2 questions!

1235 Views 46 Replies 7 Participants Last post by Noser7mil, 1 d ago

Noser7mil

Discussion Starter · 26 d ago

Hey guys I have 2 questions.

1. my motor mounts sucks and I’m not trying to pay rediculous prices for solid rubber mounts. I’ve seen on here you can do the hockey pucks, my question is how many pucks do I need to space the engine up to the same level as the stock mounts? Has anybody done this and wouldn’t mind sharing info??

2. I’m wanting to build custom upper and lower control arms, the stock bushings suck cheecks. I do have new arms and bushings about a year old. going with heims on the contact points on the body side. My question is, where can I find the ball joints needed to be able to connect the new arms to the spindle?? I’ve been looking around and can’t find anything, there plenty websites that sell the tubing and heims but I can’t find any that sells the ball joint portion needed to connect the arms to spindles.

This is the idea, just need a lead on the ball joint side. Thanks in advance!!

See less See more

Save

1 - 12 of 47 Posts

XR7-4.6

· #7 · 26 d ago

I have a block strap with fluid filled mounts, works great. I can see how much the powertrain moves very easily with a manual trans shifter and it barely even vibrates anymore, let alone jerk to the side at WOT like before without it.

See less See more

Save

Reactions: 3

XR7-4.6

· #9 · 26 d ago

Driver side only, driver side mount lifts under load, passenger side compresses, no need to have one there.

The stock hardware is more than adequate, it’s all 10.9 grade, modern day Coyotes aren’t much different spec here. The turnbuckle I used is rated at 500lbs IIRC, my DOHC isn’t breaking it lol

Save

Reactions: 3

XR7-4.6

· #12 · 26 d ago

Noser7mil said:
Sounds good thanks for the advice! Just gotta make sure I don’t get some weak stuff that’s gonna break after a few months.

Now all I need is a lead on those ball joints! I know it’s overkill but I really don’t like those strut rod bushings, they simply weren’t meant for any type of spirited driving. The added weight of the saleen and cobra brake most def arent helping it out.

Its the weight of the body with all the bracing you added that’s loading up the poor bushings 😆

Save

Reactions: 2

XR7-4.6

· #19 · 9 d ago

Grog6 said:
That's pretty much what I bought from Rod, but the hook part is welded closed. One end bolts to the block, the forged loop is in a hole drilled thru the k-member. It won't move, lol.

The open hook is adequate for NA power(torque) levels, I’ve obvserved no spread in my setup since I installed it, I just checked it last weekend when I changed the oil.

Save

XR7-4.6

· #23 · 8 d ago

If you think stiffer bushings(well, no bushings at all in this case) is going to make the bump steer any better you’ve got another thing coming.

Save

Reactions: 2

XR7-4.6

· #26 · 8 d ago

Noser7mil said:
Haha don’t burst my bubble 😂 man I’m just fed up with the front end. I really wish ford had gone with a traditional an arm up front. It might be me just exaggerating I guess but I gotta do something soon.

An A arm wouldn’t change it either, I do wish Ford used an A arm from a simplicity/durability standpoint, but geometry being equal it won’t perform any differently, the LCA/strut rod is a virtual A arm in the way it works.

The thing to keep in mind is lowering and different wheel offsets and tire heights are slightly altering the geometry the suspension was originally optimized for, but in your case having wide 275s is the root of the issue, you can’t really dial out tramlining and bumpsteer with them, that’s why most settle on 245 or 255 max in the front for street driving.

Save

Reactions: 2

XR7-4.6

· #28 · 7 d ago

Bear in mind the strut rod bushings deflect their most under braking and when you go over a curb or pothole, but in terms of lateral deflection, going around corners at speed, they perform about the same as standard pivot bushings since the forces are more evenly spread to other points, so they’re not quite the Achilles heel you think they are. They’re not something you’d engineer into a racecar suspension since their main benefit is street ride quality, but you can absolutely make a suspension with strut rod bushings perform well in a race environment.

Save

Reactions: 1

XR7-4.6

· #31 · 5 d ago

Noser7mil said:
I see what you mean, there’s plenty of cars that have this setup, the last gen GTO has strut rod aswell so it can’t be that bad. LA roads are horrible and the constant braking and rough terrain wears these suckers out quickly specially at almost 4000lbs haha. I highly dislike the idea of constantly changing these out tho. It seems like the easiest idea is to just make a heim strut rod. Similar to how the 60’s mustangs have readily available and a couple fellow members on the forum have done. Seems easier than making a whole arm.

I also plan on getting this other project on the road soon, I’ve been talking about it but it’s time to handle this scandle. Let me know what you think, it’s an X brace for the shock towers. I’m planning on using square tube maybe .083, .120 starts getting heavy heavy. Keeping the strut bar and tying it to just above where package tray.

I will say I’ve noticed how the new cars, mustangs in particular have the shocks double bolted to the frame rails. I’m assuming it’s to control the shocks pulling and pushing a forces. Which I’m assuming the x brace will help by keeping that area stable.

View attachment 53688
View attachment 53689 View attachment 53690

Heims wear out too, they’ll actually start rattling like a ball joint after awhile, SRBs are mushy but for rutted street duty I’d give them the advantage. I don’t want heims anyplace on a street driven vehicle, that’s what I most disliked about the old design AJE K members.

I agree with you however that if you are going to eliminate the bushings for them making a strut rod that goes in place of the stock one is better than making a whole A arm assembly from scratch.

Save

XR7-4.6

· #34 · 5 d ago (Edited)

Grog6 said:
There was a project on sccoa a few years back, were they looked into using spherical bearings. I don't remember it ever becoming a thing.

mayer(sp?) racing had an interesting set of bushings for first gen Mustangs that used Delrin bushings that when put together on each side of the K member formed a sphere, which then had two aluminum cups rotate around it on the strut rod itself. I tried pitching that idea to DLF before he died, because that I think would have been perfect for us.

Edit, they still exist from other vendors. Unfortunately our strut rods are too thick to fit these

Delrin Monoball Strut Rod Bushing Set (1967-73) Mustang-Cougar (1966-70) Falcon-Comet-Fairlane - Opentracker Racing

Made from Delrin, these strut rod bushings won’t deflect like the stock rubber bushings. Ideal for racing classes where the steel rod end style strut rod is not allowed. DO NOT overtorque the bushing. The gold sleeve in this kit is not a positive stop for the torque adjustment. The pivot needs...

opentrackerracing.com

One of the other negatives with heims is they place the pivot point outward so the control arm now moves in a different axis, changing caster through travel, maybe not enough to make a real difference but I can’t help but think it would cancel out any benefit they have over rubber too

Save

Reactions: 1

XR7-4.6

· #38 · 3 d ago

Noser7mil said:
I do remember you talking about the pivot location. I’m pretty sure it won’t help in the handling dep, but I’m still sure it’ll be better than that sorry ass bushing being pummeled every time the brakes grab.
You think that company your posted would make a custom piece for our cars?? Or if we can maybe drill out the holes and get bigger sleeves to accommodate our strut rods?? That’s still cheaper than the stock style bushings over at SCP, what a joke he charges for them.

The hole is smaller through the K member on Mustangs, and if the thickness of the K member is different on our cars from mustangs the delrin won’t firm a proper ball, so it’ll bind under articulation, if it’s thinner you might be able to add a sleeve and a big washer but otherwise it’s probably a no go trying to retrofit them