Book hours GT350 spring replacement

[GTP]

I wish I had thought of the isolators before hand. It was dumb of me. I had to replace those before on other cars, usually they are deformed at the very least.

The car has low mileage and is in pristine shape, I’m hoping the factory ones were ok. My guy never called me to to tell me they were jacked up and he is the type that wouldn’t want to put it back together if they were. Still, when you have the all that labor done to get the springs out, I should have had new ones ready to go.

That was dumb of me.

All great comments and advice from everyone so far!

My passenger side lower isolator was thinned out. I thought it was defective from the factory. I eventually got to replace it after some other rear suspension work. In hindsight, I wish I had also take the rear springs to my grind wheel to put a bit of radius in to their ends. IOW to not have a sharp corner digging into the rubber isolators, top or bottom.

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[ZX3ST]

I wish I had thought of the isolators before hand. It was dumb of me. I had to replace those before on other cars, usually they are deformed at the very least.

The car has low mileage and is in pristine shape, I’m hoping the factory ones were ok. My guy never called me to to tell me they were jacked up and he is the type that wouldn’t want to put it back together if they were. Still, when you have the all that labor done to get the springs out, I should have had new ones ready to go.

That was dumb of me.

Hopefully yours are fine. At the time, mine was just over a year old and had roughly 2000mi on it, so low mileage didn't mean much for me. Both sides had punched through the rubber and contacting the control arm. I could have just had some bad ones.

 

[mavisky]

Loosen the rear subframe bolts and you can get the rear springs out easily that way. Then re-install with centering dowels and your IRS bushings and bracing of choice and get an alignment.

 

[John S]

The factory service manual describes rear spring replacement by removing the lower control arms. Most people drop a corner of the cradle, instead. I've used both methods and dropping the cradle is simple and should save time. No alignment is needed if there's no change in cradle positioning or ride height.

While the front struts are out, you can add some proper camber plates for easy adjustments, a better design option over the cammed mounting bolt that replaces one of the two knucle bolts. Ford recommends replacing just about every fastener when servicing anything but there are no torque-to-yield fasteners involved in replacing the springs so just be sure to reapply Loctite if the original fasteners are still are in good shape.

 

[mavisky]

The factory service manual describes rear spring replacement by removing the lower control arms. Most people drop a corner of the cradle, instead. I've used both methods and dropping the cradle is simple and should save time. No alignment is needed if there's no change in cradle positioning or ride height.

Changing the springs will change the ride height so that will require an alignment. Without having the car aligned while on centering dowels there is way too much free play in the rear cradle mounting solution to be able to reliably get it back in place exactly as it was.

 

[TonyNJ]

My 2 cents when it comes to "hours"....

If 2 guys are working on it for 2 hours like @coz0502 said, that's really 4 man hrs. That's probably where the dealership book gets their 6 hours from. 2 guys, for 3 hours.

 

[coz0502]

My 2 cents when it comes to "hours"....

If 2 guys are working on it for 2 hours like @coz0502 said, that's really 4 man hrs. That's probably where the dealership book gets their 6 hours from. 2 guys, for 3 hours.

This logic would be solid and accurate, but unfortunately you made a very bad assumption. You assume I have mechanical knowledge, which to some degree is true. I can handle the basics, oil changes, brakes, filters, etc. But when it comes to this job, I am a glorified parts handler . If my buddy did it without me, it probably would have taken 90 mins LOL.

 

[icecreamtruckz]

Hopefully yours are fine. At the time, mine was just over a year old and had roughly 2000mi on it, so low mileage didn't mean much for me. Both sides had punched through the rubber and contacting the control arm. I could have just had some bad ones.

Dodged a bullet. Mechanic said they looked brand new. No deformity or damage.

The springs are fantastic. In normal mode the ride is better. I assume because of the lowered spring rate in the rear. Usually you drop a car and it beats you up more. This did the opposite. I do think I need to the do the swaybars now. I have a few turns that I can reliably get the tail around on and now I felt it pushing more. The lower rate definitely increased understeer. I guess they meant it to work as a package in conjunction with the sway bar kit.

Zero complaints with the FP springs. Aside from the labor for install.

 

[WItoTX]

Proper color scheme and everything! You will really like those springs on the road. Any serious track duty, you'd need to go up, but Ford did a really good job with those. Softer rear, stiffer front.

I had the fp springs. Great springs, but they actually do increase the rake. 10 mm drop in the rear, 20 mm front I believe on my car.

 

[mavisky]

Dodged a bullet. Mechanic said they looked brand new. No deformity or damage.

The springs are fantastic. In normal mode the ride is better. I assume because of the lowered spring rate in the rear. Usually you drop a car and it beats you up more. This did the opposite. I do think I need to the do the swaybars now. I have a few turns that I can reliably get the tail around on and now I felt it pushing more. The lower rate definitely increased understeer. I guess they meant it to work as a package in conjunction with the sway bar kit.

Zero complaints with the FP springs. Aside from the labor for install.

Yes if you're going to go FP springs you should absolutely do their matching bars to remain decently balanced. They were my first upgrade and great on the street.

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