How bouncy is your front end?

[1sostatic]

Normally a question I ask the wife ...   ... and yes, a sports bra hasn't been invented yet to take the job on. 

But on this occasion I come to a motley crew of greasy, beered up classic car wrenchers and ask the same damned question. 

I ask you to read the story fully .... The reason I ask is this... 

My old shock absorbers were toast when I got this car... you could'nt call them shock absorbers as the pole in the middle could move freely if pushed and pulled by a 4 year old. 

...and yet the front end seemed none the wiser... was bouncy on certain country lanes ... but on the whole ok. 

I swapped out with Monroe shocks at $40  each  ... we undid the shock towers and got on with the job. 

Afterward ... quite honestly, nothing feels any different. TBH the front isn't as tight as I would like. 

Now, when I look at the stance of my bag of bolts ... I wonder if previous owner got Scott Drake 1" reduced springs on there . Take a look and see what you experts think.

 

anyhow ... it feels too bouncy to me and would wish to tighten it the f**k up 

any advice, comment would be appreciated ... no matter how rude. 

all the best 

Al 

 

[Don C]

Sounds to me like the shocks aren't at fault. Have you tried bouncing the front end by hand by pushing down on a front fender to see if the shocks dampen the return bounce?

I think you are on the right track, when you are considering the springs. The front does look a little low. How much room do you have between the upper control arm and the bump stop? It's also possible that the previous owner put in some really stiff springs thinking that would make it corner better, instead of transmitting every crack, crevice, and bump into the car chassis.

 

[MustangNJ]

I dropped the front end of my car and raised the rear. the improvement in handling is like night and day

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

One thing I have noticed on my 73 vert. The PO put gas filled shocks on the car, forget brand made in Japan. It handles great and stays flat in corner but when you hit a bump it is like you got hit head on BOOM. The gas filled shocks handle great but ride horrible in my opinion. Yes you can get adjustable and I have an 85 SVO that came with adjustable Koni but who gets out and adjusts their shocks all the time. I never moved the SVO off the stiffest setting. Depends on what you want smooth soft ride or solid turns and handling.

 

[ArtBBQ]

I've got about 1.5" from the fender to the tire on my 71 Mach 1

I've seriously been thinking about doing the 1-in drop on the front end of mine. Mine sits a lot higher than yours does. So yeah I'm guessing you've got coil springs that are shorter. Someone else said push down on the front fender and see if it bounces or not. That's probably the easiest way to tell if your shocks are gone or not.

I think I've got a front front brake caliper that's rattling. I thought it was the shock was broken because it was making a rattling noise. But that wasn't the case. So I've got to pull the front tire off on the passenger side and check it out. If you want to swap out springs let me know

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

 

[Stanglover]

Just my thoughts on a bouncy front end ( On the car)  Get rid of anything Scott Drake. Treat your car to a set of correct Eaton Detroit Springs front coil springs the correct height. Add a good set of shocks, your choice, then drop in a 1 1/8" anti sway bar. I'm using a Addco front with a Addco 7/8" rear with KYB Gas-A-Just shocks.  No bounce and the car goes around corners like it's on rails and in the UK, you need that.

Take it for what it's worth...... or not.

 

[Bentworker]

Clearly you need to be the lab rat and test a set of those direct fit 71-73 Bilstein shocks that Opentracker Racing sells.

Those do look like lowering or cut springs. Good chance the spring rate is higher than stock, and any shock that is close to stock will under dampen.. Have you had a good look under the car to see how all the bushings look? How about the condition of all the ball joints etc? What are your alignment numbers?

 

[midlife]

Shocking: this thread is very shocking to read. I'm shocked, I say...shocked!

Furthermore, no pictures of the wife where a sports bra won't fit.

 

[Don C]

I really think a video showing the bounce would help us to understand the problem better, of the car of course.

 

[1sostatic]

Thanks guys 

I'm going to get under there and see what I've got going on.

...oooh I nearly forgot ...these are for Midlife... 

 

[Stanglover]

Thanks guys 

I'm going to get under there and see what I've got going on.

...oooh I nearly forgot ...these are for Midlife... 

 Now, that's what i call a bouncy front end....... really bouncy.

 

[1sostatic]

I watched a U t00b video and matched these springs with mine --at least in the same amount of turns

 

[1sostatic]

I want my front to be stiff 

 

[73pony]

sorry. I'm still distracted by the previously posted "bouncy front end!"

 

[Bentworker]

Third possible option for your lowered front end is that someone took a torch to the stock springs and heated a coil or two up to remove the spring like quality of that coil.

 

[Carolina_Mountain_Mustangs]

I've got about 1.5" from the fender to the tire on my 71 Mach 1

I've seriously been thinking about doing the 1-in drop on the front end of mine. Mine sits a lot higher than yours does. So yeah I'm guessing you've got coil springs that are shorter. Someone else said push down on the front fender and see if it bounces or not. That's probably the easiest way to tell if your shocks are gone or not.

I think I've got a front front brake caliper that's rattling. I thought it was the shock was broken because it was making a rattling noise. But that wasn't the case. So I've got to pull the front tire off on the passenger side and check it out. If you want to swap out springs let me know

Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

On the rattle noise. Couple places to look is the upper shock rubber mounts. When you lift a Mustang and let the front suspension drop the full load of the front spring is transferred to the little rubber isolator on the top of the shock. All of the Ford manuals tell you to block the travel of the upper control arm with a special tool they have. Most people do not have them. Even the Mortors Manual has a blue print to build them and copies of that are actually here on the Forum. I simple place a piece of 2X4 block of wood on top of the frame rail under the upper control arm. It keeps from crushing the rubber. Lift the car without a block and look at the bushing and do again with a block and you will see why they fall apart. If lifted with a block in there you should be able to get hold of the end of the shock and wiggle it around and see if it is loose in the rubber bushings. Now the other area of the front suspension that can be damaged by lifting without blocking is the big rubber bushings on the front end of the radius rods inside the front cross member. What can happen there is the rod angles down too far and can split the bushing in half. If this happens then the radius rod can rattle inside the cross member. Just something to check out when looking for that rattle. Also does your upper control arms have grease fittings in the ends? Factory did not install but you can if there are little plugs in the end you can remove. Usually if they are not greased they squeak but can rattle also.

 

[Stanglover]

I want my front to be stiff 

I want my front to be stiff too, but that ain't happening anytime soon!!

On your coils, can you see any remaining paint daubs? That will tell you if your springs are the original that may have been butchered. Below is a pic of my springs, the paint daubs are exactly as found after a light clean up.





These of course are Mach 1 comp springs. The height is 15" exactly as they were new.

 

[goodnigh]

You push up and down on my fender and the car barely moves.

Put my weight on it and maybe moves 1/2 inch. The car does

have the comp suspension package if that matters. If I drive

over a pencil I can feel it.

mike