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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.
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service on the Internet.
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