I've upgraded the suspension over the course of the time that I have owned the car. It is a convertible, so it already had a strut tower and K member brace up front, but there was plenty of areas for improvement:
Shocks and Struts
Subframe connectors
Rear upper and lower control arms and 8.8 housing bushings
Front lower control arms, front sway bar bushings and end links
Shocks and Struts:
The first thing I did to the car was the shocks and struts. I ordered the Tokico HP's (blues) from an eBay vendor online. The car went up in the air and I put it on jack stands (under the frame, not on the rear) and removed the wheels. I started with the rear shocks. Because its a convertible, I had to dig into the trunk to find the nuts that hold the rear shocks to the car. I removed the body panels, and removed the top nut. Then I moved onto the quad shocks. An impact gun made quick work of removing them. Then I put a jack under the rear to support it (the shocks are keeping the springs compressed). I pulled the bolts for the shocks from the rear and the shocks came out. I installed the new shock, put the bolt into the bottom and installed the nut on the top until the bushings were slightly compressed. The rear was now done. I let the jack down (car is still on jack stands) and moved to the front. The first thing I did under the hood was hit the strut nut with an impact gun. short bursts allow it to come right off. I put the jack under the front control arm to support it, and removed the two nuts / bolts that hold the strut to the knuckle using the impact gun. the strut came right out. I installed the new strut, put the bolts / nuts back on the knuckle and the self locking nut on the top. I hit the self locking nut with the impact gun, and torqued the bolts / nuts on the knuckle to 150 foot pounds. Shocks have now been replaced. After the test drive, it feels completely different. The suspension was much more crisp!
Subframe connectors:
Subframe connectors on a convertible are absolutely essential. Due to the unibody construction, the front and rear frame rails are not connected to each other. Also, its a convertible - so there is no roof to add to the rigidity. A good set of subframe connectors connects the front and rear frame rails and stops the car from twisting and restores the lost rigidity. I ordered a set of Maximum Motorsports full length SFCs. These are the weld in type, and also bolt to the seat bolts under the car. My buddy Lou - also known as Shifter in the online mustang forums - has a welder. We took the car to his place for the installation. The car must be put in the air in a way that the suspension is loaded. We put the front wheels on ramps, and jack stands under the rear axle. We removed the seat bolts, and prepped the front and rear frame rails on the drivers side for the welding. We use a small jack to hold up the SFC at first, then the weld will support it. While he is welding the front, I prep the other side. Now we need to line up the SFC on the drivers side with rear frame rail. sometimes we need to pull it / pry it and use a jack. the location of the muffler also adds to the challenge. Once it is tacked into place, he continues the welding. The seat brace is also welded into place. Installation on the passenger side is the same. Its important to paint the SFCs and the welds after they cool or they will rust very quickly. They are bare metal. I like to use the DuPont 1635 black engine enamel. The test drive after the install was great. I could instantly tell the difference. The car felt much more solid. It did highlight the need for attention on the rear suspension though. I'll talk about that next.
Rear Upper and Lower Control Arms and 8.8 Housing bushings:
The rubber bushings in the rear are adequate at best. Over time and constant beatings, they just get destroyed. My goal was to replace the rear upper and lower control arms and while they were out, replace the 8.8 housing bushings with urethane ones. At the time, I was working on a 1990 Mustang GT street / strip car and I decided to upgrade the rear suspension in that to something fully adjustable. I took the Hotchkins solid rear lower control arms and used them for my 1994. I also bought a set of used BBK Gripp Upper control arms - non adjustable, but both the uppers and lowers had the urethane bushings. Installation was pretty straight forward, remove and replace. There is a neat trick for doing the bushings in the 8.8 housing. with the rear dropped down as far as it will go - upper and lower control arms disconnected and shocks unbolted, the rear can drop down. Using a 3/8 drill bit, circle the inner sleeve at a slow speed. this will eventually work the sleeve out. do the same between the rubber bushing and outer sleeve, same for the other side and install the new urethane 8.8 housing bushings. Torque all the control arms to 60 foot pounds.
Front Suspension:
At about 175k miles, the ball joints were shot in the front lower control arms. It failed inspection because of this. A common upgrade is to replace the control arms with those from a 2003 cobra. Its a direct replacement with better bushings and ball joints. I decided while I was at it to replace the front sway bar bushings and end links. We start out by removing the brake caliper and rotor, then support the lower control arm with a jack. Remove the strut and tie rod. Remove the sway bar end link. we used a chain to keep the spring compressed. wrap the chain around the inside few coils at the compressed side and secure the chain with a nut and bolt. slowly lower the control arm to remove the spring pressure and remove the spring. Please note, if that spring becomes a projectile due to unloading, it WILL remove appendages. Once the spring is out remove the castle nut on the ball joint. Use a small gear puller to put pressure on the ball joint while pulling up on the knuckle. Then, using a substantial hammer, whack the knuckle. A few good blows should cause the knuckle to separate from the ball joint. Apply more pressure to the puller if needed. Once that is done, remove the lower control arm. Installation is the reverse of removal with one note: torquing the lower control arm to k-member bolts is the VERY last step. The wheels need to be on and the suspension under load. Then torque these bolts to 150 foot pounds. The car passed inspection, and while it was at the shop I had them do an alignment.
I must say that after all of these suspension changes, the car handles VERY well.
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