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My Second Mod: Suspension Rebuild

77K views 633 replies 30 participants last post by  Zep5.0 
#1 · (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.

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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#568 ·
2002 what? Panther, SN95, Exploder / Aviator, F-150 / Expedition / Navigator?

If I can just get away with fixing the front pump seal of mine, that's all that matters. It just needs to hold the ATF and not leak it like a sieve.
 
#569 ·
The transmission from any car would work, however the CVPIs and Town Cars have the longer extension housing/tail shaft so you'd need to swap over your factory hardware. I recommend that anyway because the Mustangs and Panthers have 8 tooth output shafts (vs the MN12/FN10 7) which limits how high of a final drive ratio you can go to without needing a speedcal. Avoid the truck 4Rs - their valve bodies are set up differently and are not desirable on cars.

GM 4R70Ws are probably ideal due to the fact that they're usually bought by a demographic who would no beat on them and there's no requirement to swap the tail shaft over (just use a different speedo gear) if you have to do a drop-in swap with no rebuild. Mustangs, police cars and taxis are bad ideas. Bonus points if the car you pull it out of was wrecked - that means it was still running when it met its end. :)
 
#570 ·
So 2002+ Grand Marquis and Lincoln Continentals - preferably wrecked ones - are the ideal choices to pull a transmission. Got it.
 
#571 ·
Contis are fwd,so wont work. great source for heads.
Gran marquis are the way to go; grampa mobile, most likely in the jy with rear end caved in.
Put an appropriate gear in the vss before you put it in.
 
#572 ·
#574 ·
You could always get extremely lucky like I did and buy the transmission out of a 2002 Mustang Mach 1 that they wrapped around a tree lol. Bought it with 28k on it for less than $500. It was so long ago I don't even really remember what I paid. Then I had it gone through and had all the newer transmission jmod stuff done to it by Supergordo. The tailshaft had to be swapped as well for the speed sensor.
 
#575 ·
That tailshaft is seriously the Last item that comes out of the case; If you're taking it apart that far, replace the shaft seals.
A rebuild kit, supertuff plate, a few sonnax parts, and it will last for another 25 years.

Plastic tools


Metal tools.
 
#576 ·
That tailshaft is seriously the Last item that comes out of the case; If you're taking it apart that far, replace the shaft seals.
A rebuild kit, supertuff plate, a few sonnax parts, and it will last for another 25 years.
Last one out and first one in. I did all new seals and increased forward clutch pack with no wave spring and the most aggressive jmod settings I love it. If I ever build it again I may get the tough plate, but honestly I've been heavily considering tr6060 and t56 swaps on my two birds.... yes I know I can't leave things well enough alone.
 
#577 ·
I should send you my shift settings, lol. Actually, I need to do a rebuild article, and show all the little things that make a huge difference, and add the tuning stuff. any later transmission will neutral on the 3-4 if you don't increase the epc pressure. not sure why.
I've got Lazarus set up for full manual, pretty much; the tc only unlocks at 1st and reverse,and it's programmed to shift up and down by speed so that it drives like a manual. It's not for everyone, but I love it. :)
 
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#578 ·
I don't care about JMOD stuff. I just need a cheap 4R70W to skirt CA emissions laws. I'm just trying to decide which is the easiest and cheapest option for me in regards to resolving my automatic transmission issue here:

1. Repair my existing 4R70W front pump seal. How involved is this, and are special tools required?

2. Replace my 4R70W with one from [insert vehicle here] as a direct swap. A 2002+ Grand Marquis is looking like the best candidate. If I need to swap tailshaft, then so be it. But you guys are making it seem that the entire transmission needs to come apart for that to happen? If so, that option is out because it's way more involved than I want to deal with.
 
#580 ·
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.
 
#593 ·
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.
 
#585 ·
#582 ·
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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#584 ·
Trans harness.
 
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#586 ·
That's what it looks like; it should be.
 
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#587 ·
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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#588 ·
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.
 
#590 ·
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.
 
#592 ·
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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#595 ·
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.
 
#596 ·
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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#597 · (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.
 
#599 ·
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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