Has anyone else seen Whiteline Rear Uppers crack like this?

Robert M

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What ever brand you choose, if you are working on a 2007-2009 (as shown in your picture) or a 2010, I would buy/install the longer/more robust 2011-up UCA. There is a reason Ford/SVT increased the length and also upgraded the hardware.......

Below is the oem and BMR comparisons, note the longer arm and the larger bushing on the 2011-up......

029-zpsd5c269ed.jpg


Also note the larger "through bolt" on the 2011-up.....

027-zpsec6c5eab.jpg


and the larger under seat bolt.....

0322-zps5a739bff.jpg


and the "Biggy" 2011-up UCA fits in a 2007-2010......

042-zpsc70dd4d9.jpg


I've had this 2011-up BMR UCA in my 2008 for 6+ years, no issues.

R
 

Robert M

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Here is the BMR 2007 (actually 2005) - 2010 on right in a side-by side with the 2011-2014.......same overall length for fitment, but much engineering changes between the two......

025-zps61c8f4e3.jpg


What I have found is that some (I may even say many) of the other UCM manufacturers did not incorperate all of the Ford/SVT engineering upgrades into the design they list for 2011-up......BMR did. Of course it is costly to completely redesign a part and that is where some/many make the short cuts to save some redesign money and time.

As I mentioned previously, there is a reason Ford redesigned this part.......and that was at the oem 550HP level in 2011......

R
 

Catmonkey

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I came across this in BMR's catalog which appears to have a revised inner sleeve for a smaller poly bushing than the one offered initially. I would guess this newer design offers less deflection than the one with the larger poly bushing, but there's not a lot of information on their website to distinguish the difference between the two versions. You can see the difference if you look at the arm in Robert's post above.

UTCA032_large.jpg
 

cidsamuth

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Here is the BMR 2007 (actually 2005) - 2010 on right in a side-by side with the 2011-2014.......same overall length for fitment, but much engineering changes between the two......

View attachment 1594665

What I have found is that some (I may even say many) of the other UCM manufacturers did not incorperate all of the Ford/SVT engineering upgrades into the design they list for 2011-up......BMR did. Of course it is costly to completely redesign a part and that is where some/many make the short cuts to save some redesign money and time.

As I mentioned previously, there is a reason Ford redesigned this part.......and that was at the oem 550HP level in 2011......

R

I considered going with the 2011+ also. Might even do that when I circle back to upgrade my OEM mount.

But, when you look at the two side by side, the arms are the same diameter. To me, it looks like the only advantage to the 2011+ is the bigger bushing .... and thus just slightly more longevity of the bushing itself and slightly less NVH.
 

Catmonkey

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I considered going with the 2011+ also. Might even do that when I circle back to upgrade my OEM mount.

But, when you look at the two side by side, the arms are the same diameter. To me, it looks like the only advantage to the 2011+ is the bigger bushing .... and thus just slightly more longevity of the bushing itself and slightly less NVH.
I think Robert's point was the longer length, center to center, of the later arm. Focus on the mounting points of the arm itself. However, the bolt hole locations may lengthen the arm further mounted on the later car. I can tell you my arm is not that short mounted on the car.
 

Catmonkey

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I think it allows for greater articulation of the axle, but since it was standard on my 2012, I've never been able to compare the two designs. This was a manufacturing change that was carried over on the 2010 S197 platform.
 

PM-Performance

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I have personally been to the BMR location here in the Tampa area, met Kelly and some of the other guys, seen the jigs to hold parts for welding, seen the workers building parts for specific applications, seen the parts being readied for powder coating. I did not see any Chinese workers.......

^^^^My personal first hand experience.

R

My post said UPR, not BMR.
 

PM-Performance

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Here is the BMR 2007 (actually 2005) - 2010 on right in a side-by side with the 2011-2014.......same overall length for fitment, but much engineering changes between the two......
What I have found is that some (I may even say many) of the other UCM manufacturers did not incorperate all of the Ford/SVT engineering upgrades into the design they list for 2011-up......BMR did. Of course it is costly to completely redesign a part and that is where some/many make the short cuts to save some redesign money and time.

As I mentioned previously, there is a reason Ford redesigned this part.......and that was at the oem 550HP level in 2011......

R

I saw this post prior to ordering as well as another said to run the 11+ mount and older arm and second guessed my order and went back to the 05-10 stuff. While the other may be bigger and badder, it may be overkill for my needs and really they should just sell the one design and make the site more user friendly

That is really the only gripe I have about the site is too many options and not overly clear what the advantages are of each. Kind of like the FORE site. Lists all kinds of options and styles and upgrades, but no indication on why you need any of them.
 

Robert M

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I think Robert's point was the longer length, center to center, of the later arm. Focus on the mounting points of the arm itself. However, the bolt hole locations may lengthen the arm further mounted on the later car. I can tell you my arm is not that short mounted on the car.

Yes, the overall (and that is what we would be concerned about from a mounting/installation standpoint), is the same. The swinging of the axle geometry is supposedly what Ford improved with the longer arm. It was nice that the axle housing mounting and the body mounting stayed the same.

The larger hardware is also something to ask why?? Why did Ford upsize the through bolt and the under seat bolt?? <<Those are the questions.......Apparently there was a reason for these upsizes? I always like to gain from Ford's R&D time and money.....

I agree with some, poly may not be the right choice for some, but it is available in other bushing styles.

R
 

cidsamuth

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EDIT: Nevermind .... I didn't think about the pre-2011 GT500s using the old style.

BTW .... I don't know that you can assume that a redesign in 2011 means they discovered something. There are always a host of factors involved. Perhaps it was about parts availability or pricing, or perhaps the new design was to be used on other models, producing value.

Likely it was R&D, I just don't know you can assume it.
 
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Catmonkey

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I would have thought it also had to do with power levels ... Did you say they used the larger UCA for 2010 also? If so, I guess it would be solely a handling thing and not a horsepower thing.
I said 2010, but BMR's website says otherwise, so the change did not have anything to do with the chassis change in 2010, and the 07-09 was carried over to 2010. The longer arm started with 2011. My bad.
 

RBB

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I bet you wouldn't feel your gears "whine like crazy" if the stock LCAs were on there with the rubber bushings. The change was pretty dramatic for me when I upgraded all that rear suspension stuff.
Wouldn’t be as loud, but after a couple hard launches at the track they’d still be whining. Stock LCAs are garbage if you do any racing, not an option.
 

Robert M

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EDIT: Nevermind .... I didn't think about the pre-2011 GT500s using the old style.

BTW .... I don't know that you can assume that a redesign in 2011 means they discovered something. There are always a host of factors involved. Perhaps it was about parts availability or pricing, or perhaps the new design was to be used on other models, producing value.

Likely it was R&D, I just don't know you can assume it.

With the wheel hop issues that we who have owned a GT500 since 2008 have experienced and also read about in many forum threads, Ford had to do something............and this more robust/longer UCA is not GT500 specific that I know of, as far as I know it is S197 across the Mustang line-up, or at least the V8 cars.

Here is a flip side of the OEM UCA 1st and 3rd positions, there was mention years ago of the UCM flexing and contributing to the bouncing/hopping issue.......Note the more robust UCM for 2011-up......

This is the "flipped over view" of my original UCA side-by-side.

030-zpsf0ac6e70.jpg


^^^^^Ford attempted to minimize the hop/bounce of the rear axle, but they also had to keep a comfy ride for the masses. The BMR UCM is made of a much thicker material and does not need the two sides to be commonly tied together like the thinner steel oem UCM. Before I bought the 2011-up BMR for my 2008, I bought the 2011-up oem UCA and installed it in my car, just for fitment and driving purposes. There was a difference in the newer style as it relates to bounce, and it felt nice and oem smooth.

It is kind of like the 2005-2010 Mustang owners who complained (many loudly) about the bare metal 8.8 axle assy. rusting when the car was very early in life...........Ford addressed that in 2011 also and spent the extra $$$ to spray the axle assy's Black. <<<It cost extra money (just like a redesign does), but with so many owners complaining, they had to do something.

R
 
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cidsamuth

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Fair enough.

As I stated several posts back, I ended up having to keep the OEM mount with my BMR 05-10 UCA because the BMR one had fitment issues, and I couldn't stop work to wait on a replacement.

I had planned to circle back in the future and do the mount ..... makes sense to upgrade both to the 2011+ at that point.

Do you have the Ford part number for that larger bolt that goes down between the back seats?
 

Robert M

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Fair enough.

As I stated several posts back, I ended up having to keep the OEM mount with my BMR 05-10 UCA because the BMR one had fitment issues, and I couldn't stop work to wait on a replacement.

I had planned to circle back in the future and do the mount ..... makes sense to upgrade both to the 2011+ at that point.

Do you have the Ford part number for that larger bolt that goes down between the back seats?

No part number on the rear seat bolt, I also bought a 2011-up Roush Anti-Hop for comparison and it came with the larger bolt, so I used it with the 2011-up BMR. I have also read that some owners have had issues where the UCM does not lay flat against the floor above the tank.

Changing the UCA/UCM assy.'s is a pain IMO. The newest S-197's, like 2013/14 have a different fuel tank from the 2011/12 or 2007-2010, it is notched in the center area and there is easy access to the UCM. <I believe that is what I saw in a 2013 owners install pictures.

The difference in the 2007-2010 and 2011/12 fuel tank is the sheet metal lip area just ahead of the UCA, the 2011/12 tank lip is rolled downward for the UCA since it sits more forward in the UCM. I did not roll the tank lip on my 2008, and have had no clearance issues as shown in my installed picture, but that is another thing Ford redesigned in 2011 (the fuel tank), for this longer UCA.

R
 

cidsamuth

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Yea, I had to drop my tank a little.

If anyone has that bolt part number, it would probably benefit all to post it here
 

PM-Performance

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So I found out the hard way today why there was suggestion on using the 11-14 upper bracket.
So the oem hole from ford under the seat is 16mm hole and the stock boss and the BMR boss on the 05-10 brackets are 14MM causing alot of slop!
So whiteline thought this out and defaulted to a 16MM boss and bolt. BMR did not.
So now my option is to see if BMR will replace with an 11-14 that will fit snug, or I gotta buy a smaller bolt and spacers to take up the slop.

I really wish BMR made this clear on their site and honestly just not even sold the 05-10 piece and solely sold the 11-14 as a 05-14.
 

PM-Performance

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I don't remember there being any slop with the OEM mount on my 08 GT
I just Mic'd the boss from the boss on my Whiteline that was actually snug to the BMR that is loost and likely a stock spin off and there is quite a big diff, I think 5MM smaller on the BMR.
5MM smaller than the hole as well as a couple MM wider holes on the other mounting holes on the BMR is eventually going to lead to some shifting and clunking.
I googled some more and found this was a pretty common issue and Steeda and UMI made spacers to fix this.
 

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