1952-59 Ford Lower control arms

After replacing the Aerostar CC850 springs with the CC851 springs I ***umed that I would not be replacing springs again. So I tightened all the front suspension to specs with the weight of the car on the wheels. Of course In was wrong about the springs and now am going to put the original springs back in. Hopefully the result will be tire clearance when turning, the dropped spindles and Aerostar springs just did not work. Anyway, my question is regarding the lower control arms. It appears that I will need to loosen the bolts holding the arms in place to allow the arms to swing free to allow spring replacement. Is that correct, or did I do something wrong tightening them?

 

I always seem to misread your posts, but I'll try again....IMHO, you need to loosen all the upper and lowers so you can retighten with the arms in their new position. That would be as you did before with the weight of the car on them.

 

Thanks Rich. I will attempt to be clearer in the future.

 

The upper and lower control arms are designed to go up and down based on driving conditions. Before going to that trouble, I would try removal before loosening them as they may go up and down by hand.

I removed the springs on my 54 and if I remember correctly, I did not have to unloosen the control arms and were moveable by hand.

 

When I replaced my springs ,I didn't touch the CAS I just put a floor jack under the LCA and removed the ball joint nut.

 

That is what I expected Paul. I was surprised that I could not do the same.

 

Thanks mikhett, I don't know if it is because all the bushings are new or if I did something wrong tightening stuff.

 

dissconnect the shocks, remove the crown nut from the lower ball joint, jack the car up as high as you can. whack the housing around the ball joint with a ball peen hammer until the lower drops. the aerostar springs are short enough to slide out from there. also the type of spring (linear, dual rate, or progressive) could factor in on whether or not you get tire rub on the turns.

 

Believe me I know how to remove the springs by now, just confused by the tension on the lower control arm.

 

In my opinion, taking the nut off completely could result in some wicked backlash. Turning the nut up to the top of the stud will allow movement without everything coming apart and bouncing all over the place.

 

I agree Paul, I would never remove the nut until the ball joint has released.