Front passenger wheel went kachow.

[thatsnninety5]

While driving out of a parking lot I heard a loud thud, shrugged it off as just something hitting the underside of my car, fast forward to a mile up the road I started to come to a stop and again the loud thud but this time as I drove there was terrible grinding, drove about 10 feet, pulled over to look at what was going on, I guess my front strut blew out, fast forward 5 hours later, I was getting my car dropped off but the tow truck, trying out best to be careful the ball joint snapped causing this, now my problem is im just going to redo both sides of my front suspension, I have Eibach lowering springs. 3510.301. Does anyone know what kind of struts I need to go with the springs or does it not matter?

 

[ttocs]

that sucks dude. Sorry to hear this.

 

[Snorky]

While driving out of a parking lot I heard a loud thud, shrugged it off as just something hitting the underside of my car, fast forward to a mile up the road I started to come to a stop and again the loud thud but this time as I drove there was terrible grinding, drove about 10 feet, pulled over to look at what was going on, I guess my front strut blew out, fast forward 5 hours later, I was getting my car dropped off but the tow truck, trying out best to be careful the ball joint snapped causing this, now my problem is im just going to redo both sides of my front suspension, I have Eibach lowering springs. 3510.301. Does anyone know what kind of struts I need to go with the springs or does it not matter?
View attachment 47164

With those just get some koni orange strT struts front and rear. I have those with my eibach prokit and the ride is pretty smooth and it didn't break the bankn I would also get new tie rod ends or a bumpsteer kit as that kind of mangling impact could potentially have damaged the tie rod ends. The car will have to get realig ed after all this anyway so tie rod ends to be safe isnt a waste. Do the ball joints on both sides so you dont have to revisit this horrific episode. Check your rubber or stainless brake lines on that side as well. You got really lucky you weren't going 80 down the highway during this.

 

[thatsnninety5]

With those just get some koni orange strT struts front and rear. I have those with my eibach prokit and the ride is pretty smooth and it didn't break the bankn I would also get new tie rod ends or a bumpsteer kit as that kind of mangling impact could potentially have damaged the tie rod ends. The car will have to get realig ed after all this anyway so tie rod ends to be safe isnt a waste. Do the ball joints on both sides so you dont have to revisit this horrific episode. Check your rubber or stainless brake lines on that side as well. You got really lucky you weren't going 80 down the highway during this.

Definitely planned on doing all new shocks and ball joints, and now that you mentioned tie rod ends I will definitely get those too, would you also suggest new lower control arms as well? Definitely thank God this didnt happen on the highway. How easy is an alignment to do myself or should i just send it to a shop?

 

[Snorky]

Definitely planned on doing all new shocks and ball joints, and now that you mentioned tie rod ends I will definitely get those too, would you also suggest new lower control arms as well? Definitely thank God this didnt happen on the highway. How easy is an alignment to do myself or should i just send it to a shop?

Inspect the lower control arm to K member bushings. If they are shot I would consider just getting new LCAs with the ball joint and new bushings already in it. It's a time vs. Money thing. Pressing out ball joints and burning out, Drilling out, pressing out old bushings can be a major time suck. Look at the pricing on new lcas complete vs ball joints and possibly bushings plus the labor time and decide. What is your time worth?


On rock auto moog ball joints will run you ~$50 for the set. Lca bushings moog brand another ~$40 then thr timr to do the work.

The complete moog LCA set with bushings and ball joints. ~$146.

Keep in mind. Shipping isn't included in any of that.

As for the alignment. Same thing.. what is your time worth? Shops typically charge $60-120 for an alignment depending on location. If your home alignment is good, you have saved money, If it sucks. It will burn through your tires costing you 5 fold.
I had a friend in highschool who did his own alignments with boards and strings as an alignment tool. Worked out really well for him. I've also had a lot more friends that tried it on their own. Botched it and burned through a set of good rubber in a few months.

Just food for thought..

When I was younger I did everything but alignment myself. I would "try" alignment. Take it down the road and realized how off it was and immediately brought it to a shop.

Now I weigh out my time vs. Money carefully. Saving $60 for potentially several hours of frustration and possible self inflicted prying Injuries isn't worth it to Mr anymore.

 

[PinkieT]

Ditto on the Koni strT struts.

 

[shovel]

If you're going to lower it, and if your budget allows just get the BMR lower control arms with tall ball joints. The tall ball joints help offset the worse geometry that comes with lowering springs or coilovers.

Everyone still driving on original ball joints is just waiting for this to happen to them it's not if it's when.. I'm treating them like 100k mile replacement intervals.

 

[ttocs]

I guess I will be the first to comment that "kachow" fits perfectly here. Sometimes you read the description and it leaves you confused but for some reason that is exactly what I imagined after reading it.

 

[thatsnninety5]

Inspect the lower control arm to K member bushings. If they are shot I would consider just getting new LCAs with the ball joint and new bushings already in it. It's a time vs. Money thing. Pressing out ball joints and burning out, Drilling out, pressing out old bushings can be a major time suck. Look at the pricing on new lcas complete vs ball joints and possibly bushings plus the labor time and decide. What is your time worth?


On rock auto moog ball joints will run you ~$50 for the set. Lca bushings moog brand another ~$40 then thr timr to do the work.

The complete moog LCA set with bushings and ball joints. ~$146.

Keep in mind. Shipping isn't included in any of that.

As for the alignment. Same thing.. what is your time worth? Shops typically charge $60-120 for an alignment depending on location. If your home alignment is good, you have saved money, If it sucks. It will burn through your tires costing you 5 fold.
I had a friend in highschool who did his own alignments with boards and strings as an alignment tool. Worked out really well for him. I've also had a lot more friends that tried it on their own. Botched it and burned through a set of good rubber in a few months.

Just food for thought..

When I was younger I did everything but alignment myself. I would "try" alignment. Take it down the road and realized how off it was and immediately brought it to a shop.

Now I weigh out my time vs. Money carefully. Saving $60 for potentially several hours of frustration and possible self inflicted prying Injuries isn't worth it to Mr anymore.

So I inspected everything, I just replaced the shock and ball joint today because my car was in the road and the police said I had to move it, Im going to throw the car up on jack stands for the winter and slowly replace the , lower controls arms, ball joints , get all four new shocks ive been looking at those koni’s but im going to look around a bit more and do some research, also tie rods and steering rack, after that im going to get a new sway bar kit for both the front and back, also new sway bar links for the front. Also the side this happened on my car the first 3/4” of my spring looks crack sitting in the control arms but more than an inch of it is still in the CA so im probably going to do all new springs too. Let me know some good brands. I want to keep this ride height I have about an 1”-1.5” lower than stock. Give me some good brands for everything I listed, I have plans to put some power down with this car, at least 400-500whp so if im going to do the suspension over the winter i might as well do it to handle what i have planned

 

[thatsnninety5]

Ive done a bit of research on come shocks that pair well with the Eibach 3510.301 springs I have, that came up were the Eibach pro damper kit as well as Bilstein B8’s. What do you guys think about those two, or is there some better ones?

 

[shovel]

When Ford wanted to optimize this platform for the Cobras they went with Bilstein and more interestingly they put extra effort into lateral stiffness since the strut's job is to control camber and absorb lateral loads so they made those Bilsteins very unique. The obvious difference is the damper is inverted so the body effectively becomes the rod, the less obvious difference is a little negative camber built into the mounting flag* .


*I should add, I have READ that there is some built-in negative camber in the position of the lower mounting holes and that matches my first-hand experience with 03 Cobra take-offs, I do not know that it is empirically true or if some other aspect of my 30+ year old car has just made it seem that way.

 

[thatsnninety5]

When Ford wanted to optimize this platform for the Cobras they went with Bilstein and more interestingly they put extra effort into lateral stiffness since the strut's job is to control camber and absorb lateral loads so they made those Bilsteins very unique. The obvious difference is the damper is inverted so the body effectively becomes the rod, the less obvious difference is a little negative camber built into the mounting flag* .

View attachment 47221
*I should add, I have READ that there is some built-in negative camber in the position of the lower mounting holes and that matches my first-hand experience with 03 Cobra take-offs, I do not know that it is empirically true or if some other aspect of my 30+ year old car has just made it seem that way.

That is definitely some useful information, I also like to ask, when I do go to upgrade the shocks do you also recommend upgrading the rear quad shock as well? And if so are there bilstein b8 series quad shocks to go with it? Should I also upgrade the rear and front sway bars as well?

 

[shovel]

when I do go to upgrade the shocks do you also recommend upgrading the rear quad shock as well? And if so are there bilstein b8 series quad shocks to go with it? Should I also upgrade the rear and front sway bars as well?

Asking about the quad shock, you might as well be asking about religion, politics or oil viscosity. Bilstein makes one, kyb makes a less expensive one, I've read that the front shocks for an old volkswagen microbus will work and if you have aftermarket lower control arms you will have more NVH but less reason for the quad shock to exist.


Going back to what Ford opted to do with Cobras they went to a softer front sway bar and a more firm rear bar. That reduces the bias to understeer which means a more skilled driver with grippier tires can get around corners on a flat and smooth track more quickly. The trade-off is that you're more likely to survive a collision head-on than side-on because there's less car to slow you down on the side and there are no side airbags.

It should be mentioned that a car which has very stiff suspension will be more easily upset on margin; it will be less progressive so it might feel more confident to a point but once you find the limit you'll have less opportunity to maintain that or back off before winding up in a compilation video above a lot of predictable comments.

 

[I_LIKE_TURTLEZ]

The best new struts is a full front suspension rebuild. It's 30 years old and clapped.


Mustangs chew through ball-joints & tie rods in record time, I've seen them go bad every 30,000 miles for no reason regardless of brand used.

Your car is lowered, anytime you change suspension geometry like that it's going to wear parts out even faster because you've changed the hub centerline, which causes extra stress on parts.

You asked about quad-shocks, buy the OEM Gabriels, most of the aftermarket ones don't fit properly and cause rubbing issues(ask me how I know). Yes quad shocks help locate the axles by reducing pumpkin housing flex on a 4-link, taking them off on this design is a net negative regardless of what people say.


If you don't want to spend the coin, consider this, your other ball joint won't be far behind, if you had been going 70mph down the highway when it let go you probably wouldn't be here.

 

[thatsnninety5]

The best new struts is a full front suspension rebuild. It's 30 years old and clapped.


Mustangs chew through ball-joints & tie rods in record time, I've seen them go bad every 30,000 miles for no reason regardless of brand used.

Your car is lowered, anytime you change suspension geometry like that it's going to wear parts out even faster because you've changed the hub centerline, which causes extra stress on parts.

You asked about quad-shocks, buy the OEM Gabriels, most of the aftermarket ones don't fit properly and cause rubbing issues(ask me how I know). Yes quad shocks help locate the axles by reducing pumpkin housing flex on a 4-link, taking them off on this design is a net negative regardless of what people say.


If you don't want to spend the coin, consider this, your other ball joint won't be far behind, if you had been going 70mph down the highway when it let go you probably wouldn't be here.

When you say full front suspension rebuild what does that all entail? I planned on doing most of it but what are some key things I should replace people dont think of?

 

[thatsnninety5]

I found these Bilstein B8’s on LMR, I looked it up and it says I shouldnt use shocks for my GT what are for a cobra. Does it really matter this much or should I just put them on. I cant find any B8’s for the GT. Only B6’s

 

[I_LIKE_TURTLEZ]

When you say full front suspension rebuild what does that all entail? I planned on doing most of it but what are some key things I should replace people dont think of?

If your car has caster/camber plates on the towers because it's lowered, I would use the normal length struts(Call the company and ask them which ones you need, they can tell you)
If it doesn't have plates and you're not going to install them, I would use the foxbody strut, it's an old trick to improve ride quality.


Full front rebuild can mean literally everything or just the main components that could cause you to lose control of the wheels.

Replace both lower control arms on front and rear, as well as inner/outer tie rods at a minimum. I've never believed in replacing only the balljoint, control arm bushings start to dry rot in about 7 years just like anything rubber.

When you have the brakes off, spin your wheel hubs, if they're making any loud/crunchy-grindy noises, replace the bearings.
When replacing inner tie-rods, if the steering rack is leaking into the boots, replace the rack.


Personally I opted to replace everything front and rear a few years back, drives like a brand new car and I want to say I spent less than $1000 for all the parts including new lowering springs.
30 years is really old for an automobile and I can tell from your photo that front end hasn't been touched in a long time assuming you don't live in the rust belt.


My minimum recommendation in your case:

-Front control arms(comes with new ball joints)
-Rear lower control arms
-New struts/shocks
-New steering rack bushings
-New inner/outer tie rod ends
-Front 2-wheel alignment(must do this)

Optional but beneficial:

-Sway-bar bushings/end links
-Quad shocks

 

[thatsnninety5]

If your car has caster/camber plates on the towers because it's lowered, I would use the normal length struts(Call the company and ask them which ones you need, they can tell you)
If it doesn't have plates and you're not going to install them, I would use the foxbody strut, it's an old trick to improve ride quality.


Full front rebuild can mean literally everything or just the main components that could cause you to lose control of the wheels.

Replace both lower control arms on front and rear, as well as inner/outer tie rods at a minimum. I've never believed in replacing only the balljoint, control arm bushings start to dry rot in about 7 years just like anything rubber.

When you have the brakes off, spin your wheel hubs, if they're making any loud/crunchy-grindy noises, replace the bearings.
When replacing inner tie-rods, if the steering rack is leaking into the boots, replace the rack.


Personally I opted to replace everything front and rear a few years back, drives like a brand new car and I want to say I spent less than $1000 for all the parts including new lowering springs.
30 years is really old for an automobile and I can tell from your photo that front end hasn't been touched in a long time assuming you don't live in the rust belt.


My minimum recommendation in your case:

-Front control arms(comes with new ball joints)
-Rear lower control arms
-New struts/shocks
-New steering rack bushings
-New inner/outer tie rod ends
-Front 2-wheel alignment(must do this)

Optional but beneficial:

-Sway-bar bushings/end links
-Quad shocks

Beautiful thank you, not sure what you mean by rust belt but I am up north in Pennsylvania so a lot of salt in the winter, I drove this daily for a couple years and not sure about the previous owner, my question to you is how did you spend less than $1000 doing all that? Also when it comes to control arms should I buy aftermarket ones such as A frames or just go with some MOOG’s off rock auto. Here is also a picture of my engine bay, Im not sure if you can tell if I have those plates on the strut tower but it looks like to me those are just stock. Ive also seen people put those bars across the engine bay that bolt to the top of each strut tower, what do those do?

 

[shovel]

The fronts are interchangeable but remember that the alignment camber specs for Cobra are different than for GT, so if you install cobra front struts you will probably end up with Cobra-spec negative camber, at least that was my experience.

For the rear New Edge Cobras have independent rear suspension and the shocks are entirely different, but Bilsteins are absolutely available for GT's including the quad shocks. Pricey, but that's kinda how premium stuff works..

 

[shovel]

Beautiful thank you, not sure what you mean by rust belt but I am up north in Pennsylvania so a lot of salt in the winter, I drove this daily for a couple years and not sure about the previous owner, my question to you is how did you spend less than $1000 doing all that? Also when it comes to control arms should I buy aftermarket ones such as A frames or just go with some MOOG’s off rock auto. Here is also a picture of my engine bay, Im not sure if you can tell if I have those plates on the strut tower but it looks like to me those are just stock. Ive also seen people put those bars across the engine bay that bolt to the top of each strut tower, what do those do?

If you're lowering the car then BMR offers lower control arms with tall ball joints to undo some of the compromise you get from just dropping a macpherson (or divorced macpherson) suspension like we have in front. If those are outside of your price range than Moog makes stock replacement ones that are perfectly good quality.

Strut tower bars were stock on 94/95 GT and can be fitted to any of them, they improve chassis stiffness which makes the car feel more modern and tight, reduces the tendency of trim and other parts inside the cabin to vibrate and rattle over bumps and allows the shock absorbers to be more directly in control of all suspension movement since chassis twist is entirely undamped. It's not a mandatory add and some engine modifications make it difficult or impossible to fit a strut tower brace, you can decide on your own how important that is. My preference is to have the bar.

Also probably worth mentioning that a strut bar should connect the strut towers to each other AND to the firewall, forming three areas of triangulation. If it is just a single bar between the two sides it won't be nearly as effective.