Mixed opinions about ditching Spring isolators...

[Rapture]

I currently have SR springs on my 05 GT. Looks good but when I see others with sportlines I get jealous. That extra half in the rear is very noticeable. Can't see myself spending 200 on a half inch. Can't afford it either. Can't afford to mod my mustang and it sucks.

Anyways I've read plenty of mixed opinions about ditching spring isolators. Some say it will be the worst ride ever. Some say they have done it and don't notice. Some say lots of cars don't even come with them. How can there be such a wide range of opinions?

I'm not very OCD about the ride quality as much as I am the looks (right now).

As there anyone that actually has done it and can justify "worst ride ever?"

I appreciate different opinions but have learned that not everything you hear on the Internet is true. I was told after the 1.5 inch drop my inside front tread would be shredded if I didn't get chamber plates. I didn't get chamber plates and my tread is actually thicker inside fronts (Firestone measured it after tire rotation) my front is practically tucking and there's noticeable chamber.

The simple answer is just take out the ISOs and if it rides like hell put the back in. Sounds simple but I would need to buy a torch wrench, jack stands, and work on it in a parking lot some where since i live in an apartment. Plus I've never done suspension before but don't learning+saving money.

Any help

 

[eighty6gt]

Living on the edge!

You don't need a torch wrench, but would need some "mechanic's feel" to get those control arm bolts wrapped up. There is zero chance of getting a torque wrench on the upper control arm bolts. I use a 1/2" drive and as much force as I can muster, still being a reasonably strong young man of 36.

Good luck, you can easily do it in the parking lot.

 

[Rapture]

Living on the edge!

You don't need a torch wrench, but would need some "mechanic's feel" to get those control arm bolts wrapped up. There is zero chance of getting a torque wrench on the upper control arm bolts. I use a 1/2" drive and as much force as I can muster, still being a reasonably strong young man of 36.

Good luck, you can easily do it in the parking lot.

Thanks for the motivation and tips. I think I might just do this now. Prolly just the tears. Are those easier. Do I need 2 jack stands and have to do both sides at once. Thanks for the help

 

[eighty6gt]

I would certainly buy two jack stands, chocks for the front tires, and a decent jack. The car can be carefully lifted by the differential (do not bend the cover or lift on the pinion,) and the stands placed at the factory jack notches ahead of the rear tires. You will probably need to pull the calipers off to allow the rear to droop enough to bugger around with the springs. Definitely the lower shock attachments. Come to mind, you probably don't need to disconnect any rear control arms.

 

[Rapture]

I would certainly buy two jack stands, chocks for the front tires, and a decent jack. The car can be carefully lifted by the differential (do not bend the cover or lift on the pinion,) and the stands placed at the factory jack notches ahead of the rear tires. You will probably need to pull the calipers off to allow the rear to droop enough to bugger around with the springs. Definitely the lower shock attachments. Come to mind, you probably don't need to disconnect any rear control arms.

Sounds good thanks

 

[Grimlock]

I thought I'd read somewhere that the isolators are needed to seat the spring into the correct position and w/o them the spring would rotate around and make all kinds on noise.

 

[01yellerCobra]

Different model, but I had no iso's up front and just the bottoms in the rear in my 01. They won't affect your ride quality at all. That's all in the spring/shock combo. And I didn't have any strange noises either. It was like that for the 9 years I owned it and I think it still is like that with the new owner.

 

[nbk13nw]

You can pull the springs just by using the jack points as described above. Removing the wheels helps but not necessary. I used a small piston jack to get a little more room by spreading the axle answer body near the jounces.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Rapture]

I thought I'd read somewhere that the isolators are needed to seat the spring into the correct position and w/o them the spring would rotate around and make all kinds on noise.

I'll see if I can find some more info on this?

 

[Rapture]

You can pull the springs just by using the jack points as described above. Removing the wheels helps but not necessary. I used a small piston jack to get a little more room by spreading the axle answer body near the jounces.

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

Thanks for the tip

 

[Rapture]

I think I'm gonna try and pick up some sportline rear springs instead. Looking at my ISO in the rear it's pretty thin. Not sure if it's worth the hassle. Cars got 107,000 miles. Probably not much of an ISO by now huh?

 

[ghunt81]

I was gonna say, I didn't even think these things had a half inch worth of isolator in the rear. There's nothing on top and maybe a 1/4" thick pad on top of the axle.

Also I don't know for sure but I think the factory lower isolator might be polyurethane?

 

[Rapture]

I was gonna say, I didn't even think these things had a half inch worth of isolator in the rear. There's nothing on top and maybe a 1/4" thick pad on top of the axle.

Also I don't know for sure but I think the factory lower isolator might be polyurethane?

Yeah it looks about a quarter inch.

 

[Rapture]

I decided to pick up a set of rear sportlines instead of ditching the isolators. We will see how it turns out.