55 Front suspension refresh

[Max888]

While my motor is out being rebuilt I'm looking at re-doing the front suspension.

As some of you know I'm no mechanical genius but not afraid to try.

The front suspension on my 55 definitely needs updating. I've seen front suspension kits for sale, found a few topics on here and watched alot of you tube.

I know a machinist and some smart guys I can go to but I plan on doing as much as I can myself.

Does anyone have advice or lessons learned to help me set up a strategy before before I cross the LD ?

Im thinking my motor will be in shop a month or so and I'd like to set her on some nice suspension when she comes home

[paul2748]

The rubber parts are the most susceptible to wear so take a good look at those. The ball joints are very heavy duty and if given at least minimal care may be ok, but should be checked out. I have two cars with the identical front end (a 54 Victoria and a 56 Bird) which I redid the front end and ball joints were good in both cars.

While better done with the engine in the car for weight, check the tie rod ends for play. Have some one move the steering wheel back and forth while some one looks for any play in them. Same goes for the steering arm and idler arm.

Lots a tension in those springs so be extra careful when disassembling and reassembling the front end

And if you can find them, get all USA made parts.

[55blacktie]

Gil Bumgartner (CTCI/Gil's Garage, Tbird restorer and judge) also said the same thing about the original ball joints. Any suspension/steering parts you might buy from Tbird parts suppliers will have been made "off-shore." One supplier sells ball joints that are made in India. Occasionally, you will find NOS parts on ebay. It's also a god idea to check with Tbird club members.

I secured my front springs by wrapping a chain around and through the spring. By doing so, I did not need to use a spring compressor. However, I replaced them with Ford Aerostar springs, which were easier to install, no need to compress, because they are shorter. They are progressive springs; the change in ride height was negligible, but more so on full-size Fords.

Check your steering-gear box. Mine was completely dry and had considerable play. Redhead Steering Gears, in Washington, rebuilt it, and I highly recommend them. They do substitute 00 grease for gear oil, which is a cure for leaking boxes, but doesn't adversely affect performance. Early Corvette steering boxes leaked, but were repaired, under warranty, by replacing gear oil with 00 grease.

When you rebuild your suspension/steering, do one side at a time, using the opposite side as a guide for reassembly. Also get a reproduction Ford service manual for your year, although I'm not aware of any significant difference from 55-57.

[Haz567]

Ditto for what Paul & Blacktie said. There is a way to remove the front springs reasonably safely but there is a lot of force and you need to be careful if the car is unloaded (engine/trans out, frame-off resto for example). You probably will need some type of spring compressor to get the springs back on (at least I did).

Lastly, there is some real junk out there in regards replacement ball joints, connecting/tie rod ends, etc. Don't waste your money (as I did) on one particular brand which I will be more than happy to pass along if you PM me. I will say that these folks should be A-Rested for the crud they are selling, won't even make good paper weights.

[Rusty57]

That sounds like a good plan for your project.

I endorse 2 points made in the other posts.
- Be careful removing and installing the springs.
- There are a lot of junk suspension parts out there. If you need to replace the ball joints look for NOS. I would be cautious about NOS rubber bushings. They could be as old as what you are replacing. Maybe someone on this forum can recommend a good brand for those.

Wait until you have the engine back in the car and everything ready to go before you do the final tightening on the various bushing pivots bolts and nuts. You want to clamp that inner steel sleeve when the suspension is In the neutral position. That will minimize the twist on the bushings as the suspension moves up and down in normal travel.

It really helps to have a friend with a 4 post or drive on lift to do that part. Otherwise I use a floor jack and load each corner of the suspension until the car just starts to lift off the jack stand or lift pad. Then tighten the hardware.

[Oiseau DeTonnere]

OK, now you're worrying me. I bought the complete front-end suspension rebuild kit from CASCO (including ball joints) and they are already installed on the car - I didn't really check them out, I just handed the whole box of parts over to my mechanic. I had assumed what CASCO sells to be good quality, so I hope they are not the "cheap crud" parts people are mentioning above...

[Rusty57]

Hello Oisaeu,

It is often difficult to determine what brand parts are provided in the kits we buy from the various supply houses. They often do not have much if any control on the origin of the parts they receive.

I would have no concerns about catastrophic failure of any of those parts you received. My experience and issues with aftermarket suspension parts are more with respect to long term durability and reliability. I am not impressed with many of the items I receive that I put into use on higher use vehicles.

I doubt if any of use drive our TBird’s enough to wear out suspension parts.

[Haz567]

Oiseau:

The parts I purchased did not come from one of the typical T-Bird vendors (wish they had) and I would suspect that your parts coming from CASCO means they should be fine. I tried to save a few bucks and ordered from an unfamiliar source.
The parts I received I would expect any reasonable mechanic to refuse to install. When assembled, the inner tie rod, sleeve and outer tie rod forms a slight "Z" shape (gotta be a straight line); upper ball joints were "out of plane" (see attached picture) to match the upper control arm and used 10mm bolts vs the 3/8" on the original (10mm bolts will not go thru a hole closely drilled for 3/8" bolts).

Again, please PM me and I will be happy to pass along seller of these parts.

[Boozeman]

If you bought the parts from CASCO, you will be fine. CASCO actually does restorations of Thunderbirds, so they've vetted their suppliers for the best parts avaialble. I just redid the entire suspension on my '57 with parts from them, and everything came out fine.

[Oiseau DeTonnere]

OK, thanks for the reassurance Haz and Boozeman!

[Max888]

I got my tie rods and stabilizer ends put in my 55 but when I tried to put a jack under the a arms the car lifted. Since the motor is out its just to light.
I may wait till I get motor back in... thoughts??

Also, I noticed that my steering box ( manual steering) had been leaking. It turns well and I never noticed any slop in it.
Is there a way to check / add gear oil to it and maybe an additive to help a leak ? It's not dripping or anything I can just see it has been damp in the past

The thought of taking that steering column out again and then the box is not at the top of my make me happy list.

[Max888]

I found the information on the steering box. I'll fill it and see how bad she's leaking.

Thanks

[Rusty57]

I would not be concerned with loading the suspensions for tie rod ends and the stabilizer bar bushings and linkages. Those move freely as the suspension moves.

My suggestions is to make sure that captured bushings and pivots be tightened with the suspension at normal height. So I would wait until the car is in operating condition (drivetrain and body parts installed) to tighten those joints.

There is one item I always check when replacing tie rods ends. I make sure that each end is centered in its travel when the car is on the ground. Otherwise one end could bind as it goes through its range of motion with steering and suspension travel.

[55blacktie]

Hotchkis sway bar installation instructions say that sway bar ends should be tightened with wheels on ground. I would think using ramps on one end and jack stands on the other would be acceptable, or you could use ramps on all four corners.