my ass twitches

ttocs · Oct 22, 2020

and not for the my normal reasons

I think I got the cooling system under control now and its holding and now on to the next gremlin. I wish I could describe it better but I really can't. When I am shifting from 2nd gear to 3rd I feel the back end of the car twitch or it feels like it moves to the drivers side just a tad for a split second. I have had every bit of this car out at one point now from the k to the rear end prior to getting it back on the road so feel free to throw out stupid things I might have forgot. I got the alignment done and I thought I heard at one point that anyplace that does alignments would start with a thrust/rear end first but I was surprised that they had me out in about 50 mins. I am also wondering if they did any caster/camber adjustments as I swear my drivers front looks off so I am wondering if/how much of an alignment they did.

Werecow · Oct 22, 2020

If you can eyeball it and it looks out of sorts I'd say it may be... Check out a few YouTube videos on doing an alignment at home.. you can get really really close won't just a measuring tape, chalk and a plumbbob.. if you can measure it out I'd take it back with the specs you want (that'll take a lil more research) and watch em do it on the machine..

lwarrior1016 · Oct 23, 2020

They didn’t give you a print out of your alignment spec’s?

For the shifting movement, are you sure it’s the car and not something silly like a loose seat bolt or a loose shifter bolt?

I would go from there and check the engine and trans mount torque and the trans crossmember torque. Then check your driveshaft bolts. Then the control arm bolts (all of them). Are the bushings only the control arms and axles in good condition?

ttocs · Oct 23, 2020

lwarrior1016 said:
They didn’t give you a print out of your alignment spec’s?

For the shifting movement, are you sure it’s the car and not something silly like a loose seat bolt or a loose shifter bolt?

I would go from there and check the engine and trans mount torque and the trans crossmember torque. Then check your driveshaft bolts. Then the control arm bolts (all of them). Are the bushings only the control arms and axles in good condition?

Yes I do think they gave me a print out but ya know all I seem to remember is paying, grabbin the keys and skipping out to the car to go for my first real drive. I meant to ask if they started with the thrust alignment but it all slipped my mind. Now last week I was under the rear end checking bolts and I know everything back there is tight but I didn't give the bushings a close inspection. I am hoping to take a buddy or two that know a little more than me about cars for a ride and see what they think before I get the front end up as I also need to make an adjustment to my voltage regulator while I am down there.

What should I be looking for on the bushings just worn material or? Also to be safe should I jack the back end up, get the ramps under the back wheels and then loosen and tighten the rear control arm bolts to be sure they are tightened with the wheels on the ground? I am not so sure I tightened it with it on the ground is why I ask.

lwarrior1016 · Oct 23, 2020

It’s always smart to tighten control arms with the suspension loaded like it would be on the ground at ride height. Look for cracks in the bushings or witness marks for something shifting around under there. Is your suspension setup stock or stock style?

ttocs · Oct 23, 2020

lwarrior1016 said:
It’s always smart to tighten control arms with the suspension loaded like it would be on the ground at ride height. Look for cracks in the bushings or witness marks for something shifting around under there. Is your suspension setup stock or stock style?

They are tubular control arms in the same locations as the stock. The only part that is different is that the shockwave is basically a coil-over but with a bag not a spring and the lower mounting point that it attaches to.

lwarrior1016 · Oct 23, 2020

ttocs said:
They are tubular control arms in the same locations as the stock. The only part that is different is that the shockwave is basically a coil-over but with a bag not a spring and the lower mounting point that it attaches to.

Did you change the stock upper bushings in the axle housing? And are you using stock upper control arms?

lwarrior1016 · Oct 23, 2020

Also, do the shockwaves take place of the shock like a standard coil over or are the bags in the place of the stock spring?

evilcw311 · Oct 23, 2020

lwarrior1016 said:
Also, do the shockwaves take place of the shock like a standard coil over or are the bags in the place of the stock spring?

Shockwaves are basically coilovers. They bolt up just like a shock and the bag just replaces the coil.

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evilcw311 · Oct 23, 2020

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ttocs · Oct 23, 2020

I do remember swapping out a set of bushings. I assume in the axle housing but the uppers are also ridetech.

ttocs · Oct 23, 2020

So I got the car up in the air and started to take some pics to show what I have so we can all be on the same page when I think I see what the problem is.
These are the shockwaves and the lower mount.

at first the only thing I saw that concerned me was the steeda adjustable sway bar but I knew it wasn't causing this problem.

I do remember changing these out now. Please yell if they look wrong I was following a friend that normally knows more than me but I have discovered he will act like he knows what he does not.

and then I got to the lower control arm mounts and it looks like there has been a little bit of movement there on both sides. I could see this being the spot as I get off the power it would slide. At least that is my hope I need to finish eating/taking a break and then go tighten those suckers down

Anyone have any idea what I should torque these down to?

evilcw311 · Oct 23, 2020

Tight as fawk!!! [emoji38]

Yeah I’d say that’s your issue.

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Werecow · Oct 23, 2020

According to your roll bar pic, are you running an anti-roll bar and an anti-sway bar together?

Werecow · Oct 23, 2020

Ooh good spot @evilcw311 ... Yeah those lower bolts are NOT supposed to move like that.....

lwarrior1016 · Oct 23, 2020

Upper bushings look good. Those lower mounts, why in the world are those bolt holes slotted? That’s never going to hold.

evilcw311 · Oct 23, 2020

lwarrior1016 said:
Upper bushings look good. Those lower mounts, why in the world are those bolt holes slotted? That’s never going to hold.

That’s what I was thinking. I’m wondering there should of been a specialty washer that you could flip one way or the other. Either way, there needs to be something to fill the gap.

Scott I’d call and ask about that slot to be honest.

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Werecow · Oct 23, 2020

Agreed! I didn't catch the slot but I'm glad youse guys did!! That needs further investigation...

ttocs · Oct 23, 2020

Why is it slotted? That is how they designed it and all the mustang axle mounts as you can see in the pics

https://www.ridetech.com/product-category/applications/late-model-musclecars/1979-2004-mustang/

I looked back through the instructions to check the torque specs and I guess they think the nylok nut will be good as they do not even say torque specs.

I noticed it was not fully seated against the mount and I was having issues getting it back up in the correct position so I went the hardware store and got a 6" steel c-clamp that allowed me to get it back into position to tighten it down to 80 ft/lbs. Its something that will be on my list of things to check and if it starts to slip I will just weld it in place in a couple of spots.