Front and rear control arm hardware specs

[SilentNoise]

OK, I had to do a whole lot of browsing to find this information, so to hopefully save people some time in the future, I'm going to completely ignore part numbers and links from online stores because most people should have a local place they can get their nuts and bolts. This is all of the stuff I'll be using on my 83 Mustang and should be everything anyone needs to know in order to buy new hardware:


For this project I've chosen to use Grade 10.9 steel (Gr.8 if you're using the imperial system) nuts and bolts Ford uses this hardness as standard hardware.


These specs should be good for 79-93 Stangs, but I'm uncertain about the 94-04s - IMO, I think they should cover those cars as well but I right now I can't be certain.



YOU ONLY NEED ONE GROUP OF HARDWARE, BUT YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS TO CHOOSE FROM: FLANGED NUTS AND BOLTS, OR REGULAR NUTS AND BOLTS USED WITH WASHERS:

Quote: SPECS IF YOU ARE USING FLANGED HARDWARE: Rear Upper & Lower Control Arms: 4 needed..... Flanged hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, 81.5mm length (can use 80mm or 90mm - I prefer the 90mm option because I'd rather have it be longer than barely enough), coarse thread 4 needed..... Flanged hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, 104mm length (can use 110mm), coarse thread 8 needed..... Flanged Nylon-Insert Locknut, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, coarse thread Front Control Arms: 4 needed..... Flanged hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size, 117.5mm length (can use 120mm), coarse thread 4 needed..... Flanged Nylon-Insert Locknut, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size, coarse thread

Quote: SPECS IF YOU ARE USING REGULAR HARDWARE WITH WASHERS: (longer bolts to make room for washers) Rear Upper & Lower Control Arms: 4 needed..... Hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, 90mm length, coarse thread 4 needed..... Hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, 110mm length, coarse thread 8 needed..... Nylon-Insert Locknut, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size, coarse thread 8 needed..... Regular washer - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size (use this against bolt heads) 8 needed..... Lock washer - Grade 10.9 steel, M12 bolt size (use this against nuts) Front Control Arms: 4 needed..... Hex head, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size, 130mm length, coarse thread 4 needed..... Nylon-Insert Locknut, metric - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size, coarse thread 4 needed..... Regular washer - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size (use this against bolt heads) 4 needed..... Lock washer - Grade 10.9 steel, M16 bolt size (use this against nuts)

NOTE: I highly recommend using some sort of anti-seize (ie: Copper Coat) on the threads before bolting everything down.



I see no reason for these specs not to cover all 79-93 Mustangs, but I'm not sure if they'll work all the way up to 2004 or not, so please double-check if you're working on any 94-04 Mustang.
I HAVE NOT USED THIS HARDWARE ON THE 94-04 STANGS, THESE ARE JUST MY THOUGHTS ON THE MATTER:

• Rear upper control arms can be exchanged through 79-04, so this hardware should work there.
• Rear lower control arms are interchangeable as well, so this hardware should work through the 79-04 years as well. Some companies, like Maximum Motorsports have different LCAs for 79-98 & 99-04s, so I'm not sure what's up with that.
• Front control arms went through changes between 93 and 94, but 94-04 front control arms can be used on the 79-93 Mustangs, so I think that the front hardware specs should be OK for all 79-04 Mustangs.

[MonteCitan]

Good call, this would have been helpful when I put my MM rears on..

[FloppyRunner]

I don't want to bring this thread back from the dead, but I wanted to thank the OP for it. It was very useful to me, and I'd love to see more like it in the future. Also, I'll be making my own similar to it with routine repairs.

Edit: ...I guess that's what the "thanks" button is for...