5 lug / suspension swap progress

Snikt89GT · Nov 18, 2006

I decided to start my 5 lug and suspension upgrade project tonight. I didn't really get a whole lot done but that's the beauty of this being my 2nd car. Don't have to rush or worry about needing to drive it.

I'm still missing some random tools, does anyone know what size crows foot you need to do the rear shocks? Also for the drum brakes what tools are needed? I've got spring pliers, a "spring adjuster", "spring compressor", and brake spoon. I've never worked on drums before.

Got the tires in from tirerack this week and had them mounted today. I went with BFG G-force sport 235/45/17s for the front and 245/45/17 for the rear on my 98 cobra wheels.

Is anyone going to want any of my stock parts? Axles, front end stuff (control arms,spindles, etc..) Also I guess I can sell my pony wheels / tires if anyone wants them. They are recently painted and look brand new. The tires are practically new, kumho 225/55/16s.

Here are some pics, i'll try to keep taking pictures and keep this thread updated as I start doing some real work:

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mustangjoe87 · Nov 18, 2006

All you need is a pair of vise grips to do drums.

Reed · Nov 18, 2006

Looks like that's going to be an awesome project. The 98 Cobra wheels look great! You're going to rear disc I assume? All I used to get my drums off were a flat head screw driver and some pliers. Oh, and a socket wrench to get the whole thing off the axle tube of course!

Good luck!

71swing · Nov 19, 2006

I have always prefered a pair of needle nose pliers for the drum brakes.

What kit are you using for the swap. Or did you just piece part by part.

tunedin302 · Nov 19, 2006

mustangjoe87 said:
All you need is a pair of vise grips to do drums.

Why not just leave them assembled and unbolt the backing plate? They will come off in one piece.

Snikt89GT · Nov 19, 2006

tunedin302 said:
Why not just leave them assembled and unbolt the backing plate? They will come off in one piece.

Because i'm keeping the drums in the rear, so i'm going to put on new shoes, springs, wheel cylinders, etc..

Does anyone know about the shocks? Do you need a special tool for that? I've only seen my friend do it once and he used a crows foot, I don't have any of those.

Didn't go with a specific kit, just pieced it together.

Here is the last thread I made with a list of parts

http://forums.stangnet.com/showthread.php?t=669036

Mustang5L5 · Nov 19, 2006

I didn't need any specific tool for the rear shocks. I just unbolted them with a rachet

mustangjoe87 · Nov 19, 2006

tunedin302 said:
Why not just leave them assembled and unbolt the backing plate? They will come off in one piece.

I saw a pair of 5 lug drums in his pic thats why I advised the vise grips

Snikt89GT · Dec 6, 2006

Well, it's been way too long with a bunch of delays, but the rear is finally done. (Except for one bolt I have to torque. My socket got lost in the frame when I was torqueing the chassis pivot bolt on the LCA)

The 98 cobra wheels look really good. I can't wait to have them all done and out in the sun.

So far this was: Bullitt springs, tokico shocks, Mac rear cover, new quads, 5-lug axles and ranger drums, rebuild drums and Pro3i LCA.

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90 · Dec 7, 2006

are you gonna delete the emergency brake or re-do it the right way? i only ask cuz the asshat didnt complete mine so no i have somthing to do over the winter

onefstsnake · Dec 7, 2006

90mustang_GT5.0 said:
are you gonna delete the emergency brake or re-do it the right way? i only ask cuz the asshat didnt complete mine so no i have somthing to do over the winter

going to 5 lug shouldnt affect the parking brake...

90 · Dec 7, 2006

it was swaped from drums to disk tho....

Chuckman · Dec 7, 2006

90mustang_GT5.0 said:
it was swaped from drums to disk tho....

uh, look at the pics again dude, that looks like a drum on there, unless its opposite day or something

90 · Dec 7, 2006

nice correction, didnt even see it coming.. mybad .......
i didnt even see it, i must of skiped it, the last pic i seen was was the rusted drum and just assumed he was converting disk as well... Good call tho, thanks

Flavadave4 · Dec 7, 2006

98 cobra wheels are sexy.....they are going to look sweet on your car. Keep the pics coming!

Kabuki_notch · Dec 7, 2006

looks great!, I gave up on my 5-lug it's too cold and I dont feel like spending anymore money on the car

Snikt89GT · Dec 7, 2006

Well, it's time for the front stuff now. The rust on the k-member was kind of a suprise, I guess i'll try and clean that up while it's easily accessible. I hate rust.

Hopefully this stuff won't take as long as the rear. At least I already have the new bolts in case I have to cut the front control arm bolts off.

I can pretty much take the stock CC plate, spring, control arm bolts, and brake line and take the whole front of the car off as one piece.

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onefstsnake · Dec 7, 2006

Before you start putting the new stuff on the front, check the shock to spindle fitment. When I went to put my Tokico shocks on the 96 spindles I could only get 1 of the 2 bolts to line up. I ended up having to grind the spindle a bit.

Nothing major just saves time/frustration.

Also make sure you have the right flare wrench for the stock brake lines. And they will be a bitch to get off.
And one last thing. You bought the brake line adapter for the passenger side hard line right?

What year spindles are you using? If your using 96+ spindles you will need some washers on top off where the ball joint mounts to for the nut to tighten.

Snikt89GT · Dec 7, 2006

onefstsnake said:
Before you start putting the new stuff on the front, check the shock to spindle fitment. When I went to put my Tokico shocks on the 96 spindles I could only get 1 of the 2 bolts to line up. I ended up having to grind the spindle a bit.

Nothing major just saves time/frustration.

Also make sure you have the right flare wrench for the stock brake lines. And they will be a bitch to get off.
And one last thing. You bought the brake line adapter for the passenger side hard line right?

Yep, got the maximum adapter. Bought a few flare wrenches from autozoo, it's probably the same size as the rears I would assume?

That doesn't make sense about the spindle. Those struts are for 94+ cars, so they are designed to go on that spindle. Are they the same struts that I have?

onefstsnake · Dec 7, 2006

Ok if your using SN95 spindles you wont need to add spacers to the top of the ball joint.

You cant see it but once the spindle goes onto the balljoint the joint is too tall and needs spacers for the nut to work right.

As for the shocks, I reused the Tokico's that were on the car when it was 4 lug, so you might not have the same problem. But why not check anyways before bolting everything up. The "ear" that the shocks mount to on the spindle was hitting the shock before both holes lined up.

Hope it all works out. Its pretty straight forward.

5 lug / suspension swap progress

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