Clutch / Front End Suspension Questions...

[Nagash01WS6]

What do you guys recommend for a new clutch??? I need a new one, daily driver, little to no track duty for the 302... something basic. If the Autozone version works well, then so be it.

Also, when I bought the car, it had Eibach springs installed. Got new rear tires the other day, and took a look at the insides of the fronts, and they are wore down to the cords. Does it just need an alignment? Will it need castor / camber plates??? Are those only needed if they cant adjust the alignment enough? Can any shop do an alignment on a lowered stang?

Also... how can you tell if the rod ends / wheel bearings up front need to be swapped out... and where can you get them, aparantly AZ only sells the complete bearing / hub assembly, but Discount has bearings.

 

[Grn92LX]

Ford King Cobra is good enough for you. I recommend an aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster kit.

 

[Joes95GT]

I had a RAM clutch in my car for years. It was a piece of chit and my knee would shake at some red lights if I held it in too long.

I switched to a King Cobra about 2 years ago and for the past ~3000 miles, it's been fine. The pedal is much easier to push compared to the RAM, too.

Joe

 

[revhead347]

Ford King Cobra is good enough for you. I recommend an aftermarket quadrant and firewall adjuster kit.

I would recommend the King Cobra as well. I used one for a long time.

Kurt

 

[95WhiteVenom]

Yep also got to say the king cobra its worked well and has done nicely at the track too even thought i know thats not really a concern to you but they take a beating and keep working great.

 

[Mrgreen94gt]

Also, when I bought the car, it had Eibach springs installed. Got new rear tires the other day, and took a look at the insides of the fronts, and they are wore down to the cords. Does it just need an alignment? Will it need castor / camber plates??? Are those only needed if they cant adjust the alignment enough? Can any shop do an alignment on a lowered stang?

Also... how can you tell if the rod ends / wheel bearings up front need to be swapped out... and where can you get them, aparantly AZ only sells the complete bearing / hub assembly, but Discount has bearings.

I would definitely get some C/C plates and maybe replace the A-arms. The a-arm bushings often wear out and cause excess negative camber. Car would feel new after that.

I haven't heard of many problems with the wheel bearings on SN95s, more on earlier cars. For the tierod ends, it would probably be worthwhile to go ahead and upgrade to some adjustable ones, aka "bumpsteer kit." If they're worn out, you'll typically hear a clicky/squeeky type of sound from them when turning.

 

[Nagash01WS6]

I'll be doing the entire front end when I put the 408 in.

Im going to put in a tubular K-Member and A-Arms. Just trying to temp. fix the steering and suspension problems I have now until I get it all done.

 

[mo_dingo]

Also... how can you tell if the rod ends / wheel bearings up front need to be swapped out... and where can you get them, aparantly AZ only sells the complete bearing / hub assembly, but Discount has bearings.

I bought & installed the Autozone clutch about a year ago. It was 149.99 I believe. The TOB doesn't squeak, and the pedal is a little hard to push. The clutch doesn't grab excessively hard as well, so you can dump the clutch from 2000 rpm's and not spin the tires. But if you want to do some 4k+ launches, then I would suggest a much harder grabing clutch. People have mentioned the Mcleod (sp?) dual disc clutch as a good one for the higher rev launches.

A shop should have no problem aligning your car, if all of the bushings are good. You need to remove the front wheels, and examine the bushings. If they are cracked/broken/gone, then they need to be replaced. (This includes your tie-rod bushings & lower ball joints) Now that I have done a spring install, it would probably take me 2 hours to re-do the front bushings & lower ball joints. So it's something you could definately do within 4-6 hours with no experience. Once the bushings & ball joints are good, then a shop can align the car for the "quoted price" that you usually see advertised. But, sometimes the lowering springs will drop the car too much, and CC plates will be necessary. The alignment shop will tell you when you take it to them.

Like I said before, the tie rod bushings will be cracked or damaged. This is very noticeable when you remove the wheels & clean them off. As far as the wheel bearings are concerned, you need to remove them, clean & examine them to find out.

Have you ever seen someone post a picture of a bearing that had nasty marks on each bearing? I saw it here before, and it's a classic sign of a bad wheel bearing. Also, if any of the bearings are hard to turn, then you need to replace the bearing.

I was browsing through autozone's website, and they don't sell the wheel bearing seperately!!! What a crock! Maybe Ford or Merles sells them seperately.

So maybe it's worth it to remove & inspect the bearings before you replace them. At that price for the kit, that is rediculous!
Scott

 

[Nagash01WS6]

According to the Chilton manual... the hub / bearing is one unit, and the bearings are not replacable seperately.

I guess I'll just order a King Cobra clutch and throw it in there.

I finally figured out how to drive a manual. I toasted the King Cobra thats in there now.