Hey Gabe -- how did you get the bolt out, that connects the upper control arm to the differential bushing?

I am in the middle of doing this, and I cannot get that sucker out . . . it is stuck in there, but good . . .I have raised and lowered the axle several times, tried a lot of different heights/positions to try to relieve the pressure on the bolt, hit it with a fairly large hammer to drive it out . . . no luck. I am almost ready to give up and take it to a shop. I have new upper control arm, bracket, and bushing all ready to go in, just need to get that sucker out!

 

If it's the factory bolt in the factory bushing, and it's never been out, it might be seized to the metal inner sleeve.
Have you tried any penetrating oil?
It came out fairly easily for me, I used a regular hammer and just tapped it out.

 

Thanks Gabe -- I did use penetrating oil on the outer part of the bolt to get the nut off, but not on the inner part . . . it feels more like it is fused to the rubber bushing.

But anyway, meanwhile, I decided to pay my local drivetrain shop to do it, and they can do the pinion angle setting at the same time. I am putting the newer 2011+ design mount with the longer arm in my 2010 car, so the length of the control arm will need to be adjusted to get the pinion angle right; and I don't have a lift that will allow me to do that. They have been very good for me in the past, one of the few shops I can go to and feel like my money is well spent, that it was worth paying them to do the job instead of doing it myself.

I have other things to work on, will be posting up on progress soon!

 

Last Thursday my doc said go ahead, walk. Whaaaaaaaaat? X-rays looked perfect and he said that I can start learning to walk again. Almost a week now and I’m not close to weaning myself off my walker but I’m getting there and it’s light at the end of this tunnel. So I really didn’t do anything to my Mustang today, but I’m sure thinking about it. Soon!

I hope I can add Mustang pics and actual things I’ve done to it to this thread soon.

 

Good luck buddy!
I hope it's sooner than later.

 

Great news indeed!

 

Wow, sorry to hear about your fall and then having to have surgery. I can feel for you some, had to have back surgery in 2018. Was laid-up for a while. It is not fun to be shut down when you want to be out doing. Especially in the good weather months. Best wishes getting back to "running" form. Hope all goes well and you are back to driving the Stang very soon! (of course the honey do list is probably the priority.)

 

Thanks guys!

My wife is at her wits end and I’m already frightened about the list I’m gonna get. Once I get in my car I may just keep driving. 😂

 

 

Working on the slow-to-retract driver seatbelt in the Shelby.
Bucket of water, some laundry detergent, some dishwashing liquid (why not?), and about 20 minutes later I can't see the bottom of the bucket anymore.
Guess 12 years and almost 77,000 miles of wear has built up some grime on there.
From what I hear this is a good way to get its retracting speed back.
I'll find out.

 

Great idea I would have never thought of this simple solution! Thanks for posting it!

 

Thanks, but it didn't cure it 100%. It's better, but certainly not back-to-new condition.

 

At-a-boy Gabe! You would think with all that grime you got out, it should be working at 100% again? Perhaps some WD-40 might help? Anyhow, for what it's worth, you did an awesome job and sure looks like new again

 

Thanks Rocky.

Today we finally had the chance to take the Shelby out for a good drive, after all the recent work I did to it.
The rear-end extremely well-behaved, quiet, firm, and controlled. No more rattles/clunks over every little bump, and easier to engage first or reverse.
The new upper diff bushing and stabilizer bar & links bushings are working great.

As far as the driver's seat belt, this morning I used some 400-grit thin sandpaper to clean the belt slots in the upper mount and the "presenter" thing. Seat belt now reels back in better.
Between the drama-free rear and the seat belt no longer becoming a coiled up mess behind her seat every time she unbuckled, the wife is much happier with the car.
Yay, I get to stay another couple of weeks, lol.

 

Glad the new bushings resolved all the rattle/clunking noises Gabe! I'm sure your also extremely glad the wife is much happier with the seat belt drama now behind you as well lol. Meanwhile, congrats on another job well done and "Happy 4th of July"

 

Thank you Rocky, and same to you and yours!

 

Great job Gabe. You know what they say. Happy wife leads to happy life.
Going to try the seat belt fix on my sport track.

 

Finally back “walking” again...sort of. Just about off the walker and on a cane. Two plus more weeks and I might even be able to drive.

Looking forward to starting my car after nine months without one start since winter storage. A little nervous about it since the longest I’ve gone in the past was five or six months. Still need to have my convertible headliner dealt with since it started separating from that overhead bar above the front seats. Not looking forward to my top being pulled apart or the cost. Once that’s done a full out detail and maybe have some annoying cosmetic (to me anyway) issues repaired. Then I can finally think of some mods. Ahhhhh...

I know this a “what did you do to your Mustang today?” thread but I’m using it as therapy.

 

Glad to read you are close to getting back to normal!
I had my inside roof liner replaced on my Mazda 6 about 5 years ago. I want to say the bill was less than $200 and they did a nice job.

 

Awesome man.
The sooner, the better! Good luck.