Hey all, I'm slowly working on replacing everything on my 04, just haven't posted in a while on my thread.
Question regarding the control arm mounts, has anyone replaced the factory ones with the adjustable ones? Also the upper ball joint, is it worth buying the camber/caster adjustable and do they last or just stick with the regular one since I'm not going lower or anything ?
Thanks for your input

 

I replaced both front UCA's in 2019 in my '00 RL and went with regular ( non adjustable BJ's ) units. IMO if your front tires are wearing evenly and normally across the tread width, then there is no need to have BJ adjustable plates (for camber corrections ). I'll let sleeping dogs lie. My 2 cents. FYI, got the units ( Mevotech ) from RockAuto.

 

Thanks I was thinking the same thing. Have the mevotechs held up over the years? I like the price but usually go with other brands because I'm not sure how solid mevotechs are.

 

Sorry, but as I understand it, there are no aftermarket options for 02-04' RLs. We use a different UCA than the 96-01s, namely the bearings are larger. Maybe try to press out the existing ball joint.

 

I had to go to adjustable upper control arm ball joint after installing lowering springs back in the day on one side to get my camber number within specifications. I went to coil overs last year and needed adjustable ball joints on both upper control arms to get within the correct alignment specifications. Not necessary if your not changing to aftermarket suspension parts.

 

45K ( in kms. Vehicle now has 270K ) so far with the Mevotechs ( bought those w/greasable zerk BJ's) and no signs of any trouble. Per 1186KA9's reply, I do not see RockAuto listing any UCA's for '02 - '04 RLs. Did not check if the OEM BJ could be replaced when I did the changeout. Reason for my work was passenger side's one of the pivoting BJ's that attached to fender frame had worn a bit and I got a thumping sound everytime I rode over uneven/washboard ground. If your present UCA's three movable parts are just stiff but without any slop, try injecting some chassis grease w/needle nose attachment. I do this with the Mevotech's two pivoting joints which have no zerks as a PM.

 

I replaced with oem. Needless to say, no issues.

 

Thanks for the update. Happy motoring !

 

Thanks for all the responses guys, yeah I was talking about the uca ball joints and the uca anchor bolts, both of those come oem and adjustable style, and the uca ball joint is replaceable so I'm planning on doing that. I'll just got with OEM style thanks!