MTAS

Hey gang, a buddy and I installed the BMR LCA's today, here are the pics!
First jack up both sides of the car, put a jackstand under the rear of each sub-frame and remove the rear wheels.

MTAS

Next, use a flat blade screwdriver to pry up on the e-brake cable and pop it out of it's retainer

MTAS

Use a pair of pliers to remove the clip holding the cable to the brake assembly, then pull the cable out of the way

MTAS

Use an 18mm socket to remove the bolt at the front of the LCA, then switch to a wrench when you run out of room - you'll know what I'm talking about when you do it

MTAS

Use the 18mm socket again to remove the rear bolt, and the LCA will slip out of place

MTAS

The reinstall of the new LCA's is where it will require a partner. The front end goes in first and will require one person at the front of it holding it, and the other person at the other end of it pushing on it to help align the holes. Slip the bolt in and thread it through the nut retainer - do not fully torque it down yet, only get it tight. The rear hole takes some muscle One person to hold the LCA in place and see when the hole is aligned, and the other person laying under the car with his/her feet toward the front of the car. You can put your hands on the muffler for leverage, and put one foot on the lower shock mount and one near that where ever you can and push. The other person must have the bolt ready to slip into place when the holes line up. Tighten the bolt, reattach the e-brake cable and its retainer, and use a tie-wrap to hold the cable to the new LCA and you're done with one side. Follow the same procedure for the other side.

Once you have them both on, it's time to tighten the bolts to the required torque which in my case was 75lb/ft. Get 2 more jackstands and put one under each lower shock mount. This will require one person lowering the jack veryslowly and the other person moving the jackstand to the correct position so it doesn't interfere with the lower bolt that's there (you'll see what I mean when you're under there). Do this for both sides, and remove the jackstands that were under the sub-frames. Now the rear suspension is loaded and you can torque the bolts down with a torque wrench.

Put the tires back on, lower everything down and take 'er for a spin. I did notice that hard launches were much smoother. I didn't do a full-on burnout, but did several hard, tire sqealing launches and there was no axle hop what so ever - just the smooth laying down of 2 nice patches I noticed no discernable increase in road noise or harshness in ride. Boss Hog did mention this after his install of BMR LCA's, but he went with the units with a spherical bearing at the front - mine have a urethane bearing at both ends which could make a difference. Neither one is perfect for everyone, just depends on your goals for your car

A very worthwhile and easy to do mod Just take your time, double check the weight of the car on the jackstands before getting under it, and make sure you have someone to help and you'll be fine!

FordRacing

Nice, I put on a set of the adjustable ones yesterday. Pretty simple job. BMR builds quality products!
I also welded the axle tubs to the center section while I was crawling around under there. (highly recommend this for anyone that is going to drag race their cars)

Import-Slaya

Thanks for the write-up and pictures!

Is the second person needed to muscle the rear axle assembly around while aligning the holes, or is it due to a tighter fit of the new arms or something else? Guess I'll have to bribe a neighbor with beer.

GRAYPNY

Could this be an easy installation while having springs installed on your car? What other benefits would you get from this other than helping wheel hop? I am installing a Steeda front tower struct brace and a set o Eibach Pro Kit springs. I have never done any kind of suspension work so this may sound like a stupid question. Thx~

AhhDrJones

great write up!
There should be a sticky for these kind of threads. like a Installation Walkthrough section. (Attention Moderators)
since I saw that I'm going to add those LCA's to my list of "Do it yourselfers"

MTAS

The axle actually moves (twists) when the rear bolt is taken out.

GRAYPNY

Would someone in the know answer my question please?

FordRacing

Rich,
To answer your question yes it would be a simple install, either when you do your springs or just on there own. It took me about 30 minutes to swap them out Very easy.

MJC302

Excellent pics!! Hope this improved any wheel hop problem. You helped make my decision easier. Just one item though...you might want to cleanup and coat your underside rust area's when doing the mods. It's a pain but worth it in the long run as you continue to add suspension mods. Just a thought. B)

jontall

I never could understand why Ford paints their truck rearends but not the rearends on their cars. The LCA's look great... Ford needs to start putting a coat of paint on those rears.

Blk05GT

Great post Dave. Definitely a mod I am going to invest in.

MTAS

Excellent pics!! Hope this improved any wheel hop problem. You helped make my decision easier. Just one item though...you might want to cleanup and coat your underside rust area's when doing the mods. It's a pain but worth it in the long run as you continue to add suspension mods. Just a thought. B)
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I hear ya My wife would have me Baker Acted if she saw me masking off the underside of the car to paint the axle housings

aremann2

Dave, where did you purchase your lca?, Rod

MTAS

Rod, you can get them online from BMR Fabircation for around $120 (for the ones I have), or if they're at a major event near you, you can get them at a discount like I did. I might get one of their powder coated strut tower braces this weekend at the NMRA Spring Nationals in Bradenton. The guy gave me a killer price - $142

aremann2

Dave thanks for the info,do you think you could have done them alone if you had a lift?