strut rod wow's

7173Mustangs.com

Help Support 7173Mustangs.com:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Jul 15, 2011
Messages
67
Reaction score
1
Location
Nebraska
My Car
1971 Mach1
Quick question for you all... Has anyone changed out the strut rod bushings and then had the car wander and very scary driving down the road... I do have an alingment scheduled for my day off later this week, but just wanted some input. The inside nuts I removed so I could wire wheel all the rust and crude off of it. I put the nuts back on as close as I could to the orginial settings but not perfect. kind of a loaded question but just wondering? Thanks in advanced...

Travis

 
The new computer alignment machines will not do our cars....there are no specs, so the machine can't do it.

Try to find someone with an older machine.

 
The new computer alignment machines will not do our cars....there are no specs, so the machine can't do it.

Try to find someone with an older machine.
I just had mine aligned at the ford dealer here in town and they had no trouble. it was the new style machine and they had a program with our cars right in it. Showed a picture of the bolts to turn to adjust and even explained how to do it , if the technician didnt already know. It was pretty neat. I got to watch and help because my buddy works there and was the one doing the alignment. He got my car dead on. It rides GREAT now.

 
thanks guys I was hoping you would tell me thats normal..... The guy that does my alignments knows his stuff.. He alinged my 31 ford coupe with a straight axle, so a mustang should be no problem for him... He has a couple mustangs and a drag car falcon. so I would say I'm in pretty good hands their.. Thanks again guys.

 
thanks guys I was hoping you would tell me thats normal..... The guy that does my alignments knows his stuff.. He alinged my 31 ford coupe with a straight axle, so a mustang should be no problem for him... He has a couple mustangs and a drag car falcon. so I would say I'm in pretty good hands their.. Thanks again guys.
Good luck Travis. Oh, and I'll leave this here for you:

wsv42q.jpg


 
thanks guys I was hoping you would tell me thats normal..... The guy that does my alignments knows his stuff.. He alinged my 31 ford coupe with a straight axle, so a mustang should be no problem for him... He has a couple mustangs and a drag car falcon. so I would say I'm in pretty good hands their.. Thanks again guys.
Good luck Travis. Oh, and I'll leave this here for you:

wsv42q.jpg
I love that picture.... It speaks the truth!!!!!!

 
basically your strut rods are loose and not aligned correctly. the alignment will fix it.

you know what was fun,, having both of my poly bushings on my strut rods Fail after hitting a bump going 50 mph. i had to drive home with ZERO strut rods, touch the brakes and the car was all over the place literally.

oh and the banging noise from the strut rod washers slamming into my front cross member i will remember forever.

the front end basically floats on rubber so anything that is out of spec makes the car wander badly.

100_1549.jpg


100_1548.jpg


fun times

 
basically your strut rods are loose and not aligned correctly. the alignment will fix it.

you know what was fun,, having both of my poly bushings on my strut rods Fail after hitting a bump going 50 mph. i had to drive home with ZERO strut rods, touch the brakes and the car was all over the place literally.

oh and the banging noise from the strut rod washers slamming into my front cross member i will remember forever.

the front end basically floats on rubber so anything that is out of spec makes the car wander badly.

100_1549.jpg


100_1548.jpg


fun times
::welcome:: back H

 
The strut rods control "Caster" / this is positive caster, this is negative \ imagine the lines being drawn from top and bottom of the ball joints. The more positive caster you have, the more the car tends to go in a straight line.

 
I am replacing the right strut rod and bushings on my 73 coupe. It's fun on the left, and went perfectly well. It is a sad story on the right. First: I removed the strut rod nut and the two nuts on the lower control arm. So far, so good. Then I removed the strut rod, replaced the bushings and put the rod back in with the new bushings. I made a brain fart mistake on the right side, and had to remove the nut and change the way they were set up. No sweat. Going back on, the lock and threads stripped.

I ordered and received a new strut rod and new locking nut from Rare Parts. I had to remove the adjusting nut from the old strut rod, since the new part didn't come with it, to put it back in the car. It came off with great difficulty. On the bench, in a vise, I start the adjusting nut, and immediately encounter undue resistance. If I keep going, I'm pretty sure I'll cut the threads up, and wind up with another stripped rod, adjusting nut, and/or locking nut. Not thanks!!

So, I get the new locking nut, just to see what's up when I thread it onto the new strut rod. It is also producing a good deal (too much, it seems) of resistance. What the Heck? I stopped, and I'm writing this and having a cold one instead right now. (the adjusting nut is a 1 1/8", the locking nut is 1") From what I can tell, the thread count is 18. Can't be certain, can't count that high. That's just what I read when I looked them up. ;)

Anyway, should I just bull the SOB on there, put it in, install the bushings, and bull the locker on? (small metal filings be damned?) I don't think so...but what choice do I have? Is that the way these locking nuts work? I can see that if it is, taking it off more than once would not do good things for the threads. Man. I do NOT want another stripped rod. What am I missing?

 
Last edited by a moderator:
They should turn fairly easy

There are some cheap [ not theaded to well - very rough casting ] strut rods out there

 
wwhite72, AAA, haha, that's almost funny. Useless, but almost funny.

Have I said bite me to anyone this week? Nope been a while longer than that.

Bite me, thanks. ;)

OMS, they should and they don't. The threads on the new struts are burred up a little bit, so that's not helping, but the problem is otherwise. The locking nut that Rare Parts sold me isn't right for sure, but the adjusting nut from the original strut rod should have gone on without a hitch. It didn't. Anyway, I took the struts and nuts to Copperstate nut and bolt here in town, and what it is is an M18 with 18 pitch, which they don't sell. (1" locking nut, 1 1/8" adjusting nut.) Might post where I find the right nut once I do.

So I'll go find the nuts, and be a happy squirrel. Anyone wants to know the source for the correct nuts for someday in the future when it's THEIR problem....I'll tell them to call AAA, or help them.


Turns out the experts at Copperstate were off by a bit, since according to Scott Drake, they are 11/16 x 18. I can wait 10 days for so-cal to get them shipped, or find them somewhere else sooner.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Metric threads?? A metric thread typically has a metric thread pitch. What they gave you is nothing I've ever heard of in 20+ years in the tooling biz. 18mm = .708" the closest 18 pitch thread is 5/8"-18 UNF. It is .625" diameter. IF the thread is off by that much I would not anticipate the nut starting very far if at all. A standard M18fine thread has a 1.5 pitch = .059" that works out to just under 17 threads per inch.

My best guess is it should be a 5/8"-18UNF and is mis-machined.

 
If you have the coin go with an aftermarket heim joint strut rod. The factory strut rods and spring perches are the two most undesirable suspension components on our cars. (IMHO)

 
I getting ready to install my strut rods also. The threads are 11/16-18. I'm recutting the threads on mine because the threads we're banged up a bit. I had to order a 11/16-18 die because everything around here went from 5/8 to 3/4. It appears 11/16-18 is an odd ball size. Ryan

 
Droptop, I thought that was off too. his little pocket tool told him that. I never listen to little pocket tools. He shouldn't either. What they sent with the strutrod went on a half inch before it started to bind. No go.

will e, I do not have the coin to drop on a heim, or I would. I expect a little spirited driving is in its future too. It would be best, good enough will have to do.

73429, That's what they are supposed to be. That's what they "say" they sent me from rare parts. Only not. I may wind up having to get it die cut at a machine shop, or have them make me the nuts. One of the benefits of living in the 5th largest city in the country is I can probably find one that can do it if all else fails.

It's 10-12 days to get the 11/16 18 ordered from Scott Drake, and with the wonderful strut I bought, I can't be sure they'll fit after I wait up to 2 weeks.

I might have got lucky though. One of our 5+ local vintage Mustang guys has several used ones in various sizes I'm going to go try tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I'm headed to this little machine shop. (in business since like 1918 with the largest and most amazing vintage tooling machines you have ever seen.) I'm there if I have to be. I'm not waiting another three days or 10, or 14. It is ready to drive but 'cept for this.

Love this car, like working on most of it. Not this part so much, not crappy parts houses so much either.

Thanks guys. Luck!

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Well the good part houses have good parts :D

Item #FM-ES017A/B

68-73 STRUT RODS

Pair. Painted black. Includes extra nuts for various years. Price: $89.95

 
Back
Top