03 fx4 UCA replacement

[taylor slusher]

Hate to do them one at a time but money is tight right now and this one was shot

 

[Habbibie]

How did you break it?

 

[taylor slusher]

How did you break it?

I didn’t.
It’s old and wore out

 

[Habbibie]

Damn... I was hoping for a funny story

 

[Bain64]

You left the strut in while changing the upper? Was it a pain working around the spring?

 

[taylor slusher]

You left the strut in while changing the upper? Was it a pain working around the spring?

I never actually removed the strut assembly out of its pocket but I did have to remove 3 15mm bolts on top of the strut and one 30mm nut with a 27mm bolt. Inturn sliding the bottom out of the LCA and getting enough room to wiggle the UCAs 21mm bolt through the hole.

I just finished it up after having to go get my $ back from advance because my part still hadn’t arrived. Made a trip to car quest and I’m done 45 mins later

 

[Hamfisted]

How were the rest of the ball joints ? The dust boots usually all disintegrate around the same time, and the ball joint shortly thereafter. All the load is carried by the lower ball joints, front and rear. The uppers just serve to hold the spindle upright and aligned. The rear lower ball joint "bushings" turn soft and start creaking or clicking when they wear out. So if you hear a clicking coming from the rear end when you turn, that's what that is. I like Moog parts because they're greasable and the boots are a higher quality.


-Mike

 

[taylor slusher]

How were the rest of the ball joints ? The dust boots usually all disintegrate around the same time, and the ball joint shortly thereafter. All the load is carried by the lower ball joints, front and rear. The uppers just serve to hold the spindle upright and aligned. The rear lower ball joint "bushings" turn soft and start creaking or clicking when they wear out. So if you hear a clicking coming from the rear end when you turn, that's what that is. I like Moog parts because they're greasable and the boots are a higher quality.


-Mike

The front lowers are good. The passenger upper needs to be changed but not as bad as driver side.

The rear lower will have to be changed soon as I thought the noise was coming from rear end but you’ve pretty much Summed it up for me it’s a click only when I turn but not every time.

 

[taylor slusher]

How were the rest of the ball joints ? The dust boots usually all disintegrate around the same time, and the ball joint shortly thereafter. All the load is carried by the lower ball joints, front and rear. The uppers just serve to hold the spindle upright and aligned. The rear lower ball joint "bushings" turn soft and start creaking or clicking when they wear out. So if you hear a clicking coming from the rear end when you turn, that's what that is. I like Moog parts because they're greasable and the boots are a higher quality.


-Mike

Also wanted to make sure I could get the job done and end up with bolts stuck or something sheered off or broken. Being it’s the first time I’ve ever done any suspension work.

 

[Hamfisted]

Yeah, that click is the lower bushings getting soft. It just shows itself in early morning turns.

For the rears you need this bushing removal kit :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/142961678245?hash=item21492e17a5

I don't know if CarQuest or AutoZone have this kit to loan out.

I used a 1/2" air impact wrench but two wrenches will work fine, just slower. Spray some penetrating oil on the bushing's outer sleeve first. Then a little oil on the screw shaft of the tool before you start and it's pretty easy. You don't have to remove the spindle, just the wheel. A floor jack will come in handy to re-align the hole and bolt when you try to re-insert the bolt.

You can get the new rear lower bushings here on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Moog-K80213-Control-Arm-Bushing/dp/B000UPOBSC


You might find that the rear upper bushings are shot just from age. Ford uses some crap rubber in their parts. Anyway here's the Moog catalog to find whatever you need.
https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/products/ford_expedition_2wd_2003