Rousch UCA

[stevenh]

Going after my wheelhop, was going to use the Rousch UCA and the Shelby LCA's.

If adding the one piece driveshaft can I still use the Rousch?

Also if car is not lowered do I need the relocation brackets?

Thanks

[08KR525]

If you're using the non-adjustable Roush UCA and lower the car with a non-CV one piece driveshaft, then it won't work as you will not be able to adjust pinion angle. Using the adjustable UCA or a CV jointed one piece driveshaft and from everything I've read you should be able to lower the car with no issues.

[baknblk]

08 kr is correct ! I did that and had major problems !

[LuckySnake]

Going after my wheelhop, was going to use the Rousch UCA and the Shelby LCA's.

If adding the one piece driveshaft can I still use the Rousch?

Also if car is not lowered do I need the relocation brackets?

Thanks

 

The Roush UCA is a quality replacement, built to last and it may be all you need to correct the wheel hop. You can use a one piece DS without issue, I have. You can get a better bite with the relocation brackets at stock height but you loose a bit of handling, I wouldn't use the brackets at stock height unless your willing to sacrifice handling. As others metioned, with the car lowered you may experience pinion angle problems (vibration) while using a non-adjustable UCA, if you decide to lower your car. My car is lowered with an FRPP kit, non-adjustable UCA and I have had zero issues with a one piece DS.

I would go with a Roush UCA first and see how your car does.

[3ponies]

Come on guys is this Top Gear? ROUSH! Jack is not French..

[LuckySnake]

Come on guys is this Top Gear? ROUSH! Jack is not French..

 

Thank you

[Kevin Patten]

Saw this post and thought I would chime in . First of all regardless of ride height your rear lower control arms should be parallel to the ground while the vehicle is sitting. Most people put on the lower control arms to get rid of the high compliance bushings that Ford put in the front of the lower arm -the best lower control arm is one that has a poly front bushing and a heim jointed rear bushing ( this takes up the excessive play but also frees up some/most of the articulation problems associated with a 3 link solid axle design which your car has )and use the relocation brackets to establish the parallelism . Note - if you lower the vehicle make sure that you either change or trim the suspension bump stops if not you will be limiting you rear suspension travel and be riding on the stops ( a check on this is to place a swipe of grease on top of the bump stops and drive around the car then jack it up and check for grease on the frame section above it - if there is grease on the frame then you are bottoming out the suspension - trim the bump stop ) .As far as an adjustable upper control arm goes - the sole reasons of going to one is to adjust pinion working angle / pinion angle change during suspension travel. This is already getting lengthy so go buy a book / learn about u-joint working angles ( min angles for needle bearings to rotate/lube and front to rear angle/ working angles) Bite on launch and also corner exit can be changed with pinion angle change along with spring rates/suspension travel/CG/instant roll centers/sway bar sizes,etc... Here again on the upper control arm one usually recomends a poly bushing up front and if you really want I suggest a heim joint be placed in the upper bushing location of the differential to finish the job of freeing up the axle articulation issues( Steeda makes one ). You may have noticed that companys make a multi-position upper link mount bracket - the reason for this is to change the intersecting line which is one line drawn through the lower control arm front to rear bushing which should be level and a second line drawn through the front and rear pivot points of the upper arm. The intersecting point should fall somewhere between the front axle centerline and a point which is at axle center height half way between the front axle line and the rear axle line ( this measurement is done on a level surface at the stationary ride height ). This placement will be different based upon need , based on application and needs to be maintained throughout the rear suspension travel. Last part for now - torque arms are used to mimimize pinion angle change during suspension change (less of an angle change due to alot longer length and mounted from under the pinion ) but abide by the same rules. Problem is that torque arm length is critical to vehicle wheelbase and really needs to be calculated out for proper front mounting point ( hopefully the manufactuer did his/her math before putting it on the market ) I'm tired-soak this in and hope it helps .

[ViperNC]

What about using adjustable LCA's with a poly front bushing and heim jointed rear with the anti wheel hop relocation brackets, poly diff bushing and the stock UCA? BMR recommended this set up to me today and I bought the parts. Do you see any issues with suspension travel, or pinion angle if the car is lowered with Ford racing springs?

[Kevin Patten]

Using adjustable LCA's allows you to place the rear axle perpendicular to the chassis centerline (do not cofuse this with having equal wheelbase because a difference in caster side to side will cause wheelbase to be off) I would suggest that you first set the adjustable LCA's to the same length as the stock units. Refer to post #7 for reference to axle articulation for suggestion on where the UCA poly bushing should be placed (by putting it on the diff you will be defeating the purpose of having heims on the lowers). Also it doesn't hurt to put o-rings on the sides of your heim ends to aid in keeping out road dirt(Jim Fay does this on his Fays2 watts linkage). It's better to put a poly bushing in the front of the rear UCA and leave the stock one in the diff. Post #7 also addresses the question you have on suspension travel and how to set the position on the lower arm relocate brackets. The other issue is with the panard rod possibly hitting the stock stamped panard support brace and centering the axle in the chassis - here I would suggest you install an adjustable panard bar (poly bush or heim jointed) and a BMR support brace(it angles up by the frame mount then crosses over)along with a panard bar relocation bracket for clearance issues. Pinion angle should not be an issue with lowering springs but , should always be checked. Pinion angle issues arise when going over to a one piece driveshaft and an adjustable UCA is needed to correct the problem. TIP- the bushing on the top of the diff is a directional/torselastic type which means it goes in a particular way and the bolt going through it gets tightened/torqued when the vehicle is sitting on the ground/rack (unbound position-neutral)so it will twist the rubber as the axle goes up and down. If you tighten with the axle hanging it puts the bushing in a bind when sitting still and will shorten its life. Poly bushings come with a steel sleeve in the center which should be slightly longer than the poly portion so when the through bolt gets tightened down it holds the sleeve locked in place and allows the poly portion to rotate with the arm or bar which ever it is attached to. Grease the outer portion of the sleeve and the inner portion of the bushing along with the sides of the bushing to prevent binding and noise issues. Some manufacturers place a grease fitting on their arms/bars, make sure to align the passage or gap up with the grease fitting or lube up the outer diameter of the bushings as the manufacturer has designed the bushing to be a floating type between the arm/bar and the center sleeve. On poly bushings and heim jointed ends you can tighten/torque the bolts down with the suspension hanging down . Just be sure you check on assembly that your parts are NOT being preloaded or binding through the suspension travel.

[dbackg]

Good posts Albino.