Upgrade - LCA SN95 Spindles 99 PBR Brakes & New Shocks

[HookedonFord]

I have been collecting parts to upgrade to 1995 SN95 spindles/hubs with 1999 PBR dual piston brakes and tubular lower control arms. I followed Eddie's upgrade post SAI Mod and Brake Upgrade (http://www.ffcars.com/forums/17-factory-five-roadsters/332257-ye-olde-sai-mod-wilwood-front-brake-upgrade-threade.html) - great post, well documented (Thanks Eddie!) Now I have a buddy, Jason, in Afghanistan that is a huge Car Nut, I told him I would send him pictures of car work to keep him connected to his favorite hobby and thought I would try to help some of the other forum members that might be upgrading Fox setups with this post.

WARNING! Incorrect assembly and maintenance of these parts can cause serious injury or death.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/DSCN2602.jpg

[HookedonFord]

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/DSCN2631.jpg


Existing Setup MKII:
Brakes calipers - 1990 Mustang GT with Steeda sleeves
Rotors - Lincoln 5 Lug Rotors
Pads - Performance Friction 0431.10
Lower Control Arms - 1990 Mustang GT
Spindle Adapter Bracket – 2-hole FFR for Fox
Spindles - 1990 Mustang GT
Upper Control Arms – Factory Five “gold” (late MK2, early MKIII)
Wheels – Team III, 7” x 15” fits Fox brakes
Brake lines - Russell Stainless Brake line kit 693010
Bleeders - Speed Bleeder 639540
Master Cylinder - 1993 Cobra
Shocks - FFR provided Pro Shocks

UPDATED 7/29/14
New setup:
Brake Calipers - 1999 Mustang GT PBR with mounts C466 and C467
(2) Rotors - 1999 Mustang Rotors 11" Advanced auto part# YH141911
Pads - Hawk HPP HB274N.610
Lower Control Arms - TriStates tubular lower control arms, modified
Spindle Adapter Bracket – newer 4-hole FFR for Fox/SN95 from forum
Spindles - 1995 Mustang Spindles, already clearanced for PBR calipers
Upper Control Arms – Factory Five “gold” (late MK2, early MKIII)
Wheels – Team III, 8” x 15” 5 1/4" backset checked for PBR clearance (thanks Compunetexpress for the front wheels)
Brake lines - Stifflers Stainless Steel Brake Hose Kit, 1987-1993 Mustang FRONT with SN95 front calipers, BHK-MUST-1000FRTSSP $70 shipped
Bleeders - Speed bleeders 639560 99-04 Mustang
Master Cylinder - 1993 Cobra
Shocks - Koni 30-1720
Boots - Energy Suspension Upper and Lower control ball joints 5.13102G
- Energy Suspension Tie rod boots 9.13101G
Spindle spacer - Breeze Spacer Washer for SN-95 Spindle
(2) Ford Front Hub Nuts, Ford part # F3LY-3B477-A, Breeze part #30201 $17.50ea + shipping
Rack Pinion Boots (bellows) Car Quest part number 430-1049 (had a Moog K8465 number on it as well) $34.32 Local Car Quest for pair out the door
(2) Ford Dust Caps, Ford part #F3DZ-1N135-A, Breeze part #30200 $11.85ea + shipping
Breeze lower universal steering shaft kit for power rack (MKI and MKII only), part 70564 $129 + shipping

[HookedonFord]

Love these tool bags, easy to drag to each side. Picture with most important tool on top.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/22471720-bcf9-43ba-bcdb-af27393231cd.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Removed the lower control arm, spindle/rotor, IFS bracket, shock, and upper control arm on both sides.
Patched the under coating scrap from the tire on drivers side, I think it will blend in once it gets dirty.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/c08d6dd8-31c6-4839-80a8-f949c5177f1f.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I did not want to re-bleed the brake master cylinder, so I found a short metric bolt with nut of similar installed size for both lines and grabbed the crush washers off the existing caliper. I installed the bolt and nut with a crush washer on each side as I was removing the line.
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/f02a5972-d9fc-4f25-8152-78e8a6a66dc8.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I found two issues so far, one minor and one major.

The minor issue was a torn tie rod boot. I had already purchased a set of Energy suspension boots for Fox tie rods, part #9.13101G, since I planned to replace them.

The major issue is a collapsed Pro Shock. I can can easily compress and extend it by hand. There are no signs of leakage. I had planned to upgrade the shocks later this year and have been asking Mark at Breeze some questions about the QA1's. I want to call Pro Shocks as well.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/DSCN2636.jpg

[CraigS]

I have a proshock you can have from my MkII. It has the small diameter springs so you would have to swap over your spring seats. To confirm, mine is 15 inches eye to eye and the threaded section of the body is about 1 3/4 inches OD. Email me at cstuard at comcast dot net. use proshock as the subject.

[HookedonFord]

Craig,

Thank you very much, but let me get a call in to Pro Shocks first and maybe a few other shock vendors.

Jim

[frankeeski]

I believe the Proshocks are rebuild-able Jim.

[HookedonFord]

Frank, they are rebuild-able and I am going to post some notes hopefully later tonight

[HookedonFord]

Before I get back to updates I wanted to throw up a picture of Jason's car - 29 Blown Coupe (I will try to get a better picture)

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/Jasonscar.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I jumped around a little and something I should have mentioned was that I tried taking parts off in reverse order of the build manual installation, but had to deviate some.

I started with the tie rod ends, removed the cotter pins and and removed the nuts, then flipped them over (flat side up) and installed them about 1/4" before the tie rod end and nut were flush. Then I used the Big Hammer, a few good whacks and those separated easily. I left the tie rod nut on until I broke torque on the upper control arm ball joint and IFS bracket nut. I did not try to separate the upper ball joint from IFS bracket while installed.

Removed the bottom nut and washer from donor shock mount that goes through the lower control arm.

Loosened all the clevis nuts and bolts on the upper control arms, I left a arms bolted to the frame.

Placed a jack under the lower control arms. Something I needed to reuse were the IFS bracket nuts and bolts, so I loosened and removed them. I then I hit the IFS bracket to separate it from from the spindle,rotor and lower control arm. At the point the upper control was free, except from the clevis bolts and nuts that were already loosened.

With the jack in place I took out the lower control arm bolts and dropped the lower control arm, spindle, and rotor as an assembly.

My main takeaway was to break torque on all the pieces you plan to remove because it easier to get leverage as an assembly than in individual pieces.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/DSCN2608.jpg

[skullandbones]

Were you going to post some pics of the before and after front of the car to show how the stance will change with the new spindles? That would be interesting to see. I noticed you had a rub on the F panel so that might be relieved a little with the extra width you get with the SN95 spindles. Nice upgrade! Also very good advice on the breaking the bolts as a unit. What a hassle when they are apart. Thanks, WEK.

[HookedonFord]

To separate the upper control arm (UCA) from the IFS I flipped the nut and installed nut about 1/4" from flush with ball joint stud. I mounted it in the vise and put a piece of wood under the UCA ball joint in case it slid. I then used one of the too many small plug sockets I have collected as a sacrificial guide and contacted it with the Big Hammer.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/b7146607-c6d5-4dc1-9f69-2ed56ac82f30.jpg

[HookedonFord]

SkullandBones,

I did not consider getting pictures of the stance from the front before I started. Since I am using 1995 SN95 spindles I should not gain width there, but one of the main pieces I had to work out was changing wheels. I have had the spindles and core trade-in calipers since 2008, but when I did a mock up with my original 7" wide Team III wheels, the PBR calipers would not clear. Forum member (Compunetexpress) had a set of 15" x 8" Team III's that matched my rears and when I mocked them up, they cleared and backspacing is different, so there will be a width change with the wheels. I purchased new front and rear tires and mounted the fronts to the new 15" x 8" wheels before I started this and everything looked good. Weird thing about the F panel rub was it was only on one side. Now I wish I had some front pictures...

Jim

[HookedonFord]

I called PRO shocks at 855-682-4404 and spoke to Mr. Brian Burns. He seemed very knowledgeable on shocks for the FFR Roadster. He mentioned the installed shocks were setup for 4 compress and 6 rebound. Since I had spoken/emailed with Mark at Breeze I wanted to know if they offered a SA and DA shock.

Here are some of my notes:
Rebuilding the current PRO shocks $65 each
New PRO Shock ASB-546B (same shock) $179.99 each
AFCO SA 3654-36Z Custom call in $279.99 each
AFCO DA 3850-PTCZ $339.99 each
Spring Racing Yellow in color 10" 450lb $65.99 each
Spring Chrome 10" 450lb $44.99 each

Also have a call in with Viking at 1-800-236-6001.

The question I could not answer was the installed shock measurement because I have everything taken off, but we were able to work around it.

Some pictures of the PRO shock / spring measurements commonly asked.

Shock body 1 3/4"
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/bodydia.jpg

Spring length 10"
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/springlength.jpg

Spring diammeter 3 1/2", more important was 2 1/2" ID
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/springdiameter.jpg

Mounting Bolt diameter 1/2"
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/boltsize.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Craig,

What is the proper way to get the extended shock length? Is it center hole to center hole?

Jim

[skullandbones]

You probably won't experience a lot of track difference but You should have a look at this site.

http://www.maximummotorsports.com/tech_front_susp_7993to9604_spindle.aspx

I used the later 96 - 04 spindles on mine because I moved the LCAs to the inside holes in the MKIII brackets so the added track was good. I calculated the width based on my Cobra R 9x17s which I was changing to and it came out just like I wanted it. The wheels and tires are tucked under the fender just perfectly.

Regarding your F panel rub: have you considered centering the rack. I believe Breeze gives a tutorial on that. I haven't done it myself because my tires seem OK. I love suspension stuff so like to see threads like this. Keep up the good work!


WEK.

[CraigS]

That's how I measured, center to center.

[FFRSpec72]

If you are going to upgrade the spindles, I would go with the FFR MkIV spindles, these can be adapted to earlier Mk models as we have done this on the Challenge Car series, these are far better than the SN95 and allow for more caster/camber and remove most of the bump steer (not all).

[HookedonFord]

I received info back from Viking and they requested more, so here is the info and pics.

Top loop distance is 1.42"
Bottom loop distance is .83"
Shock Extended length is approx. 15.75" center to center
Shock Compressed length is approx. 10.5" center to center

Top Loop measurement
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/toploop.jpg

Bottom Loop measurment
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/Bootomloop.jpg

Shock Extended length
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/shockext.jpg

Shock compressed length
http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/shockcomp1.jpg

[HookedonFord]

FFRSpec72,

I appreciate the MKIV spindle info, but I have 1995 SN95 spindles in hand ready to go. If some else is upgrading what would they have to do to use the MKIV spindles?

Hooked

[HookedonFord]

I have been communicating with a Viking Performance Rep and the gentleman has been great to work with. My work load is slowing the communication down because I send info early in the morning and then scramble with the time difference in the afternoon to try follow up.

[HookedonFord]

I have been getting some info from FFR on shocks, since the shock updates will be a couple a days or longer I moved back to the upper control arms.

With the adjustment tubes and upper ball joint of the UCAs already removed I decided to inspect the SPC Pole Position cross shafts with pivoting ends (the ends pivoted well.) I removed the double snap rings and removed the ends, they looked good, only a few marks, cleaned them up with fine grit sand paper. One thing I did since reading Eddie's post was to grease the shafts with ends removed, watch out while doing it because it is like the BB gun in the Christmas Story "You will shoot your eye out." The old grease shot out nicely, I thought I took a picture, but it must have turned out blurry and I deleted it.

The only casualty from cross shafts were the snap ring pliers, I broke a screw on one of the tips of the pliers. I needed a new pair and it seemed like Sears had a great deal on a pair less than $16 out the door and they looked just like the Channel Lock snap ring pliers. Craftsman Retaining Ring Pliers, Internal/External (http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-retaining-ring-pliers-internal-external/p-00947412000P?PID=4485850&AID=11042411&aff=Y&sid=IAx20050830x000545) Item # 00947412000P Model # 47412

It was a breeze finishing up the snap rings with the new pliers.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/DSCN2640.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Decided to stick with PRO Shocks for a little while, but I did get some wrench time today and a bunch of prep work done.

First thing, I started with was getting the frame tabs straightened from using the Mustang lower control arms by using a threaded rod spreader.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/spreaderr.jpg

After that I torqued the upper (MOOG K772) and lower (MOOG K719) ball joints to 125ft lbs. My understanding is that the MOOG K719 number is for the older style tubalar lower control arms. The MOOG K772 fits my late MKII uca's and may fit other uca's. I used the Blue Loctite following the MKIV build manual, because that was not in the my old manual. If I have any problems with ball joints loosening I plan to drill and safety wire. BTW, that chrysler ball joint socket is 1 7/8" with 3/4" drive, so I used a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter for the torquing purposes.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/armsballjointsr.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I have a question for some early adapters (old timers) of SN95 spindles on older style lca's.

With the older style Chrysler lower ball joints there are shims/bushings that lift the spindle.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/bushingsr.jpg

Without the shim there is .22" of clearance between ball joint and spindle base.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/nobushingclearr.jpg

With the shim there is .40" of clearance between the ball joint and spindle base.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/bushingclearr.jpg

My thoughts are you have to use the shim to provide room for the lower ball joint boot. When I did a dry fit, it did not look like I am going to need the spacer washer on top of the spindle below the nut like you would on the newer style lca's with a mustang ball joint. Looking for some input on this one.

[CraigS]

No specific knowledge on this but...to me w/o the spacer it looks like the ball joint wouldn't be able to angle very much before it contacted the bottom of the spindle.

[Mark Dougherty]

defiantly use the shims
the spacer on top is only to make sure the castle part of the castle nut engages the cotter pin

[HookedonFord]

Craig and Mark Thanks. Mark does that clearance between the ball joint and spindle base with shim in place look correct or do I need to add anything else? I was not worried about the top spacers, more so surprised that I probably would not need them.

[HookedonFord]

Got a little time in this weekend.

One thing I like about the MKIV build manual are the torque spec references, which for most part are the same, but I needed to add:

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/torquespecsr.png
IFS bracket to spindle bolts 140-200lbft.

Lca's torqued parallel to ground at 105lbft. Installed the spindles with shims in place and Energy Suspension boots. I did not want to beat those IFS brackets on to spindles, so I used a mini spreader to install the IFS brackets making it very simple.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/ifsspreader1.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I planned to torque the IFS bracket bolts once I had the top and lower ball joints torqued. The bolts were hand tight, which helped to remove the lower bolt and pivot the the bracket out of the way to torque the the lower ball joint.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/IFSbracker.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Spindles in place with upper and lower ball joints and IFS Brackets torqued.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/spidler.jpg

[CraigS]

Don't get too concerned about the ball joint nut torque. Remember how hard it was to get the old ball joints out of the spindle? And you need to align the holes for the pin too so any torque spec used gets pretty much thrown away anyhow. You could torque to the minimum and then tighten further to align the holes.

[HookedonFord]

Craig, kind of what I did. I went in the middle for torques giving me room to tighten the nuts to align the holes for cotter pins.

[HookedonFord]

I received some correspondence from my buddy Jason, he mentioned he has limited time for internet access and the bandwidth is horrible for downloading pictures from the forum, which sucks.

It was a family weekend, so no time on the car. I was able to do a little reading and forum research about steering rack offset bushings from reference provided by thefactoryfiveforum.com forum member skullandbones. Thanks for helping me spend money, I will try to help you when you post up an upgrade/project:cool: I decided to pickup a set of Breeze offset bushings while I have the tie rod ends off. As usual, called Mark at Breeze Automotive and had them in lightning speed and they look really good.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/offsetbushingsr.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Starting working on the offset bushings and figured out how to center the rack, again nice pieces from Mark at Breeze Automotive.

Ran into a few unexpected items. One rack and pinion boot (bellow) was torn. Looking at getting 2 each Moog K8439 - Moog Replacement Rack and Pinion Bellows.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/boot.jpg

Then I thought I would change the rag joint, so I pulled the lower steering shaft. When I was inspecting it, I found cracks in the u-joint, difficult to see in the picture and hard to take a picture of.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/steeringshaft.jpg

The steering shaft issue was very unexpected, but I am really glad to have found it. I am looking at a $175 Flaming River FR1509PLP low profile steering shaft (http://www.flamingriver.com/index.php/products/c0008/s0006/FR1504PLP), but I am not sure if it needs to painted. I noticed Breeze had a painted lower universal for $129. Looking for recommendations on these lower universal steering shafts and whether they need to be painted.

[HookedonFord]

Since I needed to get some parts for the rack and pinion, I moved on and pulled the hubs to inspect them, since they had been in storage a while. The spindle shafts and hubs looked good. I was not digging the Dorman replacement gold spindle nut and I need to pick up some new dust caps. I will be calling the ford dealer tomorrow for:

2 each, front hub dust cap, part # F3DZ-1N135-A
2 each, hub nut, part #F3LY-3B477-A

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/spindle.jpg

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/hubnut.jpg

[skullandbones]

You are smart to go with good quality hardware on those hubs. It seems very basic but still very important. I've had so many issues with trailer wheel bearings over the years, I don't want that problem on my car. Looking good! WEK.

[HookedonFord]

No wrench time this weekend, but more parts arrived.

Rack Pinion Boots (bellows) Car Quest part number 430-1049
Breeze lower universal steering shaft kit for power rack (MKI and MKII only), part 70564
Ford Dust Caps, Breeze part #30200
Ford Front Hub Nuts, Breeze part #30201
Stifflers Stainless Steel Brake Hose Kit, 1987-1993 Mustang FRONT with SN95 front calipers, BHK-MUST-1000FRTSSP

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/morepartsr.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I picked up a set of front and rear unused Koni shocks from the forum. They stopped by Viking Performance to be dynoed before I received them. Viking representative, Jake Neuman (952-469-4130) has been great to work with and they are looking at providing a DA shock in the near future.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/Konir.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Koni Shock (30-1720) and Koni Shock (30-1721) Dyno

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/Dyno.jpg

[HookedonFord]

I finished up the front end. Only items left are brake bleeding, adjusting ride height, and then alignment.

http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i462/beepster8/UpgradeFrontend/Finished1.jpg

[HookedonFord]

Following up after bleeding the brakes, adjusting ride, and getting the alignment.

Since I had purchased front and rear Koni shocks, I went ahead and flipped the rear brake caliper mounting orientation to a front mounted orientation and I installed the rear Koni shocks as well. A month before I started this front upgrade I had already installed the Hawk HP plus+ rear pads on 1999 GT rear calipers and was waiting to bed them in with the new 1999 PBR calipers with HP plus+ front pad per Hawk guidance located here - http://www.hawkperformance.com/performance-street/pads/hp-plus in the General Questions section.

Everything went pretty smoothly with the final brake bleeding, shock ride height adjustment, and alignment. I am still communicating with Mr. Neuman at http://www.vi-king.com/ and looking forward to trying out front and rear DA shocks they are working on/planning to offer.

At this point, I really like the way the car handles and the braking abilities over the previous equipment. I am impressed with how much it improved the braking, so thanks Wayne Presley, for that HP plus+ brake pad advice during a dyno visit.