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Aluminum lower control arm, should we be concerned?

mdonathan56

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Aluminum alloy and forged, most likely.
Hopefully forged. It could be a cast piece or today even Additive Manufacturing. Aluminum itself is not a problem; it's how it is manufactured.
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WkndEpic

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I’ll get skids once someone makes them.

6F56CE4B-9D89-4D81-9272-6D37AF2281D1.jpeg
I have the RCI sliders and skid plate on my 3rd gen Taco and they are great! Hopefully, they'll offer armor for the Bronco when it's released.
 

Bison

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They showed up later in the game for me. I already had bud built’s full skids.
 

Felix808

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After 746 days, a MY22 4-door Badlands Bronco :-)
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OMG! Please stop!
Aluminum suspension bits means less un-sprung weight and thus means a much more responsive suspension overall. It is a major upgrade and I am shocked Ford is doing aluminum on the Bronco
Finally someone said it. it might incur a few gouges along the way but will be plenty strong & as mentioned more responsive.
 

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I'm not worried about the Al LCA at all. I'm just mystified why they put an exposed nut and bolt hanging down below it. It'll be a fairly unlikely spot to hit with a rock since it's so close to the tire, but just a few rubs on that bolt and you're taking your shocks off with a grinder instead of a wrench. I would bet one of the very first mods for most offroaders will be some sort of stud kit or skid for the lower shock mount.
 

BAUS67

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I'm not worried about the Al LCA at all. I'm just mystified why they put an exposed nut and bolt hanging down below it. It'll be a fairly unlikely spot to hit with a rock since it's so close to the tire, but just a few rubs on that bolt and you're taking your shocks off with a grinder instead of a wrench. I would bet one of the very first mods for most offroaders will be some sort of stud kit or skid for the lower shock mount.
My thoughts exactly !!!! look at the pic below of the Warthog suspension I enlarged you can see the lower control arm has the bolt for the lower coil over mount going horizonal through the control arm. :unsure: Had some second thoughts about those bolts sticking down to get smashed to the point of being unremovable ??? Why would they not do this from the start?????

My first thought was some kind of plate with two studs welded to it to go up through the lower control arm so they don't get smashed sticking down.

warthog close up.jpeg
 

L8apex

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I have learned to trust aluminum and the weight savings are great. However I do not like seeing another bolt sticking out that far (not as bad as the rear though) as that is just asking to get caught on a rock and cause damage... but again, pre-production, shouldn't worry... right?
Engineering rule of thumb is three exposed threads once at torque. This looks pretty close to that, and for assembly it has the tapered pilot which probably isn’t going away - I wouldn’t get your hopes up.
 

Stampede.Offroad

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I’ll get skids once someone makes them.

6F56CE4B-9D89-4D81-9272-6D37AF2281D1.jpeg
Why not just put that weight in the part being protected and make it out of something durable enough to not need the skid in the first place?
 

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Why not just put that weight in the part being protected and make it out of something durable enough to not need the skid in the first place?

Amen Brother !!!!! Should just be made like this !!!! That's what happens when computer geeks build stuff instead of off-roaders !!! :ROFLMAO:

Ford Bronco Aluminum lower control arm, should we be concerned? 1600814339516
 

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BAUS67

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Engineering rule of thumb is three exposed threads once at torque. This looks pretty close to that, and for assembly it has the tapered pilot which probably isn’t going away - I wouldn’t get your hopes up.

I believe the NHRA safety rules are the stud must protrude past the nut equal to the diameter of the stud. i.e. 1/2 " stud has to protrude a 1/2 " from the nut.
 

Hoofnmouth

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I'm not talking about regular road usage. Im talking about using this as an off-road rig, hitting rocks. Thats why I said vulnerable.

I'm sure it will be more than fine for 99.9% of the mall crawlers.

I dont land, flaps down, in dry river beds covered in rocks. Do you?
Yup always lifted flaps when landing on runways made of seashells in the bahamas.
 

L8apex

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I believe the NHRA safety rules are the stud must protrude past the nut equal to the diameter of the stud. i.e. 1/2 " stud has to protrude a 1/2 " from the nut.
From what I can see the only thing mentioned is thread engagement for wheel studs. Where the the thread engagement must be equal or greater than the diameter. I had to check because 6.5 (1/2" length) exposed threads on a 1/2" stud would be ridiculous.

From the 2020 rules.

The thread engagement on all wheel studs to the lug nut, or lug bolts to wheel hubs, must be equivalent to or greater than the diameter of the stud/bolt. Length of the stud/bolt does not determine permissibility. (Example: A 7/16-inch stud must be thoroughly engaged through the threads in the hex portion of the lug a minimum of 7/16-inch.) Wheel spacer permitted.​
 

BAUS67

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From what I can see the only thing mentioned is thread engagement for wheel studs. Where the the thread engagement must be equal or greater than the diameter. I had to check because 6.5 (1/2" length) exposed threads on a 1/2" stud would be ridiculous.

From the 2020 rules.

The thread engagement on all wheel studs to the lug nut, or lug bolts to wheel hubs, must be equivalent to or greater than the diameter of the stud/bolt. Length of the stud/bolt does not determine permissibility. (Example: A 7/16-inch stud must be thoroughly engaged through the threads in the hex portion of the lug a minimum of 7/16-inch.) Wheel spacer permitted.​

I think you may have misinterpreted what I was saying, or I am not following you on the 6.5 number. 1/2" of stud sticking through a lug nut is not a lot to me. The studs I sell are 3" long and are MORE than enough, and for the most part have always looked silly to me, sticking that far out, but that is the way they are sold.

....... thanks for the clarification I must have misread the rules long ago. All good. (y) Now I see it is the length of the nut not the stud. So make sure I have this right. A 1/2" stud needs to have a lug nut that has 1/2" of thread in it.
 

Bison

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Why not just put that weight in the part being protected and make it out of something durable enough to not need the skid in the first place?
I am pretty sure they save weight for whatever reason. Skid is not just to protect the part it’s protecting parts. I would never have bought them until I wheeled with an old guy and he had his alignment bolt sheared off and now runs these to protect it. Cheap and they weigh 5lbs together being all aluminum.
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