My Second Mod: Suspension Rebuild

69105 Views 633 Replies 30 Participants Last post by Zep5.0, 16 d ago

CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · Mar 13, 2016 (Edited)

After I got my T-Bird running last week, I noticed that there was a rattling coming from the front. I was told to lift the front, grab the wheels at 12 and 6 o'clock and shake it to see if it moved / wiggled. The fronts were fine so I moved to the rear. Upon doing the same for the rear driver, it moved and likewise for the passenger rear. This obviously means that I have failed rear hubs which will need replacement. This being a safety issue, I've decided to go ahead and start rebuilding the suspension over the transmission. The transmission just leaks but shifts fine otherwise and I have to add some ATF to it every so often which I can live with for the time being.

All this being said, I've begun doing some searching here in the suspension section of the forum and have found a ton of info. Posting on the FB TCCoA group, I was told by Woodman (Durwood) to go ahead and do all the knuckle bushings since I'll already be there anyways. He's even provided me the link to Energy Suspension for the correct bushings. They're inexpensive, so I'll definitely be doing this. The video I found (below) on YouTube pretty much spells out how to do the job, minus how to put the new hubs on, this job seems to be something I can do in an afternoon. This post by jco1385 (pictures in the quote) makes it seem that I can do press the hubs in myself provided I have the right tools.

jco1385 said:
Lovely Chinese wheel bearings....

Now that I've mentioned this, I will have to say that the suspension will most definitely take me a long time to get it to where I want it to be at. The rear hubs being replaced is basically my starting point on all this. I'm going to be doing more reading and research on the matter, and of course asking here as questions from me come along.

As far as parts go, I've heard from several people and read in a few threads already that Timken is the way to go in terms of hubs. There has been one person mention a brand called SKF for hubs. Any thoughts on Timken vs SKF?

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581 - 600 of 634 Posts

XR7-4.6

· #581 · 8 mo ago

I never needed a slide hammer to get the front pump off, just grab the stator splines and pull

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Grog6

· #582 · 8 mo ago

a2002 requires a repin. The front seal can be done without special tools, iirc. a long 8mm bolt, an open end wrench and a hammer makes a slide hammer.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #583 · 8 mo ago

Grog6 said:
a2002 requires a repin. The front seal can be done without special tools, iirc. a long 8mm bolt, an open end wrench and a hammer makes a slide hammer.

What needs a repin where? The transmission harness or the ECU?

Grog6

· #584 · 8 mo ago

Trans harness.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #585 · 8 mo ago

XR7-4.6 said:
I never needed a slide hammer to get the front pump off, just grab the stator splines and pull

Is this what I need for the front pump seal?

1997 FORD THUNDERBIRD 4.6L V8 Fluid Pump Seal | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.

www.rockauto.com

Grog6

· #586 · 8 mo ago

That's what it looks like; it should be.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #587 · 7 mo ago

2

So as most of you know, I've got some new wheels not long ago that I intended to use for my Honda. I've since been debating on whether or not I should use them on my T-Bird instead, and I'm beginning to lean on that I should.

These wheels are Avid1 SP02, 18x8.5, 35mm offset. I would plan on wrapping 255/45/18 tires on these, though, I'm unsure of what brand / model tire yet. As I understand, these will fit perfectly inside the wheel well of our cars. If I want to continue with this idea, then I need to find hubs for the rear knuckles. However, there seems to be nowhere that has rear hubs available? Am I mistaken about this? If I'm wrong, where can I get a set of rear hubs? And yes, I checked FTBR and RA.

I currently have 4 NIB 5x108 hubs on my parts collection as my original plan was to go with the original spec'ed hubs and just buy new tires for the OEM wheels, but that plan seems to be changing now, lol.

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Zep5.0

· #588 · 7 mo ago

CDsDontBurn said:
So as most of you know, I've got some new wheels not long ago that I intended to use for my Honda. I've since been debating on whether or not I should use them on my T-Bird instead, and I'm beginning to lean on that I should.

View attachment 51596

View attachment 51597

These wheels are Avid1 SP02, 18x8.5, 35mm offset. I would plan on wrapping 255/45/18 tires on these, though, I'm unsure of what brand / model tire yet. As I understand, these will fit perfectly inside the wheel well of our cars. If I want to continue with this idea, then I need to find hubs for the rear knuckles. However, there seems to be nowhere that has rear hubs available? Am I mistaken about this? If I'm wrong, where can I get a set of rear hubs? And yes, I checked FTBR and RA.

I currently have 4 NIB 5x108 hubs on my parts collection as my original plan was to go with the original spec'ed hubs and just buy new tires for the OEM wheels, but that plan seems to be changing now, lol.

There is a jig for redrilling the factory hubs to 114.3. not sure on the price.

I got FTBR for mine, but I had bought studs to redrill the factory hubs. They were a bit corroded and so I bought new.

CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #589 · 7 mo ago

I'm aware of the jig. What all is needed to make that work?

Grog6

· #590 · 7 mo ago

A drill press is best. also, new bits, a bottle of drilling fluid, and a lot of patience. Steel takes forever, compared to aluminum, and will waste a bit if it gets too hot.

CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #591 · 7 mo ago

Grog6 said:
A drill press is best. also, new bits, a bottle of drilling fluid, and a lot of patience. Steel takes forever, compared to aluminum, and will waste a bit if it gets too hot.

I'm patient, but I don't think I'm THAT patient, lol.

Grog6

· #592 · 7 mo ago

The first time I drilled Stainless steel, I used a great drill press to turn a brand new carbide drill bit into a melted gob of ****. It was a glowing hemisphere of steel, lol. The boss knew what I'd do, and slid up behind me and said", if you keep going, it will eventually go thru, if you use enough force. we fire people for that."

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supergordo

· #593 · 7 mo ago

theterminator93 said:
1) Never done it, but I believe you need slide hammers to get the front pump out after you've unbolted it.

2) You can't go too new as the output shaft was changed to a turbine sensor and not a gear driven sensor. 03 was the start of this for some applications. As long as you don't install one of the long tailshaft models (CVPI, Town Car) just get the correct speedo gear, repin the harness, swap over your TCC solenoid and MLPS and otherwise it's plug-and-play.

Sorry for the late reply here. The 4r70w pump has two of the holes that are threaded. You can take two of the bellhousing bolts and thread them into the holes and you can use those to help pull the pump if you cannot simply pull it out. The rebuild manual does show two small slide hammers that have threaded fittings you thread into those holes. But you really don't havet to spend the money on the special tool set.

supergordo

· #594 · 7 mo ago

Zep5.0 said:
There is a jig for redrilling the factory hubs to 114.3. not sure on the price.

I got FTBR for mine, but I had bought studs to redrill the factory hubs. They were a bit corroded and so I bought new.

I have a friend who is a retired engineer. He has a buddy at a machine shop here where I live. He was able to have the machine shop build me a redrill jig our of 1/2" steel for $40 last year. My son used it to redrill 2 sets of rotors for the cobra conversion, and my buddy just redrilled all his hubs for a hub swap. Worked nicely.

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Grog6

· #595 · 7 mo ago

To get the pump, use bolts, like you said, but you can hook a wrench under the head, and hit the underside, and it will pop out.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #596 · 5 mo ago

So today I've been reminded how long I've been "working" on this 😂😅😓😭.

This was after I got through the saga of the UCA issues I kept having getting a proper pair of UCAs.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #597 · 3 mo ago (Edited)

I want to move forward with the hub swap and heavily considering the FTBR units for the rear hubs. I looked on their website and they have different wheel stud options to go with the rear hubs. What wheel stud option should I go with?

Cost aside, is there any reason why I should consider something else?

EDIT: Added incomplete thought, BOLD.

MadMikeyL

· #598 · 3 mo ago

No. The FTBR hubs are very nice pieces, and fit and work perfectly. And just get the ones with the factory studs. The longer ones are needed for certain race cars, but there is no reason to run them on the street.

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CDsDontBurn

Discussion Starter · #599 · 3 mo ago

MadMikeyL said:
No. The FTBR hubs are very nice pieces, and fit and work perfectly. And just get the ones with the factory studs. The longer ones are needed for certain race cars, but there is no reason to run them on the street.

You read my incomplete thought 😅. Thank you for understanding what I didn't finish writing!

Ok, just go with their standard setup then and all shall be good?

And I'm also considering the rear Cobra brake caliper relocation kit. Who is it that sells that? Just a name / company is all I need. I can search from there.

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MadMikeyL

· #600 · 3 mo ago

Dave Dalke makes/sells them, Supercoupes Unlimited.

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