Ford Escort 93 Hatchback Lower Suspension Arm Replacement

[cheesyhoward]

I have a Ford Escort Zetec 1.6 93/L car (93000 miles). It has just failed the MOT because the off side front lower suspension arm rear inner bush has perished and come out. I plan to change the arm myself. Are there any potential problems I need to look out for? Do the new arms come with the bushes already fitted? I think I will change the ball joint to spindle clamp bolt also. Are any other parts required? The arm from Ford is £48+vat. From Camberly Autofactors the price is £23+vat. Is it worth paying the extra to get the Ford part?

Any advice/help is much appreciated.

[chris h]

the arms are basically straight forward to replace, one bit advise i will give you is take the drive shaft out of the hub it will save a lot of time and effort.
i think main dealer parts are generally a lot better not the quality but thay seem to fit better.i would just check on whether the arm comes with the ball joint or not, i think you will have to grind the rivets off to get your old one off the arm so its probably easier the buy a new one. let me know how you go.

[larsen_huw]

Auto factor's parts are usually of sufficient quality to do the job better ... and their customer service is usally one hell of a lot better than Ford!

I'd say it's a no brainer .... go straight to Camberly Auto Factors.

[tich]

Just done 2 today on a 91 Escort. Used pattern parts, fitted no problems.

One word of advice, use a good tight fitting socket on the bolts that go through the bushes. If they round off it makes the job a lot harder!

Good luck

[rivolette]

... and their customer service is usally one hell of a lot better than Ford!


ROFL, funny thing you should mention that. A buddy of mine was travelling in his late model motorhome up the west coast here. So he breaks down and the beast happens to have Ford chassis and Ford engine in it. He hauls the motorhome into the nearest Ford dealer (who claims they do trucks also) and basically they tell him to F*** off!!! True story.

[cheesyhoward]

I got the old one off. The bolts/nuts were not a problem. Getting the ball joint out of the spindle was more work. I am having trouble getting the new one is place. I cannot line the holes up very well. Is there a particular method I should take eg line up and put the bolt in the rear section first? Or should I do the front or put the ball joint in first? I can’t get the ball joint in anyway because it the angle is wrong. It would be a lot easier if the shock absorber could be compressed a bit. So then the ball joint will go in more easily instead of at an angle. But there isn’t a way of doing it easily apart from jacking the brake disk, which will be asking for trouble. Any tips?

[tich]

If struggling then enlist help of someone to just take the strain of the suspension leg and pull it forward slightly (out of the way). Then line up the back bush first, put bolt in and tighten bolt a little to keep it in place. Then do the front bolt, you may need to use an old screwdriver or similar to just pull it into line. Then put that bolt in again to stop it coming out. Then if you lever the arm downwards and gently pull the suspension leg back into place until the ball joint is in the right place. You may need to just move the pin of the ball joint gently with hammer to line it up better. Once it begins to go home a few soft taps with hammer and block of wood under the joint will persuade it home.

Caution, MIND YOUR FINGERS when lining up the ball joint because if it slips at the wrong moment it will trap your fingers. AND IT HURTS! A LOT!

Once you've done one the other one is easy. Good luck again.

[cheesyhoward]

Just realised the new ball joint is seized. Cannot budge it. The new left arm ball joint moves. When I first got them from the shop the seized one had the rubber up over the grooved section while the left one was just below it. Going back tomorrow to get a replacement.

[cheesyhoward]

Managed to the right hand side. Wiggling the shock certainly helps. Had problems lining up the holes and getting the bolt through the upper sub frame mount. Eventually resorted to the rubber mallet. A few taps and bingo job almost done. Car ramps were useful for doing the final torque and yield of the bolts. Spent about 6 hours on it in total. Thanks for the help.

[cheesyhoward]

I have discovered a new noise that has got slightly more frequent and is quite loud compared to the engine. I think it is coming from the offside arm I changed. The sound is like something popping out and then back in (or visa-versa). It always occurs if I park the car with the left two wheels on the kerb. It pops when I get onto the kerb and again when the left wheels are back on the road. The double pop also sometimes occurs when I go round 90 degree turns. I have recorded the noise.

right then left turn (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/1_90_right_then_left.mp3)
onto kerb 1 (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/3_onto_kerb_and_off.mp3)
onto kerb 2 (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/3_onto_kerb_and_off2.mp3)
onto kerb 3 (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/3_onto_kerb_and_off3.mp3)

I installed the arm following the instructions in the Haynes manual. I tightened the 2 bolts finger tight and lowered the car to the ground. I then drove it straight onto ramps so that I could get underneath to tighten the bolts. I did 50Nm, slacken, 50Nm, a further 90 degrees. I have double checked the road wheel nuts and they are fine. Any ideas?

Another noise that was present on the left front suspension has been getting worse recently. It sounds like the spring is creaking. However when it is raining and the road is damp the noise does not occur. Speed bumps and tight corners seem to trigger the sound.

speed bump 1 (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/1_creek_over_speed_bump.mp3)
speed bump 2 (http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/1_creek_over_speed_bump2.mp3)

Could it be the upper suspension mountings? Are they easy to replace?

[rivolette]

You know howard, even though the noises you recorded are hard to distinguish, I gotta congratulate you, that's the most thorough description of any problem I've seen posted on these forums. I'm sure I'm not the only one who believes that ;)

[tich]

Agree good description.

Very difficult to diagnose noises without hearing them but it does sound like there is a problem with a wishbone. Ideally you need 1 person with a bar under the wheel levering up and down while you watch ball joint and bushes for movement. Perhaps put hand on them to feel for movement. Recheck tightness of all nuts/bolts.

As for noise on left side if it disappears when damp it would suggest a rubber bush or similar is causing your problem. Never done suspension top mounts, dont know what sort of job.

Good luck

[cheesyhoward]

Today I have made sure all the nuts & bolts at the rear of the car are tight (apart from the hub nut which I don’t have the tool for). I have also verified the front arm nuts & bolts are fully tight. I did not find anything loose. When I was doing this I noticed that the new arm middle bush is not in the same way as the existing new and near side arms.

appologies for the large pictures

In this image of the new arm notice the shiny ring is on the ground side of the arm.

http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/offside_new_arm.jpg

Notice in this image (the new arm for the nearside) that the shiny ring is on the same side as the ball joint

http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/nearside_new_arm_top.jpg

The underneth matches the existing near side arm. No shiny ring

http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/nearside_new_arm.jpg

http://www.hkbooks.freeserve.co.uk/carnoise/nearside_existing_old_arm.jpg

So it looks like the bush is in the wrong way round. Probably causeing my noise problem?

[cheesyhoward]

I fixed the problem by further tightening the arm bolts. Thanks for help.