I don't have problems. The car steers fine and I thought the parts looked off while it was jacked up. At ride height everything is fine. I was just wondering about the scrub line. The lower arm is parallel with the ground and if there is a bend in the tie rods, you guys are exaggerating it. If you want, I'll take a picture against a straight edge. I'll admit, my sway bar is kinked, but I'm not changing that or the tie rods until I change the rack because that'd be pointless. Dropped spindles shouldn't change how the sway bar and tie rods interact. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
You have a dangerous situation there. The tie rod end will want to come apart when coming into contact with the bent sway bar again if you hit a bump hard enough. That's probably how the tie rod bent. If/when that happens, it will create an un-steerable situation. If you don't think you have a problem, think again.
Bent suspension parts are not a problem. Carry on down the road there Skippy. And your eyes are off, the lower control arms run uphill towards the wheels, not level with the ground as you say. That is obvious in your pictures. Just remind us when you are out so we can stay home.
Here is my two cents: Several have said that the sway bar looks like it has been used as a jacking point. I concur. Bend it up in the middle and the ends go down causing what looks like interference with the tie rods. Both tie rods appear bent, probably due to contact with the sway bar. It looks like you have clearance, at rest, in a straight line. How about under power, while turning, say going in or out of a driveway? Maybe not so much. It also looks like the inside of your tires are contacting something. Maybe a sway bar? Not good for long tire life. As far as dropping another two inches it looks as though your cross member is already below the scrub line. You need to take a bunch of measurements. Fix the front end.
No kidding. I love it when some one gets on here asking a questain then gets all pissy when the answer isn't what he wants to hear. Besides the ovious bent tie rods and sway bar issues your front springs are either too short or too soft to hold the front at PROPER ride hight. Looks like whoever set up your car sacraficed safety and/ or ride quality in order to acheive a low stance without spending money for the right parts. Drop spindles are a good idea as long as you replace the springs as well. That way the car will sit as low as it does now but the front will sit right and ride better. Oh, your car does NOT drive fine as it is, there are parts getting bent, that doesn't jive with "drives fine".
YES, my tires DID rub something. The old portawalls I ran before I painted the tires white. I reversed them because I knew they'd look terrible painted. Also, how does it look with the wheels turned? You said I had clearance, and guess what, in those pictures my wheels are cut, not straight. The A arm looks to be going uphill because there's a slight incline in the floor because there's a drain in the middle. I actually stuck my head under the car for these pictures, thank you, and I know what I saw. There was no additional lighting and these pics were taken at odd angles to get the camera to focus. I'm not "being pissy" because you guys are "telling me things I don't wanna hear", I just disagree with some people doing an armchair alignment of my car and telling me that I don't know my own vehicle. Yes, I came on here with questions about it but that doesn't give people the right to doubt the quality of the build or to berate my car and act like it's some rat rod that was thrown together in a weekend. I've had this car for 10 years with the front end as it is, and the ride has never given me an issue. Yes, parts are bent and I'm seeing that now, but replacing parts with similar parts will just lead to similar problems. Ok, it's broke. I see that. I'm not blind. Now don't be deaf, I told you it's not as bad as it looks and I'll replace almost everything down the road. This is not a daily car and I'm fixing parts as my budget allows. I'm eventually going to bag this car, so buying new springs would be wasteful. My disagreeing with you is not disrespectful or "being pissy", and this is the last time I'm going to "argue" this out. Inventing things that could be wrong that I don't need to replace is a waste of everyone's time. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
My guess would be that the tie rod ends were "bent" with a torch to make the clearance with the sway bar. I would also guess the jamb nut got some grinder treatment as well. The sway bar definitely looks "jacked up". I wonder what a "stock" MII swaybar would look like? It may not have been the right sway bar to begin with, but what the PO had that would "work". Hope this helps, but keep in mind I am not real familiar with the MII front end. Kelvin
In this photo, it looks like the tire has been rubbing the sway bar. Look at the inner tire sidewall, and look at the sway bar: In this photo, I see evidence of the tie rod end coming in contact with the sway bar. See the marking on the underside of the sway bar, right above the tie rod end? I could be wrong though.
If this ***** wants to jeopardize others on the road so be it, I'm just glad I live here above the 49th. This way WHEN the front end decides enough is enough I won't be in the line of fire to be taken out as an innocent participant!
You seem to have plenty of adjustment in the mount of the sway bar, can it be moved up and out of the way of the tie-rod? If you don't have a press, find one and straighten up the sway bar a bit as it looks to be going through the ch***is mounts at a bit of an angle too. Measure your ground clearance at the lowest point of the cross-member, minus 2", if it's lower than your sidewall then you'll have scubline issues. Scotty
You were not interested in what others were telling you! As a mechanic I noticed those problems right away and the way you blew everyone off just shows how ignorant of safety you are!
Bruce, calling someone ignorant doesn't make you correct. They'd offer opinions and I'd either state why I thought differently or why they were wrong. There's no need to resort to name calling. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Well then go ahead and do as you please then just DON'T ask for advise if all you are going to do is go against what people with common sense tell you!
Bruce, I'm not allowed to disagree? This is a discussion forum. Maybe I don't know anything about Mustang II suspensions, but calling me a ***** because I asked some questions and didn't think your answers fit in with my agenda/budget is not helping either of us. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Bruce, if you never wished to do more than call me names and tell me to do whatever, you weren't being helpful. I might have not listened to comments made by others, but I never was rude just to do it. If you have something to add that hasn't been said other than that I'm a damned fool go ahead and say it. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
It looks to me that the tweeked sway bar has caused interference with your tie rods. Take the sway bar off before it causes a wreck. Something is going to fail if left like that. I'd be concerned with tire wear too as your current steering stop is tire against sway bar. The whole mess looks unsafe to say the least if left in the condition it's in now.
I thought ditch the sway too. Can only imagine the roadholding then. Scrub line looks bad now. But hey, I'm no mechanic. 4" blocks? Low spindles? No way. I wouldn't want this car coming at me @ 60 mph on 2 lane roads as is. Neighbourhood prowler maybe. Take my opinion with a pinch of salt, but cats here deserve more than the level of ignorance your replies give. I think bags are for groceries, but there's a bunch of shops down here that do *****in' bag jobs, fully legal, which means a lot in Oz with our strict laws. Maybe you could save pennies & find such an outfit in Ohio valley.
Seriously, guys, thanks for the advice. I'm not trying to be rude, and if I've come off that way, I apologize. Like I said, this car is far from a daily and is very much a budget build. I think in the past year I've been able to drive it to one show because it was out while I was replacing the dash cluster. Most of the driving is short trip weekend cruise ins, but there is the occasional longer trip about 70-100 miles away, but those are maybe once a year or less often. I don't want to be disrespectful, but everyone's basically telling me to rebuild the front end and I've said more than once I plan to. I don't plan on taking it to a shop for the bag install as that has never been how I've done things. If it's something I can do myself (with help) for less, I will. That's why I've been posting pictures and asking for advice. My father and father-in-law both have several decades of experience and they don't mind helping/guiding me. After installing blocks and a driveshaft, this is the first time in 10 years that I've chose to mess with the front of the car, other than to replace brake pads. The only issues I've had where I could tell something is rubbing is while parking when I've had to turn the wheels to full lock. Now that I want to rebuild the front, I plan on doing it properly, and I appreciate all the help you guys can offer. Thanks again. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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