Rear Lower Control Arm Bolts/MM Adj LCA Question(terrible weekend)

[ryan97cobra]

I need new bolts for the rear LCAs. Where can i get these bolts they are obviously very heavy duty since they hold the LCAs to the chassis and axle. Do i need to get them from ford or can i find bolts of sufficient strength at a place like Ace Hardware?

Also for those that have MM Adj LCAs have any of you had your weight jacking bolt that adjusts ride height get cross threaded or seized in so bad you couldn't get it to move? My drivers side arm(3weeks old) that big blue bolt got seized and will NOT move, i put my TQ wrench on 150 ft/lbs and pulled and guess what happened, i rounded the hole that the 1/2" drive socket fits in. Note: My wrench didn't even click saying it was at 150 and the hole rounded out so bad its completely ruined and there is no way that bolt is moving now. The other side adjusts fine it went all the way down and all the way up with minimal effort, both sides have been lubed. What kind of lube are you guys running or what should be ran? Does it matter?

I will be contacting MM Monday because this is ridiculous those bolts are meant to be wrenched on to raise and lower the ride height, and should not strip this easy let alone get seized to the point something like this happens.

This all started because i installed Bilstein's in the rear and was putting Poly isos on the rear springs because they make some annoying noises without them. Bilsteins went on in about 30 mins very smooth job.

And finally on top of all this my key for my locking lug snapped when trying to remove one of my wheels so i had to get everything put together, currently running a steeda control arm on the drivers side and a MM on the passenger side, and drive my car to the tire store and have them get my locking nuts off. My only break this weekend is they gave me 4 free lugs and didnt charge me to get the locking ones off.

Long weekend = Long post.

 

[SVT CAMR]

www.uprproducts.com.
has a bolt kit for the lowers. Part number 2025-01
Yeah thats a screwed up deal with the jackers.

 

[ryan97cobra]

UPR Products | Mustang Parts & Performance | Mustang Suspension | Mustang Billet | Mustang Cold Air Intakes | Mustang Exhaust.
has a bolt kit for the lowers. Part number 2025-01
Yeah thats a screwed up deal with the jackers.

Thanks :-D

Yeah im not very happy with MM right now, i don't know if im gonna keep them or not.

 

[Gallows]

Hmmm I haven't' tried to adjust mine yet. Let us know what MM has to say about it.

 

[Toasty]

I need new bolts for the rear LCAs. Where can i get these bolts they are obviously very heavy duty since they hold the LCAs to the chassis and axle. Do i need to get them from ford or can i find bolts of sufficient strength at a place like Ace Hardware?

Also for those that have MM Adj LCAs have any of you had your weight jacking bolt that adjusts ride height get cross threaded or seized in so bad you couldn't get it to move? My drivers side arm(3weeks old) that big blue bolt got seized and will NOT move, i put my TQ wrench on 150 ft/lbs and pulled and guess what happened, i rounded the hole that the 1/2" drive socket fits in. Note: My wrench didn't even click saying it was at 150 and the hole rounded out so bad its completely ruined and there is no way that bolt is moving now. The other side adjusts fine it went all the way down and all the way up with minimal effort, both sides have been lubed. What kind of lube are you guys running or what should be ran? Does it matter?

I will be contacting MM Monday because this is ridiculous those bolts are meant to be wrenched on to raise and lower the ride height, and should not strip this easy let alone get seized to the point something like this happens.

This all started because i installed Bilstein's in the rear and was putting Poly isos on the rear springs because they make some annoying noises without them. Bilsteins went on in about 30 mins very smooth job.

And finally on top of all this my key for my locking lug snapped when trying to remove one of my wheels so i had to get everything put together, currently running a steeda control arm on the drivers side and a MM on the passenger side, and drive my car to the tire store and have them get my locking nuts off. My only break this weekend is they gave me 4 free lugs and didnt charge me to get the locking ones off.

Long weekend = Long post.

DO NOT EVER USE YOUR TORQUE WRENCH AS A BREAKER BAR. EPIC FAIL.


Ford still sells the bolts. About 6-8 bucks each, but they are the correct ones.

 

[98 svt]

You can buy the bolts at Ford. i may actually have 2 or 4 here.

I also needed them when I installed termi arms up front. I bought them at a stealership. I'll tell you they are far superior to any grade 8 bolt you'll find at a hardware store. I researched the markings on the head of the bolt.

 

[ryan97cobra]

DO NOT EVER USE YOUR TORQUE WRENCH AS A BREAKER BAR. EPIC FAIL.


Ford still sells the bolts. About 6-8 bucks each, but they are the correct ones.

How is having an extra torque wrench to use in situations like this epic fail? Its much easier than using a breaker bar that doesn't ratchet. I don't care if its bad on the torque wrench and i don't see how its fail let alone epic fail.

I'll see how much the bolts cost at the dealership, and call tousley and see if they have them. The kit on UPR's website is $30 so ill find out what is cheaper.

 

[jumperjack]

Maximum is a good company to deal with. They will make it right if you handle it correctly and speak to them in a calm manner and explain the problem. I had their lowers with the urethane bushings on my car for over a year and the bushings went bad so I called them and after talking to them realized at my power level I needed the solid bushings. They credited me the cost of the old control arms but did end up charging me a 10% restocking fee because they were over a year old. I think I was treated very fair by them. I got the new LCA w/solid bushings for just the difference.

 

[ryan97cobra]

Maximum is a good company to deal with. They will make it right if you handle it correctly and speak to them in a calm manner and explain the problem. I had their lowers with the urethane bushings on my car for over a year and the bushings went bad so I called them and after talking to them realized at my power level I needed the solid bushings. They credited me the cost of the old control arms but did end up charging me a 10% restocking fee because they were over a year old. I think I was treated very fair by them. I got the new LCA w/solid bushings for just the difference.

This is exactly the kind of information i wanted to hear. I am hoping they will take care of me especially since the control arms are only 3 weeks old. I wasn't planning on calling them with any kind of an attitude. I don't really get angry to the point where i would yell or be rude to them. I am simply frustrated i have to keep taking the rear of the car apart, and that brand new parts mess up.

The up side is im getting very good at taking it all apart and it doesn't take me nearly the time it did the first time. :-D

 

[BMF42]

Sucks to hear they didn't work the first time. Like Jumperjack said, they'll make it right. I used the bolt kit from UPR. I'm not sure I would use bolts from Ace though. Good luck getting it ironed out.

Toasty, I too would like to know what the big deal is using his torque wrench. Just so I don't ever do it.

Al

 

[NoviBlown92]

Torque wrenches should never be used as a breaker bar because they are a precision calibrated tool. Use them if you want but don't ever expect it to be accurate if you do.

 

[ryan97cobra]

Torque wrenches should never be used as a breaker bar because they are a precision calibrated tool. Use them if you want but don't ever expect it to be accurate if you do.

Nah this one is old and as such i don't use it to torque bolts to spec, but it does work great as a ratchet for things requiring 1/2" drive such as the bolt on the MM Adj. LCAs.

 

[ryan97cobra]

UPDATE: I talked with MM this morning and they are going to take care of it at no cost to me they even offered to pay my shipping. They have never had trouble with these Adj arm bolts before and they are going to look into it some more. They have been very pleasant to deal with in this situation and i will continue to recommend them and their products highly as it would seem i just got unlucky.

 

[harvboi05]

were you trying to adjust the ride height w/ all the weight of the vehicle on the bolt?

 

[smasher41]

were you trying to adjust the ride height w/ all the weight of the vehicle on the bolt?

I dont believe that matters acording to MM, i have these same control arms on my car, and have adjusted them several times now no issues. Just be sure to keep them greased, as they arent sealed.