Rear Suspension Nightmares.... Please Help!

[sleekkat232]

i have a 1997 mustang (modified 3.8L/5sp) that i recently swapped out my 7.5" for an 8.8". i installed new shocks when i installed the rear. the car rode like a sherman tank. the gabriel ultra shocks i put on were the roughest ride id ever had.

(car has original v6 springs too)

so, thinking that i needed the axle dampers (quad shocks) to soften the ride, i installed a pair of brackets from a 95 GT and then i bolted up a new pair of quad shocks and it raised the rear of the car about four inches. they seem to be bottomed out upon installation and i had to jack the car up and lower the rear a lot in order to get them on.

it rides like crap and it blew the river side gabriel shock. im now running sach sport touring shocks in the rear and its still all jacked up.

if the quad shocks are correct, which they are, and the brackets are correct, which they are, and everything is new..... why does the car sit high and ride rough.

my 275/40/17 rear tires look like donuts with the 6 1/2" gap between them and the fenders.

I dont know what to do to remedy this. everything is installed per chiltons, haynes, and ford perfectly.

 

[CMEFLY]

quad shocks do not effect ride height. If you installed quads and it raised your car up 4 inches you have installed something very wrong. pics would help.

 

[Superhereaux]

remove the quads since your car really doesn't need them (unless you're pushing around 200rwhp+). all they do is prevent axle windup on hard launches, they have nothing to do with the ride of the vehicle

if that doesn't bring things back down you must've ****ed something up bad on the install or installed the wrong parts

 

[blubullett]

Do you have the quad shock brackets on the oppisite side they are supposed to be? Is the axle you got out of a mustang?

 

[sleekkat232]

yeah, the axle is from a 94-98 mustang. i bought it empty with new seals and bearings and added 3.55's and a locker and my axles from my 7.5... everything else bolted up flawlessly. when i added the quad shocks it jacked the car up severely.

this is unacceptable.

attatched are pics of the passenger quad shock and where it mounts to the axle housing and the result of ONLY adding the quad shocks.

any input is greatly appreciated.

thanks again. ill add whatever pictures or info needed.

 

[old_blue]

from that picture that is either NOT a quad shock or one that is locked in full extension. take that out. buy new lower control arms if the windup bothers you. need a better pic of the quad shock but that thing looks rather long. where did it come out of? can you send me an email with the full pic of the ones you attached. then are really small even when I click on them
[email protected]

 

[old_blue]

can you get a close up of where it is attached to the axle and then where on the car. something is serious wrong and I wouldn't drive it like that

 

[twogts4us]

That axle damper (they're really not quad shocks) is at a really wicked angle. Even with the car off the ground and the suspension hanging, the angle of that shock should only be, at most, 10 degrees from horizontal. Something is way wrong here...lose the axle dampers, they didn't come on the V6 Mustangs anyway. And they seem to be adding to your problem here.
And I could help you more with bigger pics...post em on PhotoBucket.com - it's easy and free...

 

[twogts4us]

Here's a pic that might help...from this website - http://www.miracerros.com/mustang/t_suspension.htm

 

[Black_02_GT]

if you could find a 94-98 gt to cross reference part location that would probably help you a bit

 

[JEFF B]

Quad shocks generally will have nothing to do with ride height. However, yours are just working in reverse. Personally i would suggest to remove them and install an aftermarket lower control arm. Make sure that when you did the swap, the rear springs were installed properly also. They need to be clocked with the end of the bottom ring both facing the Drivers side of the car. Also for shocks, I would suggest removing the Sachs shocks and installing a good quality shock like a Tokiko.

 

[mransr]

I can't tell from the picture, but is the quad mounted to a bracket on the chassis or dirrectly to the car?

...it's been a while since I removed mine, but it seems like there should be a sort of triangular shaped bracket the quad shock is mounted to

 

[sleekkat232]

what makes no sense of everything is that the rear end is fine without the dampers, but when added they are bottomed outand they provide all the roughness because they arent letting the shocks operate properly.

if you look at the rear from the side (looking at the brake rotor) it seems as though the axis of the rear is tilted rearward, putting the brackets too close together, causing this binding issue.

also, in the picture you can see that the rear tire is moved forward significantly (this is with the new rear shocks and new quads installed)

with the dampers off the car is just normal, but the car is pretty well modified and i would like to be sure im planting 22" of rubber, not spinning it or wrapping my axle....

simply put, there isnt enough distance between the mounting bracket on the axle and the bracket that bolts to the body, but only by an inch and change.

ill get better pics in the daylight. thanks again a million.

next post... for sale-modified 97 mustang hehehehehe

also, would aftermarket lower ctrl arms push my rear backwards that inch and whatever the center me back up and improve my axis, or are they the same length as the factory lca's?

 

[sleekkat232]

if you could find a 94-98 gt to cross reference part location that would probably help you a bit

theres a guy that works at the local autozone that has a bright atlantic blue 95 GT
and my set up exactly mirrors his in every way... except for the clearance for 44" boggers.....

 

[Black_02_GT]

well if you keep adding stuff with the way things are going now you'll be able to fit those 44" boggers on yours too

 

[deftsound]

quad shocks do not effect ride height. If you installed quads and it raised your car up 4 inches you have installed something very wrong. pics would help.

+10000

 

[twogts4us]

got pics? We really need to see what they heck you've done to be able to provide any additional help.