New front control arms now ride height problems

indk67k · Jan 18, 2011

I just installed m3075a ontrol arms on my fox but now the passenger rear side sits about one inch higher in than the driver side and the front passenger sits about half to 3/4 of an inch in the front.
i checked and the springs and made sure they are installed correctly so im not sure what it could be, im wondering if having the driver side jacked up over night could be effecting its stance? could it just need to sit for a little to settle again? any help would seriously rule.

BIGDATOWN · Jan 18, 2011

Go for a drive for a lil while and then let it sit for a lil while and it will most likely settle

Mustang5L5 · Jan 18, 2011

Did you torque the control arms to the k member when the car was at ride height? Or when the arms were dangling?

Also, having one spring slightly rotated in the spring cup can affect ride height. Rear springs can also affect it, for the same reason

indk67k · Jan 18, 2011

yeah im guessing it might just have to settle too. well see how it is tomorrow.

Also,
i torqued the control arms down with the control arms themselves jacked up since i couldnt figure out how to get under the car to torque them as it sat.

Shakerhood · Jan 18, 2011

Spring Position and having the car at ride height when torqing the bolts are the main things.

LarsD · Jan 18, 2011

indk67k said:
Also,
i torqued the control arms down with the control arms themselves jacked up since i couldnt figure out how to get under the car to torque them as it sat.

That should have worked, I did that to my 91 when I did the springs and it sits fine.

stang&2Birds · Jan 19, 2011

Some things to consider:
1) Springs do not settle! The isolators compress.
2) Did you index the springs, and make sure they stayed in the correct location after you torqued the bolts?
3) Where did you jack up the arms? You need to jack them up at the "wheel" location to get the proper compression/angle on the arm when you torque the bolt. For the FCA, that means jacking up the FCA at the ball joint, and then torquing the bolt for the FCA bushings.

See my web page for some pictures. For front springs, you can see the two index holes in the FCA, and how the spring is between the index holes.
Spring install on a Mustang using the OTC spring tool

BTW: You likely didn't have the arms at the right angle when you torqued the bolts, or the springs where not indexed properly, of the springs moved while the arm was being jacked into position. You can expect ~~1/4" drop from the isolators settling. For most people doing spring installs, the drop from the isolators settling is minimal.

Good Luck!

4rdnut · Jan 20, 2011

If you buy fence posts and cut them in 1 foot lengths, you can jack the front up by putting your floor jack under the spring seat cup and jack up one fence post height and put two or three fence post sections under tire, then do other side front, then do the rear the same way, if not high enough, go around again and go two high with fence post sections. This way the car is loaded like sitting on the ground.

HISSIN50 · Jan 20, 2011

Car-ramps enable the suspension to realize the static load as well.

indk67k · Jan 20, 2011

Yeah im going to re-torque the control arms using some ramps, which should be tomorrow if its warm enough. Im pretty sure the springs are indexed correctly and sit in the control arm cups correctly but i will recheck tomorrow when im re-torquing. ill let you guys know how it goes.
I appreciate all the help guys, thanks a ton.

also, any know the correct ft lb torque for these?

indk67k · Jan 21, 2011

So i got under the car on ramps today and loosened the control arm bolts, let it sit for about 15 minutes while i ate lunch and then tightened them down. After that was done i measured and they are perfect now! so torquing them at true ride height fixed it!
Now, i measured the rears and the pass. side sits 1/2 inch taller than driver, i looked at the springs and they are positioned so the pig tail ends are facing me when im looking at them from the drums and facing opposite of each other, is this correct? (does that make sense?)

HISSIN50 · Jan 22, 2011

indk67k said:
Now, i measured the rears and the pass. side sits 1/2 inch taller than driver, i looked at the springs and they are positioned so the pig tail ends are facing me when im looking at them from the drums and facing opposite of each other, is this correct? (does that make sense?)

The ends of the rear springs should be facing the driver's side (both of them).

Mustang5L5 · Jan 22, 2011

indk67k said:
Now, i measured the rears and the pass. side sits 1/2 inch taller than driver, i looked at the springs and they are positioned so the pig tail ends are facing me when im looking at them from the drums and facing opposite of each other, is this correct? (does that make sense?)

Pretty common for drivers side to sit lower.

But both pigtails Should face drivers side

bruno · May 5, 2017

HISSIN50 said:
Car-ramps enable the suspension to realize the static load as well.

Necro bump. Thought to post here as it's related rather than start a new one.

HISSIN50 - Do you also need to raise the rear of the car to be level? Or can you simply drive up the ramps?

- Bruno

Mustang5L5 · May 5, 2017

Ideally, you want the rear level with the front, as having the front lifted would slightly decrease the effect of gravity on the springs due to the direction of gravity being a few degrees off. Does it make a HUGE difference? Probably not? I torqued my front and rear arms with the other side on the pavement.

bruno · May 5, 2017

OK, thanks Mustang5L5.

Mustang5L5 said:
...
But both pigtails Should face drivers side

All pigtails, L/R Front and L/R Rear, should face driver side. Correct? Making sure this wasn't specific to the rear springs only.

Mustang5L5 · May 5, 2017

bruno said:
OK, thanks Mustang5L5.

All pigtails, L/R Front and L/R Rear, should face driver side. Correct? Making sure this wasn't specific to the rear springs only.

Rear springs

Up front, you'll notice two water "weep" holes in the spring perches. You want to position the bottom coil so that the spring end only covers up one of the two holes, not both.

New front control arms now ride height problems

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