Mark Lower Control Arm Compatability

[puddlepirate]

Evening all, in removing the passenger side lower control arm this evening from our early 69 we found the lower rear portion underside to be taco'd over so far I could not get a socket on the shock bolt. As you can see in the picture, it appears that a previous owner had it in reverse and hit something pretty solid to bend it over.

While it might be fine to leave as is, I would prefer to replace it with an undamaged one. Looking around the web it seems there are very few available. One ebay listing specifies it's for Marks before 7/68, and all the connector holes seem to match what we've got. Ours appears to be May 68 based on the build sheet.

There are a couple of listings for ones fitting 69 through 79 (Mark III thru V), though there seem to be a couple of very slight differences. The shock on ours mounts via two studs underneath while the newer one has bolt holes to mount it. There is also an additional hole in the newer one next to the sway bar link. However the ball joints, shocks, the lower control arm bushings, strut rods, and the sway bar links seem to be interchangeable between them.

Am I on track with assuming that the newer 69-79 is a direct fit, or is there something I'm missing?

[frasern]

I would certainly replace that, it's amazing how many cars are running around with bent suspension parts like that. I expect that when the running change was made, the new part was backwards compatible. If it were not, the parts books would have a before and after date for the replacement part, if no such date is shown you are good to go.

[Lee]

I’d also check that strut rod and its bracket to make sure something else didn’t bend.

[puddlepirate]

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it very much. We (teen/tween boys and I) have the entirety of the front suspension and steering removed right now to replace every rubber component, ball joints, etc, and apply some paint. The strut rods both seem perfectly straight, but the bushings on the passenger side were so far gone there were only a few bits of rubber left. It appears the lower arm was the only casualty of whatever happened, thankfully!

It's been interesting with zero info on the background of the car to see a few oddities here and there and discuss with them what they think might have happened to cause them.

Thanks again!!

[Dan Szwarc]

Here's the cross reference for the LCAs.

[Mike]

If no other front end parts changed mid-year the later one should be usable.

[1Bad55Chevy]

Thanks for the responses guys, I appreciate it very much. We (teen/tween boys and I) have the entirety of the front suspension and steering removed right now to replace every rubber component, ball joints, etc, and apply some paint. The strut rods both seem perfectly straight, but the bushings on the passenger side were so far gone there were only a few bits of rubber left. It appears the lower arm was the only casualty of whatever happened, thankfully!

It's been interesting with zero info on the background of the car to see a few oddities here and there and discuss with them what they think might have happened to cause them.

Thanks again!!

You will need to replace the rears next. Here is a thread when I did mine.
https://www.thelincolnforum.net/phpbb3/ ... le#p415277

[puddlepirate]

Following up on this, I ended up getting one from ebay, off of a 77 Cougar. No issues with fitment whatsoever. I've never been a fan of press-in ball joints so that's my only minor complaint. We're doing a bit more front end cleanup and paint with the steering and front suspension completely off of the car, but we'll be moving on to the rear control arms in the next week or two, pending decent weather.

Thanks again for the assistance!!