New Suspension Project - Convertible - Part 1

[Robert Arco]

Convertible owners should enjoy this as well as coup

Project Car - My 2008 GT CS Convertible 68,000 miles

So I decided to do a suspension upgrade. Not that it needed anything but I wanted to 1) Lower it a bit 2) Tighten the suspension for better performance but keep a nice ride and not have a harsh bump mobile

Parts

• GT500 Lower control arms front
• Bilstein B12 Pro kit (shocks, struts and it comes with Eibach lowering springs progressive) - lowers 1.25 front and 1.50 rear on convertible
• GT500 upper strut mounts
• Steeda Panhard Bar
• FP Bump stops
• Proforged Bump steer tie rod ends (very much worth the price to save the geometry on a lowered car and no funky adjustments or washers to deal with
• Proforged inner tie rods

Did the rear end yesterday to start - and if you are a convertible owner you will want to pay attention

PART 1 - The rear end install

Shock removal starts inside the car and 100% you need the universal too that holds the shaft from spinning - you can get it here and is saved me
Amazon product ASIN B000CO88C6View: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000CO88C6/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Raise the car and put jack stands under axle to support the suspension

Remove shock bolts - on the convertible you DONT have lower the sway bay to get to the bolt like they say on coups

Remove the shocks

Now remove the bolts for the panhard bar - I had to loosen the panhard bar support bolt passenger side to get it to come out as it holds tight ..just loosen a bit

Reinstall the new panhard bar adjusted to the same size. DONT FORGET TO RETIGHTEN the PANHARD support bolt you loosened to get it out

So far so good

Now on to the springs and here is where it gets interesting

Rejack the car and put the stands under the lift points - not the suspension

NOTE - BEFORE LOWERING THE REAR TO HANG - remove the bolt on each side holding the brake line in place so its free or you will stretch it and possible damage - very easy

This is so you can drop the suspension to get the springs out - or so you think because it all would work except the DAMN convertible V brace that stops the axle from going low enough - YES, you do have to remove this and the Ford guide also has a sequence for removal and reinstall (Like a valve cover) - so I do this but it gets better

The bolts near the rear and near the doors are easily accessible but #3 on each is up a welded bar ABOVE the suspension I the most inaccessible frustrating spot unless you on a lit. I got around this by putting a socket on an 18" extension, worked it up there and got on the bolt to remove (trust me it was even more fun on reinstall)


Anyway, removed the bars, NOW lower the rear, put a jack under one side to raise it so the other side dropped and let me swap springs - then did the other

Reinstall the v brace - oh joy on bolt #3 on each try to start the threads where you cant possible reach but again - 18" extension did the trick

Back on the stands under the axle - reinstall the lower shock bolts. Remove and install the new bump stops

Lower the car, add the nuts to the top of the shocks I the trunk and you are done with the rear

End of PART 1

 

[General karthief]

Well did the car fall of the jackstands and you can't reach your personal communication device? We need updates and pics. If you have not been working on it lately post some pics of beer with strange names,
Just say'n, running out of popcorn.

 

[Robert Arco]

Sorry, you are 100% correct so let me continue (the job has been done for a while and yes, I have pics) - I am going to do this in multiple replies so its easy for folks to see

The REAR as I mentioned on a convertible wont let you lower the axle enough to pull the springs without removing the support braces only on the convertible. The back bolts and bolts near the doors are EASY to remove but the damn ones in the middle take creativity. Use a socket on an long extension and guide it UP to those which are about 10 inches above the support bar (yeah..I will show you )

 

[Robert Arco]

The Panhard bar. Steeda adjustable. Easy to install and here is a tip for lowered car. They want you to adjust it to the same size as stock and then after the car is on the ground, adjust it so the rear is properly aligned (because it will move off after you lowered). What I did was make it about 3/8" to 1/2" shorter and then when installing, I installed axle side first (as you should and then to get it on the chassis side, PULL it over so the hole line up and finished install. Net result - the rear was perfectly aligned within 1/8" (actually it was damn near perfect at 1/16)

 

[Robert Arco]

So now lets move to the front and I am going to show you the order and some great tips.
1) Start with the GT500 lower control arms. The key here is get the ball joint out of the socket first but to make that easier, get the two back bolts a little loose first but DONT remove. Now ford makes these bolts as hard as heck to get loose but here is the deal.

The one closest to the wheel itself is very visible. You wont get a socket on there but a ratcheting wrench or two wrench trick gets it done. The one behind is tough BUT look down from the engine bay and what do you see? The back one visible. Using a long socket extension and breaker bar from above, you can break it free and then its easy to finish with a wrench underneath. Then even better I will tell you why getting the new ones in is easy

Now the challenge. The big long pivot bolt. This one challenges everyone and some folks say loosen the steering rack bolts and move it forward 6 inches. DONT DO THAT. they take heat, are a bitch and NOT needed. First, make sure you UNLOCK your steering wheel so you can move the steering left or right. Now, remove the tie rod boot. It has a one time clamp on the inner tie rod and a small squeeze clamp on the short end. Just break the one time clamp, move the squeeze clamp down the outer tie rod and get the boot out of your way.

Now the long bolt. It has the nut welded on one side so you only need one socket but after its loose you will see, you cant get it pass the ball of the inner tie rod...SO you think. This takes two guys. One guy wiggles the bolt out while the other TWISTS the steering assembly AWAY (you have to really twist but you wont hurt anything). Takes a bit and the guy twisting is going to think he is hurting something...You are NOT. and there you have it...the bolt is out and you do the same to get it back in

As far as installing, start with the back bolt (put some grease around where it slides) and do what you need to wiggle it back in - also use BLUE Loctite

Then do the back two bolts but DO not tighten all the way. Here is a tip from Ford. Install these upside down from how they came out (clips on top, bolt up from bottom). this way you can use a socket and also torque.

Then finally get the ball joint end back into place. Make sure it is aligned with a notch so the bolt will slide in. Torque all down. And what of the Tie rod boot? If you are not going the tie rods, then simply push the boot back up, attach the small spring clip and on the large boot side? Just use a long cable tie, pull tight and clip.

 

[Robert Arco]

Before anyone gets TOO bored with my details on installation - how about some results pics? LOL...She sits awesome - lowered 1.5 in the rear and about 1.3 in the front giving it a level lowered stance.

 

[Robert Arco]

If you are wondering about the side Ponies, they came with the Pony I used on my SR performance Strut tower brace The brace had a blank square so it was really easy to customize. . I wasn't going to use the additional ponies... but I sort of like the retro addition

 

[Robert Arco]

Continuing the build
2)Inner and outer tie rod ends
I next moved to the tie rods. I went with Proforged inner and Proforged outer with bumpsteer. If you don't know, when you change the geometry of your car by lowering, you can experience increased negative result bumpsteer

Bump steer or roll steer is the term for the tendency of the wheel of a car to steer as it moves upwards. It is typically measured in degrees of steer per metre of upwards motion or degrees per foot. On modern cars the front of the tire moves outwards as the suspension is raised, a process known as the front wheels "toeing out". This gives roll understeer. In this case its because the stock tie rod would not be parallel to the angle of the control arm. This tie rod has a longer shaft that move the rod down. For a good video on this see Kenny Brown


View: https://youtu.be/5FrEU5aJ5kU


Now removing the tie rods is pretty easy but here is what you should do. First, loosen the tie rod lock nut by putting a wrench on the inner rod shaft (its squared for this). Then a wrench on the nut an back it off. If yours are pretty rusted, use some liquid wrench first. After you back the nut a few turns, move on to the tie rod nut on the steering knuckle. The nut is easy but advice here.
Your ABS sensor is mounted with a small nut nearby. Remove the nut and pull the sensor OUT and out of the way.WHy? You are going to be hammering on this thing and excessive shock can damage the nearby sensor. Be safe, not sorry.

Getting the tie rod out is supposed to be as easy as hitting the knuckle holding it in and it will fall out. Yeah right. Maybe for some but in my case, I had to just a sledge on the out rod arm to force it out..once it moves, it comes right out. DO NOT HIT the top where the nut goes as it could mushroom and cause issues.

Once free, start backing out and COUNT the turns until its comes off. I think mine was 21 and 3/4 turns. This way when you put new ones on, you reverse this and you will be close in alignment.

For the inner tie rod, I bought a tie rod removal tool. Its a long tube that goes down the rod and allows you to grab the large nut and use a socket. I needed a 1 7/16" end (the kit comes with various ends). Challenge - because the ball is bigger than the nut, you need to put the adapter on first, THEN slide the tube, align them and lock, now use the 3/8 socket. no issue. WHAT WAS an issue was the new inner tie rod was a nut 1 1/2 inch...and my kit didn't go that high..so just used an open end adjustable. LARGE

Installed the inner. Put on the outer with the right number of turns. Put the shaft in the knuckle, etc. Very easy

Pictures below of the Tie rod tool and the bumpsteer tie rod end

 

[Robert Arco]

Hope I haven't bored you all to death. The final step was the struts. Again part of the Bilstein / Eibach kit. these were very easy because there was no spring compression needed. Just remove the old struts
1) Loosen but don't remove the top strut tower nuts
2) Put a jack under the control arm and take a little pressure off the strut.
3) Remove the sway bar end link from the strut.
4) Remove the abs brake tree and nut
5) Now remove the strut bolts
6) lower the jack you used to relieve the pressure and now you can remove the upper nuts being careful to hold the strut - lower it out

Now the Bilstein strut and eibach spring monts easy. Since its a shorter spring its easy to mount on the strut without a compressor. Align it properly and using the GT500 strut mount top I had my son pull it down to compress down while I used an electric impact gun to drive the top nut ...

Now you can reverse the process to install

SPECIAL NOTE ON ASSEMBLING THE STRUT
The Bilstein instructions said don't use a bump stop , its built in. The eibach said use a bump stop and provided a boot. DONT use a bump stop, it is actually built in. I know because I called BOTH Bilstein and Eibach. They only include the boot because its normally part of an eibach sping set for OTHER struts.

 

[Robert Arco]

IN SUMMARY AND ADDITIONAL NOTE

When I was complete I planned on going to a performance shop for the alignment. I knew I was off a bit (toed out) and I attribute this to the different Tie rod end style. I also made sure I supplied them with Eibach camber bolts which they said was great I did.

They aligned perfectly and then asked I bring it back in a few weeks as the springs need some time to break in. They said "Take it on some good twisty roads to get those springs moving". This alignment part is key and I didn't just go to some local shop or a firestone, etc. I went to a performance shop that was clued in on lowered and custom cars. In short, cost me the same as those other places BUT I got top notch work.

The car rides EXACTLY how I planned. On normal roads she is not bumpy stiff as a board as some people get just by smashing the car down or using non-progressive spings. In handling it is night and day. If you do what I did its all about a plan...What do you want to do and how does everything fit together. Balance, geometry, daily driver with superior handling and style.