Upper Control Arm Options

[gwhalin]

Other than alignment is their any other benefit to replacing UCAs? I see a lot of them mention increased travel. Is this not something we might want in an off road situation? Just curious as I am very much an amateur on this stuff.

Sponsored

 

[RoadBoss]

Other than alignment is their any other benefit to replacing UCAs? I see a lot of them mention increased travel. Is this not something we might want in an off road situation? Just curious as I am very much an amateur on this stuff.

Upper control arms alone won't help increase travel on these trucks, but they will help if you're modifying the other parts of the truck that limit it.

They'll also add a bit more strength to your front suspension if you're doing a lot of really rough trails - Though I can say I've never had a problem with stock ones, and I push my truck pretty hard.

 

[Frenchy]

Other than alignment is their any other benefit to replacing UCAs? I see a lot of them mention increased travel. Is this not something we might want in an off road situation? Just curious as I am very much an amateur on this stuff.

Something to keep in mind, if you are only lifting the front by 1-2 inches you most likely will not need the upper control arms. How did I come to this conclusion you ask? I have the Old Man EMU Lift wich lifts the front by 2.4 amd the rear by 1.6 and the front still has factory control arms. Mind you I have taken the truck Offroad plenty and have had the suspension for 30,000 miles already with no major issue.

 

[YaBoiNewton]

Hi Erik,

Not really true on no worries....Chloride compounds, like salt attack the protective coating of Aluminum oxide that forms on the outside of an aluminum part, and thus results in terrible corrosion. For this upper control arm, I would watch it like a hawk for corrosion unless the manufacturer has coated it with a protective, and durable coating. Based on the thickness of this UCA, it should be a non issue for many miles of useful life, but it should not be ignored, but inspected for corrosion. I would be interested in the CAE modeling of this part to understand if it is really robust enough for the front suspension. Likely this part was never analyzed.... What load cases, what were the boundary conditions. Where were the SPC's applied etc. As always...Buyer be aware!

Best,
Phil Schilke
Ranger Vehicle Engineering
Ford Motor Co. Retierd

I would bring to everyone's attention all of the bare aluminum frame boat lifts down here in central Florida that are in nearly perfect condition after years of being submerged in saltwater.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I would bring to everyone's attention all of the bare aluminum frame boat lifts down here in central Florida that are in nearly perfect condition after years of being submerged in saltwater.

Submerged as in little or no oxygen exposure. UCAs are not submerged, eh? And the ribbing lends itself so trapping and holding crud including chloride compounds.

 

[YaBoiNewton]

Submerged as in little or no oxygen exposure. UCAs are not submerged, eh?

Maybe I should have said "repeatedly submerged" lol I'm referring to an aluminum I-beam cradle that lifts or lowers a boat out of the water. The snowbirds have their cradles raised most of the year, but the locals can get daily salt baths before getting hung up to dry! It's actually pretty cool how much they don't corrode, especially in contrast to the galvanized steel cradles.

 

[RedDakooter05]

I thought watching poor people fight over a discount pork chop in a grocery store was entertaining, but engineers arguing over technical data is even better.

 

[P. A. Schilke]

I thought watching poor people fight over a discount pork chop in a grocery store was entertaining, but engineers arguing over technical data is even better.

Maybe I should have said "repeatedly submerged" lol I'm referring to an aluminum I-beam cradle that lifts or lowers a boat out of the water. The snowbirds have their cradles raised most of the year, but the locals can get daily salt baths before getting hung up to dry! It's actually pretty cool how much they don't corrode, especially in contrast to the galvanized steel cradles.

Yeah compared to galvanized steel for sure. I doubt the aftermarket control arms were subjected to any salt spray testing as required by Ford for critical parts and program specific directives, so I am sticking by my admonishment to keep tabs on these aftermarket UCA if exposed to road salt.

best,
Phil

 

[YaBoiNewton]

I thought watching poor people fight over a discount pork chop in a grocery store was entertaining, but engineers arguing over technical data is even better.

Only 4 years on the job, I'll often defer to the expertise of the veterans in the industry like Phil or most of my colleagues, but with all due respect I'm feeling confident with this one lol

 

[YaBoiNewton]

Yeah compared to galvanized steel for sure. I doubt the aftermarket control arms were subjected to any salt spray testing as required by Ford for critical parts and program specific directives, so I am sticking by my admonishment to keep tabs on these aftermarket UCA if exposed to road salt.

best,
Phil

Fair enough, it never hurts to keep an eye on things.

I have personally run three projects through conditioning including USCAR salt spray and my uncoated, carbon steel pressure vessels only experienced superficial amounts of corrosion. Gives me some confidence that these high end UCAs will be largely unaffected.

Sponsored