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Front Lower Control Arm Needs Replacing

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HPDE
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5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Not sure if it was necessary but I added the Maximum Motorsports bump steer kit at the same time. It was on sale for less than the Ford Racing kit and they made the kits for Ford.
 
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Time Attack
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5-10 Years
SoCal
No, it was designed to fit the stock arms. Press out the old ball joints and the sleeve slides right in. The collar and threaded extended ball joints are what is used in the build of the Ford Racing arms. It is a hybrid style ball joint that was made specifically for the Boss 302 r/s cars built by Watson. Here are a couple of pictures from when I did it.

Perfect, thanks for sharing the pics. I recently bit the bullet and installed the Ford Performance arms and bushings. With a new 20T shop press, I think I’ll convert the stock arms and either keep as spares or sell them. The only thing I haven’t been able to find are the Delrin bushings for the front.
 
1,119
1,110
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Did you try Watson Racing for the bushings? They built the Boss 302r/s race cars for Ford and usually have repair parts for them in stock, including the ball joints used in the Ford Performance lower control arms. One other thing, if you buy the Howe Racing ball joint socket get the smaller one. Everything you find will say that lower ball joints use the larger socket, but the ones that were used on the Boss 302 r/s are a hybrid and actually use the smaller size.
 
No, it was designed to fit the stock arms. Press out the old ball joints and the sleeve slides right in. The collar and threaded extended ball joints are what is used in the build of the Ford Racing arms. It is a hybrid style ball joint that was made specifically for the Boss 302 r/s cars built by Watson. Here are a couple of pictures from when I did it.

View attachment 60166

View attachment 60167
Are the collars stainless? Is tig the smarter option? My buddy who will help me is a fantastic mig welder, his tig skills are.... “fine”. Lol. I can get them tig welded one way or another though.
 
1,119
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Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Are the collars stainless? Is tig the smarter option? My buddy who will help me is a fantastic mig welder, his tig skills are.... “fine”. Lol. I can get them tig welded one way or another though.
They are not stainless and you could probably mig weld them in. I didn't trust my welding skills for this one and the person that welded them preferred tig. He said it was less likely to warp the sleeves.
 
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Time Attack
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SoCal
They are not stainless and you could probably mig weld them in. I didn't trust my welding skills for this one and the person that welded them preferred tig. He said it was less likely to warp the sleeves.


Your welder pulled a bead around the entire collar as well, which was doable because of the TIG. The Boss arms are spot welded in about 4-5 places (can’t recall exactly without looking), which is probably the preferred method with MIG to resist warping the sleeve.
 
1,119
1,110
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
Your welder pulled a bead around the entire collar as well, which was doable because of the TIG. The Boss arms are spot welded in about 4-5 places (can’t recall exactly without looking), which is probably the preferred method with MIG to resist warping the sleeve.
Running a bead all the way around the bottom flange was probably overkill since the factory ball joints were pressed in, but the welds look really good and the ball joints threaded right in. I almost hated to cover them with the powder coat.
 
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Autocross
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5-10 Years
Boston
When your installing these urethane bushings did any of you get the shuddering from the steering ? I wouldnt want to install the buahings on stock arms and have to buy a $1k rack.
 
When your installing these urethane bushings did any of you get the shuddering from the steering ? I wouldnt want to install the buahings on stock arms and have to buy a $1k rack.
It seems to be dependent on the year the car is. 2011 and early 2012 cars seem to have issues, with late 2012-14 not. I just ordered a boss rack in anticipation of having the problem as my car is one of the first 12’s to roll off the line and I will be going Delrin bushings.

What year is your car? I am new to this, but having just done loads of research myself, I can at least provide what info I have come up with.
 
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Autocross
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5-10 Years
Boston
I have a 2012. Not sure on the build date. I use my car for drifting, and I prefer the self steering most prevalent in comfort mode. I have done poly bushings before and I know how much the suck, but tighter steering would be nice. Is there any way to just update the racks software ?
 
I have a 2012. Not sure on the build date. I use my car for drifting, and I prefer the self steering most prevalent in comfort mode. I have done poly bushings before and I know how much the suck, but tighter steering would be nice. Is there any way to just update the racks software ?
From my research, “no”. I think it is in fact possible to do, but it seems as though dealers “don’t know how”. If you have a buddy who works at a dealer with access to the IDS tool and can pull down software, I bet it’s doable. But I have not seen anyone have success by rolling into their local dealer and trying.
 
1,119
1,110
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Lenoir City TN
There is a lot of info on this topic out there. Like LIGISTX said the issue affects all 2011 and some of 2012, but no-one seems to know the exact cut off date. Some cars had the issue completely stock. Ford fixed these under warranty with an updated steering rack. There are a number of things that lead to the problem including bigger/heavier wheels and tires, bigger/heavier brakes, and stiffer bushings. The bushings seem to be the nail in the coffin. I got some shudder under hard braking at the track that was not related to brakes before changing the bushings. After changing them it was evident that the steering was messed up. The car would start shaking when making gradual lane changes on the interstate. The steering wheel would violently move back and forth on its own.

Ford claims that the EPAS cannot be reflashed, but they had a tsb for the EPAS in the Shelby which did just that. The part no for my 2011 Brembo car was the same as that used in the Shelby and I couldn't get a dealer to talk to me on it. They said unless my VIN was included in the TSB they couldn't touch it due to liability issues. I got the same answer from 3 different dealers. If you have an early build car plan on a steering rack change to run stiffer bushings.
 

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