Upper Control Arm Shims
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Upper Control Arm Shims
Doing an underhood inspection recently, I noticed the right side upper control arm has an odd shim arrangement... the front mounting bolt has 3 shims but the rear bolt only has 1, plus this single shim is upside down and looks like it slid halfway out of it's mounting place but it is not loose. The left side UCA has 3 shims front and back, all right side up and looking proper. I've had the car professionally inspected and aligned a few times in the past, the technician did not say anything. (The car drives good, maybe wanders a bit on the highway but that's probably tie rods or something else, or could be grooves in the pavement that I'm not seeing... either way it's not a real problem.)
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
#2
Doing an underhood inspection recently, I noticed the right side upper control arm has an odd shim arrangement... the front mounting bolt has 3 shims but the rear bolt only has 1, plus this single shim is upside down and looks like it slid halfway out of it's mounting place but it is not loose. The left side UCA has 3 shims front and back, all right side up and looking proper. I've had the car professionally inspected and aligned a few times in the past, the technician did not say anything. (The car drives good, maybe wanders a bit on the highway but that's probably tie rods or something else, or could be grooves in the pavement that I'm not seeing... either way it's not a real problem.)
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
Last edited by WVZR-1; 07-09-2018 at 11:36 AM.
#3
Race Director
Doing an underhood inspection recently, I noticed the right side upper control arm has an odd shim arrangement... the front mounting bolt has 3 shims but the rear bolt only has 1, plus this single shim is upside down and looks like it slid halfway out of it's mounting place but it is not loose. The left side UCA has 3 shims front and back, all right side up and looking proper. I've had the car professionally inspected and aligned a few times in the past, the technician did not say anything. (The car drives good, maybe wanders a bit on the highway but that's probably tie rods or something else, or could be grooves in the pavement that I'm not seeing... either way it's not a real problem.)
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
So... is this worthy of concern? Should I just drive the car, and point out the shim arrangement to the technician next time I take it for alignment? Sorry I did not take a picture at the time, I can provide one if it will help but I figure this description is adequate for anyone familiar with the UCA shim arrangement. Thank you all.
The ball joint axis is changed by moving the upper ball joint forward or backward relative to the lower ball joint.
You move the upper ball joint center by adding or subtracting shims. Everything you described sounds normal to me, with the exception of the one shim being upside down.
Post a picture of it if you feel like it.
Last edited by PatternDayTrader; 07-09-2018 at 12:13 PM.
#4
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
OK I finally got around to taking some pics of these shims. Any suggestions, guidance or other comments will be appreciated:
Two pics of the upper control arm mount, passenger side, rear bolt:
One pic of the upper control arm mount, passenger side, both bolts:
Two pics of the upper control arm mount, passenger side, rear bolt:
One pic of the upper control arm mount, passenger side, both bolts:
Last edited by DGXR; 08-15-2018 at 11:57 AM.