How to Replace Upper Control Arm with a Ball Joint 2002-05 Mercury Mountaineer
Created on: 2014-10-26
How to repair, install, fix, change or replace failing, rusted, rotted, or damaged front upper control arms on 02, 03, 04, 05 Ford Explorer or Mercury Mountaineer.
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step 1 :Removing the Wheel
- This step is not shown in the video
- Pry off the center cap with a flat blade screwdriver
- Loosen the lug nuts with the vehicle on the ground
- Raise the vehicle with a floor jack
- Secure the vehicle on jack stands
- Remove the lug nuts
- Pull off the wheel
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step 2 :Removing the Control Arm
- Apply rust penetrant to the control arm nuts
- Remove he 18mm nut from the control arm ball joint
- Thread the nut partially by hand
- Strike the control arm with a hammer to loosen it
- If the nut will not come off, hold the stud with a 9mm wrench and remove the 18mm nut
- If the nut still will not come off, heat it with a torch to loosen it and then remove it
- If you are not experienced with a torch, have this done by a professional
- Disconnect the ABS sensor wiring harness
- Remove the 10mm bolt from the brake line bracket
- Remove the two nuts that hold the control arm to the frame
- Remove the washers from the control arm
- Pull the control arm down and out
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step 3 :Installing the Control Arm
- Feed the control arm into place
- Fasten the two nuts that hold the control arm to the frame
- Fasten the 18mm bolt onto the ball joint
- Lower the vehicle
- Support the suspension with a jack
- Tighten the ball joint nut to 90 foot-pounds of torque
- Connect the ABS sensor wiring harness
- Put the brake line bracket into place
- Insert the 10mm bolt into the bracket
- Tighten the two nuts that hold the control arm to the frame to 100 foot-pounds
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step 4 :Installing the Wheel
- This step is not shown in the video
- Slide the wheel into place
- Start the lug nuts by hand
- Tighten the lug nuts preliminarily
- Lower the vehicle to the ground
- Tighten the lug nuts to the manufacturer's recommend torque specification in a crossing or star pattern
- Reattach the center cap
Tools needed
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A Piece of Pipe (for leverage)
Torque Wrench
Hammer
Pry Bar
18mm Wrench
Jack Stands
9mm Wrench
18mm Socket
19mm Socket
21mm Socket
Flat Blade Screwdriver
Acetylene torch
10mm Socket
Ratchet
Floor Jack
22mm Socket
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Hi, I'm Mike from 1A Auto. I hope this how-to video helps you out, and next time you need parts for your vehicle, think of 1AAuto.com. Thanks.
In this video, we're going to show you how to remove a front upper rusted control arm on this 2003 Mercury Mountaineer. The tools that you'll need for a regular upper control arm removal are a 10, 18, 19, 21 and 22mm socket and ratchet and a piece of pipe for some extra leverage; a hammer; jack and jack stands; a torque wrench; and a pry bar. For a rusted upper control arm, you may need a couple additional tools such as a torch but we'll explain that in this video.
From 2002 to 2005, this is a Mercury Mountaineer, Ford Explorer. Something to be on the look out for: That is not how your control arm should look. There's a big rust hole there. We're going to show you really quick . we've already got the wheel off, obviously . how to replace a rusty control arm. Spray this nut with some penetrating fluid and do the same thing to the two on the bottom of your upper control arm. With an eighteen millimeter socket and ratchet, use a pipe for some extra leverage, whenever you use a pipe, just do it slowly and carefully. Now here's what should happen with a regular upper control arm that isn't rusted out, as you just remove that nut same as you did on the other one. Then you just take the nut off and put it back on just a few threads and then hammer the wheel knuckle. Eventually it will drop down and then you just remove that nut and then you would go about removing the other two nuts.
When we're trying to loosen the nut, what you're always hoping will happen is that the ball joint will stay, basically, seized into the steering knuckle, but if you watch the stud here, the ball joint is now turning. Your next option is to try to use an 18mm wrench and a 9mm wrench or an 8mm wrench and hold that stud, but that's nearly impossible.
If you get to the point where the ball joint stud is spinning inside the steering knuckle and you are not familiar with how to use a cutting torch, then it's probably time to take it to a professional and you can drive it a short distance in the way it is or if you want try to tighten up that ball joint nut again. You can see here, first I'm going to try and heat up the nut, try to melt the nylon out of it and to see if I can get it to spin. That's unsuccessful, so the last option after that is to just cut the ball joint stud right off with the torch and that's what I end up doing.
Now just unclip this harness and pull it back. Reach up here and disconnect this harness. Just push on the tab and pull it free. This is the ABS sensor harness and you may have to access it from underneath the hood. Remove this 10mm bolt and we'll fast forward as Mike does that. Now remove those two nuts right here. We'll fast forward as Mike does that. To speed up the process, you can see that we've decided to use some air powered tools.
These washers, after you get them out from there, they actually have little holes they hook into. I just make sure I kept the front one here in the front and the back one in the back. It's easier to feed it up in place and then turn the mounting bar. I'm just starting the nut on and to get the washer on before the nut, you might need to lift the control arm up out of the . the stud up out of the hole a little bit, put the washer on, and then the nut. Push your wheel knuckle back and push that stud on the ball joint down through the wheel knuckle and then just replace that nut. Then just tighten up those three nuts on the upper control arm. Now tighten up the two back nuts to 110 foot-pounds and then the one on the ball joint tighten to 90 foot-pounds. Reconnect your harness.
We've got the vehicle lowered down and the suspension is on a jack so that the suspension is in its ride position and we're going to tighten this back nut to 100 foot pounds. The front side, we can't get a torque wrench on it just because of where it is so we're just tightening it up as much as we can with a good sized wrench.
We hope this video helps you out. Brought to you by www.1AAuto.com, your source for quality replacement parts and the best service on the Internet. Please feel free to call us toll-free, 888-844-3393. We're the company that's here for you on the Internet and in person.
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