IRS Assembly arrived today! Update2: Damaged spindles are being replaced

[Jammer369]

I know I won't be ordering the kit until Nov but the 3.55 Torsen IRS assembly arrived today via Fedex from thepartsfarm.com. I am psyched! It looks in great shape. One question, it is from a 2019 Automatic 5.0 GT. Will I need to get an adapter plate where the driveshaft connects to the diff? I have looked for a while but this is the first 3.55 Torsen assembly I found that didn't have any rear end damage so I had to pull the trigger. I will be putting a Coyote/TKX combo in it.

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Troy

[chmhasy]

Nice!

[Kool AC]

An adapter plate is provided with the kit.

[Jammer369]

An adapter plate is provided with the kit.

Sweet! Thanks for letting me know!

[David Williamson]

There are at least 2 different adaptors and drive shafts so when you order let them know the details of the Differential you have so you get the correct parts. I had to exchange parts several times on mine to get the correct ones.
David W

[Jammer369]

There are at least 2 different adaptors and drive shafts so when you order let them know the details of the Differential you have so you get the correct parts. I had to exchange parts several times on mine to get the correct ones.
David W


That's what I was looking for! Thanks!

Troy

[BradCraig]

I know I won't be ordering the kit until Nov but the 3.55 Torsen IRS assembly arrived today via Fedex from thepartsfarm.com. I am psyched! It looks in great shape. One question, it is from a 2019 Automatic 5.0 GT. Will I need to get an adapter plate where the driveshaft connects to the diff? I have looked for a while but this is the first 3.55 Torsen assembly I found that didn't have any rear end damage so I had to pull the trigger. I will be putting a Coyote/TKX combo in it.


Troy


I had my pallet from them way before my kit as well, had plenty of time to disassemble and clean up. I also replaced the halfshaft seals on the center section, figured it was cheap and easy then. Yes, you'll get an adapter and may want to tell FF exactly what you have so they send the right one. If not, 100% you'll have the wrong one.

[Jammer369]

I had my pallet from them way before my kit as well, had plenty of time to disassemble and clean up. I also replaced the halfshaft seals on the center section, figured it was cheap and easy then. Yes, you'll get an adapter and may want to tell FF exactly what you have so they send the right one. If not, 100% you'll have the wrong one.

How difficult were the axle seals to replace? It's weird that my IRS drop is from a 2019 GT that was totaled early this year but the rubber anti-sway bushings look to be pretty dry and cracked. After I tear everything down I will replace the seals if they look like there is anything coming out of them.

[Jammer369]

Hey guys,

I starting tearing the IRS assembly down which really wasn't too hard. Once I removed the spindles I and put them on the workbench I noticed something I hope isn't a big deal but I have no idea except I fear I might need new spindles. On the top of the lower front mounting area of each spindle, it looks like there is an impact point that was hard enough it deformed the hole for the bushing. They are almost identical on both sides. I went back and looked at what it could have hit and the only thing would be the large aluminum piece that sits just above these mounting points. Here is a pic of the assembly before I tore it apart:

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and here is the right side spindle:
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Here is the left side spindle:
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In the pics I have an arrow where the tip is pointing to what looks like a bit of a flat spot in the race where the bushing sits. A couple of questions:

1. Do you think these spindles are salvageable?
2. If so, should I replace the bushings?

The stang these came from only had 16k miles on it. I can't see any other damage on any other pieces of the IRS assembly. I will know more when I get the center section out and can turn the assembly over to see what the impact marks on the bottom of that aluminum piece looks like. If these aren't salvageable, I will call thepartsfarm and see what they say since they stated this assembly was in great condition.

[rich grsc]

I can see it's deformed, but I don't see that it could cause any issues with using it as is. The area is just on the very outer edge of the bushing. I would use it as is and never worry

[Hoooper]

Interesting. Must be caused by a pretty hard bottoming out

[David Hodgkins]

Interesting indeed. Forwarded to FFR for input...

:)

[Jammer369]

Interesting. Must be caused by a pretty hard bottoming out

I can't imagine how hard it had to have bottomed out to deform those spindles. I went out and took some pics of the underside of the aluminum pieces that it impacted (are these the lower control arms?). You can see the impact marks.

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[Jammer369]

Interesting indeed. Forwarded to FFR for input...

:)


Thanks David!! It will be interesting to see what they say. I bought this IRS assembly mainly for the Torsen diff so if I have to replace the spindles, I won't be crushed by this purchase.

[q4stix]

It might be worth contacting the vendor just to see if they'd replace it for you.
Strength-wise it should be ok for our cars since it's only on the edge, but that's still a pretty hard hit

[Jammer369]

It might be worth contacting the vendor just to see if they'd replace it for you.
Strength-wise it should be ok for our cars since it's only on the edge, but that's still a pretty hard hit

I plan on giving thepartsfarm a call in the morning. They stated the assembly as being in great condition.

[Jammer369]

It might be worth contacting the vendor just to see if they'd replace it for you.
Strength-wise it should be ok for our cars since it's only on the edge, but that's still a pretty hard hit

I spoke with Nick at thepartsfarm.com this morning. After describing the damage over the phone he offered to send me a replacement set of spindles and hubs from another low mileage GT to replace these. That is pretty great customer service.

FFR might still come back and say that these would be fine to use but since these were going to be the only used parts on the entire build, there is no reason to install known damaged parts even if I would be the only one who would ever know.

Thanks guys for all the comments and advice.

[David Hodgkins]

Jammer,

Jim sent me a reply this AM:


Dave,

The issue with those is you can’t replace that bushing with that much deformity so once they wear out you will have to replace the whole spindle. Also a lot of people use the Ford Performance inserts in that spot and you would not be able to install those for sure. The pieces themselves are forged so I wouldn’t be as concerned with the strength but I would still see if they would replace them.

Jim

Obviously you are a step ahead of me now but it's good the see the recommendation of replacing the spindles is in alignment with your vendor.

:)

[Hoooper]

Wow why didnt I know about these bushing replacements before?

https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-performance-knuckle-to-toe-link-bearing-assembly-2015-2020/p/M5A460M/?year=2017&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMaGBhD3ARIsAPvWd6hU_E7-YVqOWxM51MBWaD6uJs-ldDrKpUZQf82dDWWVl2ANFwrWrSYaAntKEALw_wcB

[Jammer369]

Wow why didnt I know about these bushing replacements before?

https://www.cjponyparts.com/ford-performance-knuckle-to-toe-link-bearing-assembly-2015-2020/p/M5A460M/?year=2017&gclid=Cj0KCQjwlMaGBhD3ARIsAPvWd6hU_E7-YVqOWxM51MBWaD6uJs-ldDrKpUZQf82dDWWVl2ANFwrWrSYaAntKEALw_wcB

I didn't know about them either. I found them this morning when researching how much it was going to cost to replace the spindles if thepartsfarm didn't replace them. From all the reviews, the universal response is that they provide better handling and they aren't that expensive. I will ordering a set and then taking the spindles to someone who has a press to take the old ones out and press the news ones in. The other universal review is that they are a serious PIA to remove and replace using a standard bushing replacement c-clamp kit like Ford shows in the instructions. I just called Levy Racing and he said it wouldn't take very long at all (less than an hour's shop time).

[Jammer369]

Jammer,

Jim sent me a reply this AM:



Obviously you are a step ahead of me now but it's good the see the recommendation of replacing the spindles is in alignment with your vendor.

:)


Thanks for checking on this Dave with FFR!

[edwardb]

Those aftermarket parts are nice. I guess. Keep in mind the Factory Five build with those spindles is 1000lbs (or maybe more) lighter than what the stock spindles are designed for. I've driven nearly 10k miles on this suspension setup between two builds. The suspension is rock solid and shows no sign of wear and no compliance issues. To be fair, I did start with new spindles on both builds. But frankly I'm not sure changing/upgrading those parts for a street driven or even auto-x build is really necessary. Tons of upgrade parts for the Mustang crowd and they eat them up.

Glad to see the vendor is stepping up and providing replacements. I would have used them as is (probably) but Jim's message about not being able to service them in the future is something I hadn't thought of.

[Jammer369]

Those aftermarket parts are nice. I guess. Keep in mind the Factory Five build with those spindles is 1000lbs (or maybe more) lighter than what the stock spindles are designed for. I've driven nearly 10k miles on this suspension setup between two builds. The suspension is rock solid and shows no sign of wear and no compliance issues. To be fair, I did start with new spindles on both builds. But frankly I'm not sure changing/upgrading those parts for a street driven or even auto-x build is really necessary. Tons of upgrade parts for the Mustang crowd and they eat them up.

Glad to see the vendor is stepping up and providing replacements. I would have used them as is (probably) but Jim's message about not being able to service them in the future is something I hadn't thought of.\

Thanks Paul for the insight on the upgraded bushing. I am glad that thepartsfarm is sending replacement spindles/hubs so I didn't have to make the choice on whether to use the damaged ones or not.

[Hoooper]

Just FYI I did the bushing swap today using the ball joint press. Not a task for the light of heart thats for sure. If you dont have a pretty good 1/2" impact youre never going to get the new one in, I have a pretty powerful corded impact and there were times where it looked like it stalled out trying to press in the new one, it took a solid 2 minutes of continuous impact to get the bushing all the way in.

[mosh1999]

Glad to hear they are doing the right thing with two questionable issues with each spindle.

[Jammer369]

Just FYI I did the bushing swap today using the ball joint press. Not a task for the light of heart thats for sure. If you dont have a pretty good 1/2" impact youre never going to get the new one in, I have a pretty powerful corded impact and there were times where it looked like it stalled out trying to press in the new one, it took a solid 2 minutes of continuous impact to get the bushing all the way in.

Yeah, I watched a few youTube videos with guys using a ball joint press and it didn't look like it was much fun. In one of the videos the guys used a propane torch to heat up the spindle around the bushing and even then it was tough. I have access to a large floor press at the Auto Hobby shop on base or I can just take them down to Gordon Levy about 30 miles away.

[Jammer369]

Glad to hear they are doing the right thing with two questionable issues with each spindle.


I have a lot of respect for those guys. Nick said he would replace them without seeing a picture of the damage first as well as sending another set of hubs even thought you can't see any visible damage to those. I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again.