Hey Redlite and Red Racer, I know that both of you have had the control arms changed on your lightnings. my dealer has ordered the parts and they will be installed within the next few weeks. my question is in both of your cases the new control arms did have have the SVT green sticker which would make them specific to the lightning. also both of have had no symptoms or problems like the old arms caused since you had the new ones installed. Redlite I know you have had them in the longest so you would be a good example showing that this is the only fix for this problem. thanks guys. 95rcobra

 

Whats the deal with the new control arms, what are the symtoms?

Tt

 

SVT54SC, The new control arms are the fix not the problem. most all lightnings have had the problem with the drivers side lower control arm moving. mine started at 130 miles. some symptoms are pulling to one side, darting sensation, wandering, uneasy feeling at highway speeds. I had one SSM done which was to take off the frame wax and re-torque the bolt. still was moving. so I showed my dealer the people who have got rid of this problem by putting on the new control arms. they agreed and will be done shortly. as lightning owners we should not settle for anything less.thanks 95rcobra.

 

95rcobra, as far as I can tell the new, lower control arms have the green SVT sticker. So do my springs. I was double checking those against three new 2000 Lightnings parked at a nearby Dealer. I also noticed on the control arm a smaller, pale yellow sticker which appears to have part numbers on them. Only one could I see, but it looked like the last two characters of the new lower control arms were visible.

I am very satisfied with the fix. All problems are gone and have not reappeared. Of course, besides the symptoms you mentioned, there was the infamous "clunk" noise and, for me, an occasional very loud bang noise which I heard three or four times.

You may have done this already, but if you do a search on "redlite" you will see my blatherings on the subject going back to around January. Good luck!

 

Thanks Redlite, I have read your posts about the clunk but that was never a bad problem yet for me since I do not have many miles on my bolt. my main concern is keeping that front end from going out of alignment and destroying my F1's. when the new control arms come in to my dealer I will take them and compare them to whats on the truck now before they put them on the bolt. I will give a report on what the differences if any will be. If I have any more questions about this fix I will give a call. thanks again Redlite. 95rcobra.

 

RedLite

Who did you get to fix the clunk? I'm going to need to take mine in and want to find a good dealership.

 

Hey Guys, I did not think they would be here that fast but my control arms arrived this morning at the dealer. this afternoon I am going there to compare the new control arms to the ones that are on my lightning and see if there are any differences between the two. I will report my findings here this evening. thanks 95rcobra.

 

95rcobra

It's only been about 5 or 6 weeks since I got my new arms. All front end problems appear to have been fixed by the new arms and proper alignment. It sure does drive better on the freeways. Not a hint of clunk either.



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2000 Red SVT Lightning
Superchip R9
Spray-in bedliner
Snugtop Snuglid
Tinted side windows
Lightning Hitch Cover

 

Poohbear, the fix was done at Sheehy Ford in Gaithersburg, MD on route 355 north. It is off the Montgomery Village Ave. exit from I270 heading north. When you get off I270 get in one of the two left land lanes for a left-hand turn. Better use the right left hand turn lane. Go about a quarter of a mile. My service writer is J.D. and he is familar with the fix. Phone is 301-258-1015.

If you want to test the fix before and after, there is a Sports Authority parking lot south of Sheehy on Route 355. It is right behind the MacDonalds. There is a crowned portion of the parking lot that you can use. The lot is about a third of mile from Sheehy. This is the MacDonalds on the left heading south. There is another MacDonalds almost right across 355.

Just do a serious of fast figure eight turns to the right across the crown and I bet you will reproduce the clunk (before the fix) with just about every turn. Good luck!!

Fix includes four wheel alignment.

 

Just got back from the dealer and this is what I observed. took the new control arm and put it on the ground next to the one on the truck. I can't see any physical difference between the two. the new arm does not look any more heavy duty than the one on the truck. the mechanic made an interesting observation. it looks like on the bushings that attach to the control arm they might have put on locking washers to the inside part of the bushing. so when the bolt is installed through the bushing and frame, then the nut is tightened down, this is where the locking washer grabs the frame. it is similar to the star washer fix but is better in the way it is arranged. this is probably why it is working well. when they take the arms off my truck thursday I will find out if they have this lock washer on them or not. thanks 95rcobra.

 

Thanks for that info please keep us informed on what you find.

Mike

 

OK Guys, Finally got the new control arms installed today and here is what I have found out. first of all there is no difference at all between the control arms that came off my truck and the new XL3Z-3078-79-BA arms. 100% matching. the reason why the control arm was moving is the frame wax. that rear bolt on the drivers side lower control arm is an alignment bolt. the arm has to move so the front end alignment can be set. the problem is that there are locking washers on both ends of the bushings that attach to the rear frame section on the drivers side. the design is such that when the bolt is installed through the bushing and is torqued down to spec the locking washers are supposed to dig in to the frame and hold it in place. BUT the frame wax is between the locking washer and the frame. it is not holding the arm in place on any of our lightnings. NOW when I had the SSM#14029 done last month it said remove bolt and nut remove all frame wax under bolt and nut then re-torque to spec. WHAT it fails to tell us is that you have to remove the lower control arm to get the wax off the inside of the frame where the locking washers clamp down. that is why when this was done on my truck it held good for a while then moved slightly and the mechanic found that the wax was on the inside of the frame. the cam bolt fix or the star washer fix will not work either because they only work the outside of the frame and the wax is still on the inside. I would not have changed my control arms if I knew this before. I would just get the wax off the frame. anyway the truck feels great no pulls no noise no nothing. alignment is perfect. hope this helps. sorry for the long post.

 

Thanks Redlite, it's quite a drive from Solomons but I think I'll give them a call.

 

Poohbear, how far are you from Preston Ford in Preston MD. on Route 331? They are an SVT dealer.