Trailing arms shot

[Alyusha]

Was just told my trailing arms were bad... The left side worse then the right. Honestly I have never heard of these before, unless called something else. I was not quoted a price, since apparently it is a dealer only item. But I was quoted $200 for 2 hours of labor.

I came across this thread and now I see the urgency in getting this fixed. Also after some googling I seen there may or may not be a recall on these? Does anyone know if there is?

Also, I found a set on ebay for $79.99... Is this a decent price, and a decent part? Or should I expect to pay a bit more, or just order directly from Ford?


Normally I do my own repairs, but do not have a garage... With it being 10 degrees out and 3 feet of snow, i'm not so sure about this one. I see from the other post there may be some grinding (of the bolt) or dropping of the gas tank, neither of which I want to do.. Is this the case? Or is it a fairly easy, straight forward repair?

Thanks for any help!



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1999 Expedition XLT 5.4L

 

[CaperCanadian]

You will either have to drop the tank or cut the head of the bolt off. have seen a thread about someone was able to push the tank in a bit to remove the bolt. Not something i would try, just use a sawsall and cut it off. As for the one you posted from e-bay, they are the same a factory ones, there are boxed ones that will last and hold up a lot better.
Example here
1997 2002 Ford Expedition Lincoln Navigator Rear Lower Trailing Control Arm Kit | eBay

 

[Bedrck47]

you may also want to consider replacing the upper arms if they appear rusted badly

 

[BAD RONALD]

Read this link in entirety:

2000 Expy Rear Left Lower Control Arm Removal - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Trailing arm rot is about as common as it gets as far as Expedition problems go. The OEM design perfectly encourages corrosion and failure. An aftermarket product (like the PMT Fabrication design) is superior to the FOMOCO offering. Be sure whichever kit you order includes all hardware.

Replacement is completely a DIY project although not ideal backyard winter work. I would not want to repeat the job in the cold and snow. Unfortunately rotted trailing arms cannot be ignored. If the truck is a daily driver you are faced with paying somebody (this is not a Dealer only repair) or spending a potentially miserable day on frozen ground under a supported rear end.

One question: How is it that the trailing arm rot was discovered? Was your dealership scrounging for fast money? Necessary trailing arm replacement would be easy to target. Whoever pointed the condition out did you a huge vehicle safety favor. Examine the trailing arms for yourself to see if the guy was fishing.

 

[Alyusha]

Thanks for all the tips everyone! I am not sure what was with the dealer I got it from. But outside of this issue, I feel I got a near perfect truck. So... Maybe I got the steal!

I went to Ford today, and they told me $279 for EACH arm!!! Wow.. I will not buy from them, especially if you all say it will just rot out again quickly.

Also, thanks for the suggestion of buying them will all hardware. I probably would have over looked this and been charged an extra $9,000 for 2 bolts while getting them put on.

I did take the liberty of inspecting them my self, the driver side looks like Swiss cheese, while the passenger side is getting there. The uppers look ok.

I will buy these this weekend and have it done by next week. Maybe we will have a nice day here and I will save my self $200 on labor.

Thanks again.

 

[BAD RONALD]

I will buy these this weekend... Maybe we will have a nice day here and I will save my self $200 on labor...

With a little luck the job won't be so bad. Really all that you need to do is remove three frozen bolts and cut off the fourth. Know that this can be easier said than done. Replacement is simple but bolt hole alignment can require authority.

Follow all safety suggestions regarding jacking and jackstand placement. You'll need air tools or a HEAVY breaker bar (I wound up using both) and cheater pipe in various lengths.

Hope it goes well for you.

 

[BAD RONALD]

I will buy these this weekend and have it done by next week...

How did it go?

 

[Big Red Monster]

get them on ebay i bought a brand called HEAVY METAL for mine. you will need to cut the head off the bolt on the driver side unless you want to drop your gas tank which i dont even do and i replace these arms at the shop i worked for (pep boys) i can have this job done in like 1 hour but i have done this job quite often so its become routine. if you good with tools all you need is corect size sockets,wrenches and a strong 1/2 inch impact gun i use an air cat 1250k and it breaks the bolts free FAST. also you will need atleast a 20 gallon air compressor to run said gun. you will also need a sawzall to cut the bolts and then some new grade 8 replacement bolts

 

[Whiteshadow]

I did the lowers in December, went with volig? brand I got from Amazon. Lowers we put in in December, uppers did not look bad, I have them just hoping on some semi warm weather to put them in.

 

[mr49erguy]

I just completed the replacement of the original upper and lower trailing arms and the original rear shocks yesterday morning with a friend. This is not a job I would tackle without another able bodied guy. There are only 2 bolts per trailing arm (so 8 in my case) and an additional 2 for each shock, but the factory adds loctite to the bolts for the trailing arms and they are very tight, even with air tools this required good old fashioned muscle and patience. I have one, but not much of the other. It was about a 4 hour job to get both sides and both the upper and lowers done, but once you are done, you can be assured of the safety of the vehicle's rear suspension. I was able to get a set of 4 arms off of eBay (Vollig) for my 1998 Expedition for $154, BUT did NOT come with the new bolts, nuts and washers. Fortunately I was able to get the 4th bolt on the lower drivers side trailing arm out without having to cut it or lower the fuel tank, but it took us longer to do this that to simply cut it and replace the bolt and I do not suggest it.