Stock Suspension \ Axle Alignment Questions

[JeffS197]

Hello,

I have a 05 GT Convertible that I bought used just over a month ago.

I really enjoy driving that car (100+KM daily commute) and have been looking into rear springs as I feel the back is ridiculously high for stock. The front ride height doesnt really bother me that much.

The car also seems to be "unpredictable" in hard turns like highway onramps but I figured thats just part of the whole solid axle deal and did not think too much of it.

I have been reading alot about S197 suspensions and was looking into some springs and figured I should go out and measure where I am at first before making any decisions.

What I found kind of surprised me.

Running 245/45/18 in the front, 275/40/18 in the rear on some sort of cheapo asian wheels (says Sport Max with some asian writing signs..? no indication of offset specs on them either? rears are definately different offset than the front) that the previous owner installed.

The front DS and PS are both 3" gap between the fender and height of tire (not the most visually appealing but not that bad).

The rears..

DS rear I measured just over 4" gap.
PS rear I measured just under 3.75" gap.

something doesnt seem right here.

I jacked up the rear and took a look at everything underneith and nothing appears to be broken which is good, though I figure if something is bent then really there is no way to tell just looking at it.

Then I took a look at how "centered" the axle is and I can see that the DS rear wheel looks to be sticking outwards almost a 1/4" when compared to the PS rear tire.

I did some googling and it seems that being off center is fairly normal even for stock.but is 1/4" off normal? seems like alot to me.

Then I noticed that the DS rear spring appears to be a bit cleaner than the PS side..

Now I am starting to wonder if the previous owner perhaps had the DS rear spring break and replaced with coupe spring?

I know they are different spring rates but would that account for the difference in ride height between the DS and PS rear?

to me the car definitely handles funny. All of my previous cars were FWD so I do not have much experience with RWD or S197s and with mustangs at all aside from helping out my buddies with their fox bodies back in high school.

I am starting to think this could be the reason for the flaky handling characteristics.


Is there any visual way to tell a coupe spring from a convertible coupe spring?

Any ideas on what else I can check with basic tools in my driveway before bringing it into a shop?

Now my story gets a little weird:

I was told by the dealer that sold me the car that previous owner curbed the stock wheels really bad and that is why he replaced them (was actually in my carfax report that the wheels were replaced by insurance).

Now I am starting to wonder if in reality he smacked into a curb at speed and caused all sorts of other problems.

I also have a dent on the passenger side frame rail right where the foot guard is. He told me that the wind slammed the door shut while there was something in the way and that caused the dent. I figured this was a feasible explanation and knew I was getting the car inspected before I bought it so I didnt think too much of it at the time.

now I am starting to think that maybe this guy smashed the car into a curb or maybe hit the wall at the track and maybe bent the whole frame or something. the front right fender has also been repainted (they painted right over the clear bra-looks retarded) and someone also tried to buff or sand the fender and they just screwed up the paint.

who knows maybe I am just being paranoid.

I did have the car checked out by two "competent" shops before buying and neither mentioned anything about it, but then again they both missed the difference in ride height so perhaps they are not the greatest inspectors after all.

Any insight would be appreciated.

Heres some pics of how it sits:

Thanks, Jeff

 

[oldVOR]

When taking measurements, ensure the car is on a level surface or you will get readings that don't make sense. The axles can be offset as much as 3/4" on some cars, depending on the factory tolerances with all the components.

If you're concerned the car may be bent, take it to a frame alignment shop and have them put it on the rack and take all the readings. They will tell you for certain if it's straight or not.

Regarding the springs, you should be able to get the numbers off the springs and verify they are correct for the application. Any dealer parts counter can run the numbers and let you know. You can also check various on-line parts sites for verification.

If all that checks out, an adjustable pan hard bar will go a long way to center the rear axle and get the rear better sorted.

 

[JeffS197]

great thanks for the info!

here are some pictures of the mystery dent..

sure hoping the previous owner was not a dukes of hazard fan or I might need to start calling her the "general lee"..

The car was traded in for a 2015 Mustang at a Ford dealership and then sold to another dealer down the road who sold it to me.

My friend works at the Ford dealer (sales) and I asked him to check with his service guys if they had any info. He says they thought it was pretty clean and did not think that it had any structural damage. but again who knows if they even really checked it out for anything other than the usual safety test stuff.

I am going to go and find the numbers on the springs tomorrow and run them by a Ford dealer.

 

[JeffS197]

can anyone confirm how much gap I SHOULD have with the stock rear springs on my convertible?

Trying to figure out if ~4.1" too high on my drivers side or if ~3.7" too low on my passenger side?

 

[mrt2you]

the mystery dent is probably nothing to worry about.
the dent is on top of the rocker panel. if the frame is bent there will be dents lower in the rocker.

the only way to be absolutely sure there isn't any structural damage. take the car to a good body shop to be put on a frame rack and measure the under body. electronic measuring systems have the ability to print out the measurements.
if it has damage take the print out to the selling dealer and you will get your money back. it's against the law for a dealer to sell a car with frame damage if it wasn't disclosed when you bought the car. you must do this ASAP or you will have problems getting your money back.
it sounds like a control arm or arms could be bent. it could be possible that the mounts where the arms bolt to could be bent also.
I have measured quite a few cars for frame damage after the sale at the body shop where I work. it seems that clean carfaxes can become dirty after a few months after the sale.
you will have to get a appointment at the body shop and leave it for about 1/2 day at least. if you want a basic measurement. this usually takes about 3 hours. they remove the lower splash shields, clamp the car down and measure the underbody.
if you want a good measurement the body shop will have to remove the bumpers. to measure the frame rails at the bumper reinforcements. the rest of the measurements will be the same as the basic measurements.

 

[skwerl]

The left rear is often higher than the right rear. Mine is off by 1/4" as well. Even the amount of fuel in the tank will change the height.

Put some decent shocks on the car because the stock ones handle like crap. Koni will perform well and ride nice.

 

[JeffS197]

the mystery dent is probably nothing to worry about.
the dent is on top of the rocker panel. if the frame is bent there will be dents lower in the rocker.

great thanks for the info. I honestly feel better after reading that lol the only reason I was thinking the frame could be bent was because of that dent. Other than that I dont have any reason to suspect that its bent. I will still spend some time this week checking out the rest of the car if I can get it on a lift. The car drives straight but that dent had me really worried once I started thinking about it.
If I find anything else on the under side then I guess I will need to bring it in for the inspection.

The left rear is often higher than the right rear. Mine is off by 1/4" as well. Even the amount of fuel in the tank will change the height.

I measured with a near empty tank..guess I will go fill her up and post back the difference..

 

[JeffS197]

Filled her up and now the high side gap is 3.8 and the low side is 3.6 so I guess I am in good shape.

Well now that I know the axle is OK the suspension is OK and the dent is probably not anything to worry about I can get back to looking into modding the car. Thanks for all the info guys!

 

[mrt2you]

to be sure that the dent is nothing, remove the sill plate.
if the pinch weld flange under the sill is bent, then it's something to worry about.

 

[JeffS197]

will do thanks!

 

[JeffS197]

any chance someone knows of a wider door sill available that would cover up the dent?

 

[eighty6gt]

A paintless place might be able to repair it, I don't remember but there are probably holes around there under that panel that would allow for them to get at the dent from underneath.

My rear axle was off 1/8 or 1/4, I got an adjustable panhard bar and fixed it. Didn't notice until I put the drag radials on, they come out beyond the fenders a very small amount.