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I am tired of telling people there has to be!

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    I am tired of telling people there has to be!

    Ok, will someone tell me they know what I am talking about!
    On my '86 Tudor MGM 5.0 there are no upper ball joint(s)........just a thick piece of rubber!
    Only the bottom of the suspension has ball joints.

    So why are so many I speak to insistent that my car HAS to have upper ball joints!

    My '79 Ford LTD was the same .....no upper balls.

    #2
    There is a rubber boot over the joint. If that's what you're talking about. Your car has ball joints. Uppers and lowers.
    1990 MGM: $50 E7 heads, HO cam, Holley SysteMAX lower intake, HO upper intake with an Explorer TB. LSC ECM. Lincoln logs into stock dual exhaust. K&N drop in air filter. Wide ratio AOD, 2400 converter with a 3.08 one tire fire out back. Car is less slow now. Then there's the '92 Beater. Dual 2.25" exhaust with shiny tips. Rumbles nice. Super slow. Burns oil too.

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      #3
      You have upper ball joints and so did your '79.
      ~David~

      My 1987 Crown Victoria Coupe: The Brown Blob
      My 2004 Mercedes Benz E320:The Benz

      Originally posted by ootdega
      My life is a long series of "nevermind" and "I guess not."

      Originally posted by DerekTheGreat
      But, that's just coming from me, this site's biggest pessimist. Best of luck

      Originally posted by gadget73
      my car starts and it has AC. Yours doesn't start and it has no AC. Seems obvious to me.




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        #4
        The upper ball joint looks a little different from the angle you are most likely looking at it, and the top of the upper (if you can see it) looks different than the bottom of the lower. Assuming they have been replaced at least once, you should find a grease fitting if you dig through the pile of dirt/grease on top that may be hiding it.
        Pete ::::>>> resident LED addict and CFI defector LED bulb replacements
        'LTD HPP' 85 Vic (my rusty baby) '06 Honda Reflex 250cc 'Baileys' 91 Vic (faded cream puff) ClifFord 'ODB' 88 P72 (SOLD) '77 LTDII (RIP)
        sigpic
        85HPP's most noteworthy mods: CFI to SEFI conversion w/HO upperstuff headers & flowmasters P71 airbox Towncar seats LED dash light-show center console w/5 gauge package LED 3rd brake light 3G alternator mini starter washer/coolant bottle upgrade Towncar power trunk pull underhood fuse/relay box 16" HPP wheels - police swaybars w/poly rubbers - budget Alpine driven 10 speaker stereo

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          #5
          Are you perhaps talking about the thick rubber weather shields? They cover the upper control arms from certain angles.
          03 Marauder DPB, HS, 6disk, Organizer Mods> LED's in & Out, M&Z rear control arms, Oil deflector, U-Haul Trans Pan, Blue Fuzzy Dice
          02 SL500 Silver Arrow
          08 TC Signature Limited, HID's Mods>235/55-17 Z rated BFG G-Force Comp-2 A/S Plus, Addco 1" rear Sway, Posi Carrier, Compustar Remote Start, floor liners, trunk organizer, Two part Sun Visors, B&M Trans drain Plug, Winter=05 Mustang GT rims, Nokian Hakkapeliitta R-2 235/55-17
          12 Escape Limited V6 AWD, 225/65R17 Vredestein Quatrac Pro, Winter 235/70-16 Conti Viking Contact7 Mods>Beamtech LED headlight bulbs, Husky floor liners

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            #6
            say what?

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            1986 lincoln towncar signature series. 5.0 HO with thumper performance ported e7 heads, 1.7 roller rockers, warm air intake, 65mm throttle body, 1/2" intake spacer, ported intakes, 3.73 rear with trac lock, 98-02 front brake conversion, 92-97 rear disc conversion, 1" rear swaybar, 1 3/16" front swaybar, 16" wheels and tires, loud ass stereo system, badass cb, best time to date 15.94 at 87 mph. lots of mods in the works 221.8 rwhp 278 rwt
            2006 Lincoln Town Car Signature. Stock for now
            1989 Ford F-250 4x4 much much more to come, sefi converted so far.
            1986 Toyota pickup with LSC wheels and 225/60/16 tires.
            2008 Hyundai Elantra future Revcon toad
            1987 TriBurner and 1986 Alaska stokers keeping me warm. (and some pesky oil heat)

            please be patient, rebuilding an empire!

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              #7
              You know, I have been looking at the car for yrs, same as the '79 LTD.........and I only see the upper arm attached to a very thick slab of rubber, Christ, I have got to get this POS on the lift and see for myself!
              This is insane!...........180 degrees different than my Studebaker front end with king pins and 22 zerks!!

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                #8
                pics would help.......79's were odd, tubular upper arms, they went to the stamped arms sometime in 1980

                1986 lincoln towncar signature series. 5.0 HO with thumper performance ported e7 heads, 1.7 roller rockers, warm air intake, 65mm throttle body, 1/2" intake spacer, ported intakes, 3.73 rear with trac lock, 98-02 front brake conversion, 92-97 rear disc conversion, 1" rear swaybar, 1 3/16" front swaybar, 16" wheels and tires, loud ass stereo system, badass cb, best time to date 15.94 at 87 mph. lots of mods in the works 221.8 rwhp 278 rwt
                2006 Lincoln Town Car Signature. Stock for now
                1989 Ford F-250 4x4 much much more to come, sefi converted so far.
                1986 Toyota pickup with LSC wheels and 225/60/16 tires.
                2008 Hyundai Elantra future Revcon toad
                1987 TriBurner and 1986 Alaska stokers keeping me warm. (and some pesky oil heat)

                please be patient, rebuilding an empire!

                Comment


                  #9
                  I've seen those tubular arms on 1980 Towncars. They did have upper ball joints, but I think it was a different and specific one that can't be gotten. The fix for those is changing the arms to later ones. But yeah, its got ball joints in there someplace. Baby LTD or Marquis does not, but thats a different animal entirely.
                  86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                  5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                  91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                  1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                  Originally posted by phayzer5
                  I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

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                    #10
                    Take some pictures for us. I think you are seeing the weather (splash) shields.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      yeah there is absolutely a ball-joint on every panther chassis car. They're upper and lower A-arm style cars, and the only way any company has designed those for decades is with a balljoint. Don't let any coverings fool you.

                      85 4 door 351 Civi Crown Victoria - Summer daily driver, sleeper in the making, and wildly inappropriate autocross machine
                      160KMs 600cfm holley, shorty headers, 2.5" catted exhaust, 255/295 tires, cop shocks, cop swaybars, underdrive pulley, 2.73L gears.
                      waiting for install: 3.27's, Poly bushings, boxed rear arms, 2500 stall converter, ported e7's, etc

                      06 Mazda 3 hatch 2.3L 5AT (winter beater that cost more than my summer car)

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                        #12
                        There's is no way a hunk of rubber can with stand the forces needed to keep the front suspension together. The springs alone has enough force to kill a man. Not to mention forces of braking, cornering, or even going over railroad tracks. Rubber would not work. Like the other guys are saying the proof is in the pics…lets see some pics of what you’re talking about.


                        sigpic

                        I'd rather be a failure at something I love than a success at something I hate.
                        George Burns

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                          #13
                          I hate to admit this, but I do not think the upper bj's were ever lubed:-(..............I purchased the car from the original owner about 15 years ago, and as I am always with the car while on the lift, I always remember the tech saying no upper ball to lube, and I feel stupid because I only saw what appeared to be a huge solid piece of rubber at the upper portion of the spindle!
                          So, assume the car has never had the upper bj's lubed, what damage have I done, and more to the point, how do I know if I have done damage? Is there a plug that must be removed to put in a standard Zerk fitting??
                          Guys, don't beat me up too severely:-(

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Not sure which years that Ford started the practice, but the suspension joints stopped using grease zerks and were "sealed for life". I think this was probably on the 90+ models, though. If the upper ball joints were replaced, its possible that they did not have zerks either. I try to stick with Moog replacements as they usually have a zerk.
                            Nick


                            Past: 1967 Continental convertible, 1987 TC Cartier, 1996 TC DAE & Signature, 2002 LS V8, 2006 Zephyr, 2010 MKZ AWD, and many more.....
                            Current: 2010 F-150 Platinum Supercrew 4x4
                            Wanted: 1967 or 1969 Contnential sedan
                            Only in my dreams: A Continental Mark II

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                              #15
                              Don't worry. There is no such thing as a dumb question if you don't know. We all started out at the beginning and choose to learn.

                              I catch lube people all the time that say "There are no fittings to lube." That means they don't know and don't want to look. Lube people always miss the two zerks at the ends of the upper A arms on my police suspension cars.
                              If there is a plug, it has to be removed to thread the zerk fitting on. There are different sizes for different applications.
                              As far as damage done. The worse thing would be having to change the upper ball joints. That should be done if there is excessive movement in the joint. A good alignment man could check it out for you.

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