joints had developed play (like an 1/8" of play). The rest of the bushings in the arms were in good shape but somehow the the ball joints wore out. That's surprising since I only had only done about 15K in the last three years and never raced or abused the suspension in any way. I've heard Moog have a lifetime warranty so I'm going to take them in to the place I bought them from and see what they have to say. Of course, I don't have the receipt so they may just tell me to pound sand but worth a try. Rechecking centering of the wheel in the wheel there is now about 1/8" difference side-to-side. Not sure exactly what the spec is but I find that odd since there really isn't much/any play in the bolt holes/mounting that would allow the arms move laterally to correct for that difference (other than modifying the holes in the new A-arms). I'll ask the alignment shop to take some measurements or take it to a place with laser measuring equipment and report back.
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