BMR CB005 Install

[DRKHORS]

Installed these goodies from BMR. Prior to installation, I had a good idea that my cradle certainly wasn't centered from side-to-side. While I had the sub-frame down, I also installed the rear Steeda alignment inserts. I did the install with the car on stands and supporting the cradle with a floor jack. A few tips for those who are considering this but haven't done this install yet:

• Take the time to remove your rear tires/wheels to free up the extra space while working.
  
• I found working from one side to the other to be fairly easy. I did the rear on each side before moving to the front on the same side.
• While you can get the job done by only loosening/removing the main cradle bolts on one side while leaving the other side torqued to spec, I did end up having to loosen all four up to finish my installation. If you are not installing the Steeda alignment inserts, I don't believe you would have to loosen all four at the same time, as I only had to do this to adjust the sub-frames position. I was able to install the driver's side rear insert and snug up the sub-frame with a minimal amount of movement.
  
• I attempted to use the pry bar method to move the sub-frame to it's correct position when installing the passenger side insert, and wasn't having the best success. I had read others state that "ratchet straps are your friend", not understanding exactly what they meant. It is MUCH easier to attach one end of the strap to the sub-frame, the other end to a fixed point, and then slowly ratchet the sub-frame into it's needed position. To help me determine the exact direction the sub-frame needed to move, with the front OEM sub-frame plates removed, I threaded the 21mm bolt back into the sub-frame. With the OEM plate removed, this allows you to see the excess space to one side of the bolt or the other to determine the direction the sub-frame needs to be moved. Once I had done this, getting the sub-frame moved, inserts installed, and bolts threaded back in went smoothly.
• I did not have to drop my exhaust, but did have to get creative with socket depths and extension sizes as the rear sub-frame bolts ended up being almost directly above each rear exhaust pipe.

Since my sub-frame was out of alignment from factory, I am need of a four-wheel alignment now. As such, I was not able to do any testing of the cars handling or ability to keep the rear tires planted under hard acceleration. This car isn't my daily driver so I will try to get it in for an alignment sometime this week, hopefully.

There has been discussion in previous threads about the possibility of this mod affecting ride height. I can tell you that if there is any change at all, it would be very minuscule. While I have not noticed any additional harshness in the ride quality, I do perceive a slight increase in harmonics being transferred from small imperfections in road surfaces. This was something I was prepared for, and I feel I won't notice as much after a small amount of time. I can tell you that in the minimal amount of "normal" driving I have done thus far, the rear end feels much more solid, planted, and stable.

Looking forward to getting the alignment done and getting to experience the benefits of this upgrade!

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[BmacIL]

Definitely one of the best single mods and an important one. The improvement to rear end stability, consistency of response and connectedness to the rest of the car is very significant.

 

[DRKHORS]

I've got a feeling that for some, like me, you won't/don't realize how much this mod is needed until you've actually done it!

 

[BmacIL]

I've got a feeling that for some, like me, you won't/don't realize how much this mod is needed until you've actually done it!

Definitely. It's fixing a design Ford never should've released. That much deflection is completely unnecessary, and they could've gotten similar NVH levels with better performance.

 

[StangTime]

I haven't heard of using ratchet straps to get the cradle into position. That's a great tip! Thanks for posting about your install.

 

[DRKHORS]

I haven't heard of using ratchet straps to get the cradle into position. That's a great tip! Thanks for posting about your install.

In my case, I needed to move the sub-frame towards the front so I hooked into the hole where you would use the pry bar, hooked the other end of the strap to a hole in the unibody at the rocker, then moved it one click at a time until the rear bolt hole lined up and I could get the bolt threaded in.

Hopefully it will help the next person who does this install!

 

[poncho@home]

Nice write up. I was fortunate, my subframe was aligned so I just completed 1 side at a time installing the Steeda alignment pins as well during the process. Only issue I had was I started cross-threading one of the bolts, so I got my tap out and redid the threads and then I was able to bolt it back up without an issue

 

[dead_inside]

I’ll be doing the cb005, scb766, and cb762 kits all at once. Is trying to follow the individual install instructions the best bet or are any of you aware of a better guide for doing these kits together?

 

[Andrew@Lethal]

Installed these goodies from BMR. Prior to installation, I had a good idea that my cradle certainly wasn't centered from side-to-side. While I had the sub-frame down, I also installed the rear Steeda alignment inserts. I did the install with the car on stands and supporting the cradle with a floor jack. A few tips for those who are considering this but haven't done this install yet:

• Take the time to remove your rear tires/wheels to free up the extra space while working.
  
• I found working from one side to the other to be fairly easy. I did the rear on each side before moving to the front on the same side.
• While you can get the job done by only loosening/removing the main cradle bolts on one side while leaving the other side torqued to spec, I did end up having to loosen all four up to finish my installation. If you are not installing the Steeda alignment inserts, I don't believe you would have to loosen all four at the same time, as I only had to do this to adjust the sub-frames position. I was able to install the driver's side rear insert and snug up the sub-frame with a minimal amount of movement.
  
• I attempted to use the pry bar method to move the sub-frame to it's correct position when installing the passenger side insert, and wasn't having the best success. I had read others state that "ratchet straps are your friend", not understanding exactly what they meant. It is MUCH easier to attach one end of the strap to the sub-frame, the other end to a fixed point, and then slowly ratchet the sub-frame into it's needed position. To help me determine the exact direction the sub-frame needed to move, with the front OEM sub-frame plates removed, I threaded the 21mm bolt back into the sub-frame. With the OEM plate removed, this allows you to see the excess space to one side of the bolt or the other to determine the direction the sub-frame needs to be moved. Once I had done this, getting the sub-frame moved, inserts installed, and bolts threaded back in went smoothly.
• I did not have to drop my exhaust, but did have to get creative with socket depths and extension sizes as the rear sub-frame bolts ended up being almost directly above each rear exhaust pipe.

Since my sub-frame was out of alignment from factory, I am need of a four-wheel alignment now. As such, I was not able to do any testing of the cars handling or ability to keep the rear tires planted under hard acceleration. This car isn't my daily driver so I will try to get it in for an alignment sometime this week, hopefully.

There has been discussion in previous threads about the possibility of this mod affecting ride height. I can tell you that if there is any change at all, it would be very minuscule. While I have not noticed any additional harshness in the ride quality, I do perceive a slight increase in harmonics being transferred from small imperfections in road surfaces. This was something I was prepared for, and I feel I won't notice as much after a small amount of time. I can tell you that in the minimal amount of "normal" driving I have done thus far, the rear end feels much more solid, planted, and stable.

Looking forward to getting the alignment done and getting to experience the benefits of this upgrade!

Great write up!

 

[KellTrac]

The comments about ride height change are totally misleading and completely unrealistic.

The ONLY way the CB005, CB010 or any other IRS support/lockout kit would affect the ride height ANY considerable amount would be if the end user installs it incorrectly.

Back to the story, yes! Ive used the BMR lockout kits on 4 cars and they're 100% my favorite modification! Enjoy!

 

[DRKHORS]

Nice write up. I was fortunate, my subframe was aligned so I just completed 1 side at a time installing the Steeda alignment pins as well during the process. Only issue I had was I started cross-threading one of the bolts, so I got my tap out and redid the threads and then I was able to bolt it back up without an issue

Great write up!

Thank you both! With some discernment, you can get some good info and tips here from knowledgeable people. Happy to contribute when I can.

 

[DRKHORS]

I’ll be doing the cb005, scb766, and cb762 kits all at once. Is trying to follow the individual install instructions the best bet or are any of you aware of a better guide for doing these kits together?

I can't comment on this but hopefully someone with experience will chime in. Kelly, who was at BMR, is a good resource. Maybe someone knows how to contact him. I don't have an opinion about the BMR Tech who represents them on the forum now because I haven't seen enough of their posts.

 

[Ghost50]

Nice write up.

I realized how badly this was needed after my first few passes down the strip on my stock set up. On one run the wheel hop was so bad I thought I dropped my rear end off the car. It was violent.

When we did mine I rented a bay so we’d have a lift. We did the lowering springs, CB005, CB762 and BMR vertical links.

My dumbass forgot to put the Steeda alignment sleeves in during the first install so that caused the rear to be out of alignment.

I also had the BK081 RLCA bearings but we could not get them in at the shop I rented the bay at bc they didn’t have the right bearing press.

So when I took it to my guy who has a shop to have those installed he installed the Steeda alignment sleeves too and got my cradle centered and line up perfectly.

All of that plus the other diff bushings makes the car feel bulletproof.

Your write up helps solidify how important these mods are to the S550 guys.

 

[DRKHORS]

Nice write up.

Thanks!

You might have some useful install tips for @dead_inside who is looking to do the 762 and 766 with the CB005...

 

[Ghost50]

I’ll be doing the cb005, scb766, and cb762 kits all at once. Is trying to follow the individual install instructions the best bet or are any of you aware of a better guide for doing these kits together?

I highly recommend what you’re doing - installing them all at once. We followed the instructions. It’s been about a year since mine was done so I’m trying to recall the order of install but the 005 went in first and then everything else after.

I didn’t use the 766 on mine but went with the Steeda equivalent and forgot to put them in lol so when I had the LCA bearings done I paid to have them done along with the bearings. Talk about feeling like a moron when I looked down and realized oh...there are the alignment sleeves!

the instructions are pretty straightforward. I’ve read where some guys really had to wrestle with the alignment and others had theirs line right up. What I gathered from that was it depended on how well your cradle is aligned from the factory.

Good luck to you!

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