SRA to IRS Swap - Opinions Please!!

I think the IRS will be better for what I want the car to do, so as long as everything goes well, it will be in the car this weekend.

darkside03gt said:

Do the swap! I recently did it myself and the difference is night and day in both handling and ride quality. The rear no longer dances around every time I hit a patch of bumpy road. Before you go buying stuff from mm consider full tilt boogie racing.

Also don't forget to remove the pinion snubber before you instal the IRS and take the time to change your fuel filter while you at it because getting to it with the IRS is a pain. I would get some mm stainless lines while you are at it, yes they will work. Look into getting the correct size bolts for the front mounts as ford installed ones that were to small at the factory. Pm me if you have any further questions.

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Thanks for the info! I have looked into the Full Tilt Boogie Racing IRS kit and it looks pretty sick, and very complete, but I can't even think about spending $700 on bushings right now. Maybe when I get my tax return. I'm sure it makes a huge difference in the way the IRS feels but, again, too rich for my blood.

I have already made a checklist and the pinion snubber is on there for sure. I recently changed it to a smaller, UPR urethane one when I lowered the car, and it's bright red so hopefully I won't miss it while I'm under there haha. As for brake lines, at some point in the next year or so, I'd like to get stainless lines all around, dimpled and slotted rotors, and some better pads, but it's not a top priority right now.

Thanks again for the info, if I have any questions I'll shoot you a PM for sure. Honestly, it looks like a pretty simple swap to me. I've done a lot more complicated projects before and this seems like its just kinda "bulky" and hard to maneuver which is probably the hardest part about this project. I have a transmission jack at my disposal which will be AWESOME, and my uncle is giving me use of his press so I can take care of the u-joint swap on the driveshaft. I'm thinking the project will hopefully go as follows:

FRIDAY: Get home from work at 4ish, drop the rear out of my car, bag and label all hardware, put everything into my fathers pickup.

SATURDAY: Drive 2 hrs down to the guys shop at around 9, check the IRS out. If all is good, I'll pack it up and head home. Once I get home I'm confident I can get it into the car by Saturday night.

SUNDAY: Get up and take care of swapping the u-joint on the driveshaft and install it. Spend the rest of the day polishing the catback to a mirror shine and install it. THEN ENJOY!!

UPDATE: First guy who wanted to swap fell through due to motor issues with his car and wanting to address them instead.

Yesterday on SVTP, a guy posted wanting to do the same trade. The subframe, control arms, and the Bilstein shocks had 79k on them, the halfshafts had 24k on them out of his buddy's wrecked '04, but the carrier was brand new Ford racing carrier with carbon clutches, Ford Racing solid shim kit, FMS 4.10 gears, Ford Axle bearings, and a Billetflow IRS brace all installed at B&G Performance. Very meticulous build/installation. It has Intrax rear springs, and polished Magnaflow tailpipes but no mufflers or flowtubes.

I called him last night, he was an hour away so I took my dad's truck and checked it out today with the understanding that if it checked out, we'd take it out, throw it in the truck and he'd follow me in his truck to get mine.

Long story short, I now have a rebuilt IRS with 4.10 gears, a Billetflow brace, and beautiful polished tailpipes. I tried to somehow make my mufflers work, but no dice.

I'm gonna clear my head from a whole day of wrenching and decide what I wanna do exhaust wise.

Pics to come soon! Can't wait to drive it!!

darkside03gt said:

With 4.10s do not get solid diff mounts or you will hate the the IRS due to the hum that will be transmitted into the cabin.

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Awesome, thanks for the input. I actually planned on probably getting some MM urethane ones, although I took the car for a quick rip around the block today and there is no wheelhop, no real deflection that I felt, and didnt have the dreaded "Cobra Clunk".

Kornnut said:

Pics?

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Pics will come next week. The car is filthy and doesn't have any tailpipes or mufflers on it right now. I have to order some mufflers, I'm trying to decide if I wanna keep the Magnaflows or try Magnapacks. While I love the Magnapack sounds, this is my DD and with the 4.10's on the highway, I'm worried they will piss me off.

SteedaGT9150 said:

what midpipe do you have? if you have an o/r pipe id go with the regulars, if you have cats on it get the magnapacks. i love the way my car sounds with my o/r h and magnaflows.

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Yea that was my thoughts too and I wanted 'Packs, but at 2500 rpms at 70 on the highway every day for work, I think I've decided to stick with Magnaflows. I found a guy on SVTP selling some from an IRS catback for $100 shipped. I think I'm gonna do that and sell mine. Maybe even break even.

SteedaGT9150 said:

it'll still scream at WOT

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Oh yes!! I had Magnaflows before I did the swap so it'll be the exact same sound as before. I love how they are so tame when cruising around and at idle, but even with the catted x-pipe, they scream at WOT! I absolutely love the tone, they sound sick.

I just pulled the trigger on the Magnaflows from a guy on SVTP for $100 shipped. Thats a pretty awesome deal considering they are $95 each new.