Upper Control Arm Support Tools ...

[stangs-R-me 120]

I thought there was already a topic on these, but did not find anything.

 

Anyway, after reading that Mustang Monthly article a while back by Bob Perkins, I found the drawing in my Ford Shop Manual and scanned it in / printed off a copy figuring I was going to make a set ... well I finally got around to actually doing it today.   Last Friday I needed to jack up the front end and pull both wheels off so I said to myself I'm making the tools this week at work !!

Step 1) Found a length of 3/8" x 4" Cold Rolled Steel sitting here at work so I cut a piece off by 7-3/8" long on the abrasive hot saw.  

Step 2) Then scribed down both sides at 1-5/8" wide and made these two cuts as straight as I could on the band saw.  

Step 3) The left over piece in the middle was 3/4" (less 2x the band saw width) so cut 2 x 1-5/8" long out of this.  

Step 4) Took the remaining 3/4" wide piece and cut it down to 1/4" wide on the band saw, then cut 2 x 1-5/8" long pieces out of that.  

Step 5) Tack weld the 3/4" wide pieces to the main pieces 3/4" down from the top using a vice grip clamp to hold in position.

Step 6) Using a small piece of 1/2" thick steel to set the 1/2" gap, clamp the 1/4" wide piece to the main piece and tack weld to the 3/4" wide piece.

Step 7) Finish welding, remove slag / sand & wire wheel corners/edges.

The two small pieces between the two support tools is all the remaining scrap.

 

Doug

[ashleesmach1 28]

I've seen this before. What is it for? What does it do?

[Mike65 476]

IIRC It keeps the upper control arm from dropping down when raising the car on a lift so it doesn't damage the shock from being over extended..

[stangs-R-me 120]

Shocks are not designed to bottom out when fully extended ... the spring tension and the added weight of the hanging suspension & wheel/tire supposedly will damage the shocks. 

So I've been jacking up the front end of my Mustang wrong for 36 years ... as have 99% of classic Mustang/Cougar DIY owners since they 1st rolled off the assembly lines in 1964.   

Don't know if I've actually damaged shocks like they say, but I was thinking it was time to replace my shocks and wanted to switch from the cheap low end gas shocks I put on in the 80's to something better.   Shocks certainly aren't as cheap as they were back then and decent ones are even more $$, so I figured if I'm going upscale on my shocks I should make these tools so I don't possibly damage the new ones in the future.

Doug

[1969_Mach1 333]

Instructions to make those brackets are in the Ford service manual.  The service manual describes them as being used anytime the upper ball joint needs to be removed or the lower control needs to removed.

When I jack up the front of the my Mach 1, I use two floor jacks, one under each lower control arm.  Lift the car, place a jack stand under each frame rail at or near the front torque boxes.  Lower the floor jacks only until the weight is on the jack stands.  I then leave the floor jacks under the lower control arms supporting the front suspension.

[stangs-R-me 120]

Just tested them out on my car.   Passenger side worked perfectly, but for the drivers side the fuel line was running at the bottom of the frame rail where the tool needed to go.   So I found the Mustang Monthly article (March 2017 issue) and on the '73 they were lifting the lines are of course different and the brake line actually follows the fuel line forward and loops back around past where the fuel line goes into the engine compartment.   But the lines were out of the way on the frame rail about 1/3 up.

I put the repo fuel & brake lines on my car back in 2011 and this is where this fuel line wanted to lay.   So I first just jacked it up without the support on that side and took the tire off to inspect.   I ended drilling a new front bracket hole to pull the tube up ... probably could have tweaked the line without drilling a new hole, but this would have required me to remove the line from the car and I just did not want to deal with fuel all over.   Original hole is hidden under bracket, so I can live with that.

Kinda wondered while I was jacking up the front end if these support tools would even work since I did the Arning (Shelby) drop way back when.   I could tell it was doing it's job when I had it only on the passenger side as the drivers side did drop lower without the tool in place.

Doug 

[stangs-R-me 120]

Drilled holes in them, cleaned them up, scuffed them up, sprayed them with some zinc / cold galvanize paint, and hung them on the wall ... done.

Doug