Suspension Car Lean/front Swaybar

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FoxfiveO

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#1

• Oct 20, 2014

• #1

Hey, first time poster. I got a 1988 foxbody gt 5.0. The car suffers from a mild-moderate lean to the passenger side. I have swapped the rear passenger spring, and still not fixed. The driver side sway bar mounting spot has rusted off, and is detached. the sway bar is still connected to to the wheels and other mount. I am going to get the frame rails and mount fixed, but in the mean time, the cars lean is driving me nuts. I was wondering if that may be causing the car to lean to the passenger side. If so, how much of a difference would it make to its driveability. I know its not good for high speed cornering and handling, but the car really isn't known to excel in that department. I just want to know if it would still be able to drive around without to much trouble, and if getting new stiffer springs and strut brace would help compensate. Cars not dd but driven regularly, street only. thanks

 

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FoxfiveO

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#2

• Oct 20, 2014

• #2

Sorry, I meant to say how much would it affect drivability if I removed the front sway bar. Thanks

 

FoxMustangLvr

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#3

• Oct 20, 2014

• #3

It would be a little looser but not scary or anything. Remove it and then take the car out for a drive and get a feel for how it wants to react around turns. It's only an anti-SWAY bar, the body will roll a little bit but you still have the rear one to keep it to a minimum.

 

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FoxfiveO

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#4

• Oct 20, 2014

• #4

Alright, thanks. Ya I was thinking of removing it and trying it out, but bolts are on there good. Just wanted some opinions b4 I pay a shop to take it out.

 

FoxMustangLvr

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#5

• Oct 20, 2014

• #5

Don't pay a shop to remove it!! Pay a shop (if you have to) to weld in a new mount for the sway bar and bolt it back up.

 

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FoxfiveO

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#6

• Oct 20, 2014

• #6

The mount has rusted to much to be weldable, I know a guy that can do a great job getting new frame rails in and fixing it up, but don't have the money right now. Any ideas how to get stubborn bolts out? (Was hoping wouldn't be to much just to take the sway bar out)

 

FoxMustangLvr

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#7

• Oct 20, 2014

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If the anti-sway bar end link nuts are frozen on then just cut them off. They're inexpensive and easy to replace. If the bolts for the mount on the frame rail is a problem then I suggest soaking over night in PB blaster. Be careful, that sh*t will stink up your whole house if your garage is attached my wife was . If PB blaster doesn't help then a small torch will do the trick.

 

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FoxfiveO

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#8

• Oct 20, 2014

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Haha yea I'll definitely be careful with that PB blaster. Sounds good I'll try those out, thanks.

 

Mustang5L5

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Oct 22, 2014

#9

• Oct 22, 2014

• #9

FoxMustangLvr said:

It would be a little looser but not scary or anything. Remove it and then take the car out for a drive and get a feel for how it wants to react around turns. It's only an anti-SWAY bar, the body will roll a little bit but you still have the rear one to keep it to a minimum.

Click to expand...

If he does that, he's going to have a car that's a lot more prone to oversteer.


Either way, the sway bar has very little effect on how the car sits. Fox mustangs are VERY prone to spring sag, especially to the passenger side due to the way the car launches. The pass side rear spring gets compressed more and eventually the car sags to the right and the rear springs sag more.

If swapping the springs didn't work, and this car has enough rust that the sway bar mounts are falling off, i'd take a serious look at the rear control arm mounting points and confirm they are not rusted out or tearing away.

 

FoxMustangLvr

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#10

• Oct 22, 2014

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Mustang5L5 said:

If he does that, he's going to have a car that's a lot more prone to oversteer.

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Yes it will but it's not the end of the world and doesn't make a vehicle dangerous to drive so long as he drives accordingly and is not trying to hit turns hard while it's out. I always remove anti-sway bars on all of my trucks and SUV's because they limit suspension travel/articulation for offroading and they were all daily drivers that were driven on freeways and curvy mountain roads.

Should you have one on your car, yes. Can you limp around temporarily without one till you get it fixed, yes.

Your other points about rust and checking the rear arms are good ideas and should be acted on by the OP.

 

Mustang5L5

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#11

• Oct 22, 2014

• #11

Well yes, but who can drive a Mustang timidly??

 

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FoxfiveO

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Oct 22, 2014

#12

• Oct 22, 2014

• #12

Yea the cars only real rust issue is the drive sway bar mount, passenger's good. The rear control arms don't seem to have any issues, but I am planning on getting some mm adjustable lower control arms. I'm now suspecting that it might be the front right spring,cause the difference in wheel gap is greater in the front. Any other ideas?.

 

FoxMustangLvr

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#13

• Oct 22, 2014

• #13

Did you buy the car this way or did this happen over time? If you bought the car this way then I'd venture a guess that the spring isn't resting in the cup the way it should. Also one side could have decent spring isolators and the other one could be missing them or they have deteriorated. Never underestimate the power of stupidity when it comes to previous owners and short cuts they will take.

Mustang5L5 said:

Well yes, but who can drive a Mustang timidly??

Click to expand...

Truth!

 

7991LXnSHO

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#14

• Oct 23, 2014

• #14

Three "thinks" to add. I like Liquid Wrench on steel/iron better than PBlaster. (I am not sure it smells a lot better, but even horse drawn farm machinery bolts come apart with Liquid Wrench!)

Driving Enthusiastically without a front sway bar gets exciting. If your springs are strong enough to make up for no sway bar, your ride will stink and break your kidney stones.

If your sub frame is that bad, you might avoid cornering enthusiastically anyway. That much rust on a unibody is a scary thing. It would be different if you had a rusty body on a solid steel frame. As it is, I can see something twisting for a corner or pothole and not flexing back. Goodbye a arm or maybe the door sticks next time.

 

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FoxfiveO

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#15

• Oct 23, 2014

• #15

I found a new shop in town with a great body guy, will be getting new frame rails put in during winter. Gonna store it soon since snows coming any day now (Canada). got the sway bar out and didn't seem to make too much of a difference but I'm not gonna push it hard haha. thanks for the help. I'll check out the spring isolators, are they located between the spring and control arm?. Also any other theories for body lean will be appreciated, if it turns out the isolators are good. (I don't believe the frames bent) thanks

 

7991LXnSHO

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#16

• Oct 24, 2014

• #16

It is not just Canada that can have snow any second. today is going to reach above 80 degrees, but a couple of years ago we had three, three foot snowstorms in October in the middle of the U.S. It is past time to detail the classics and have the daily driver ready.

 

FoxMustangLvr

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Oct 27, 2014

#17

• Oct 27, 2014

• #17

FoxfiveO said:

I found a new shop in town with a great body guy, will be getting new frame rails put in during winter. Gonna store it soon since snows coming any day now (Canada). got the sway bar out and didn't seem to make too much of a difference but I'm not gonna push it hard haha. thanks for the help. I'll check out the spring isolators, are they located between the spring and control arm?. Also any other theories for body lean will be appreciated, if it turns out the isolators are good. (I don't believe the frames bent) thanks

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The spring isolators are located at the top and bottom of each spring. The prevent metal on metal friction which can cause squeaking sounds as your suspension articulates. These wear out over time but only add a 1/4"-3/8" to your ride height. If you have old suspension then maybe a spring is damaged somehow. Outside of that it could be your control arm bushings front or back. Keep in mind that your springs control your ride height.