jacknifetoaswan
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- Charleston, SC
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- 2016 Race Red Mustang GT Premium Performance Pack
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- #1
I installed the Steeda Adjustable Diff Bushing Insert kit (555-4443) yesterday, and wanted to pass along a couple of tips that will get your install time down from the 4 hours it took me to the 1 hour it SHOULD have taken me. Of note, I also have the Steeda IRS Subframe Alignment Kit, IRS Subframe Bushing Support System, IRS Subframe Support Braces, and Aluminum Vertical Links, so the only thing I'm now missing from the Stop The Hop Handling Ultimate Kit is the Adjustable Toe Links, but they're sitting on my bench. I'll install them in a couple weeks, when I'm ready to get the car re-aligned.
1 - Watch the CJ Pony video on this a few times and have it handy on your phone or a garage TV. Bill is way better at describing and showing the installation process than the Steeda video.
2 - If you have aftermarket mufflers, just drop the exhaust. It takes less time to remove the clamps and let them droop than it does to back off the bolts 1/32nd of a turn at a time. My hands and forearms are wrecked from only moving those bolts about 12 degrees each time, and since the front bolts have very little clearance, you're repositioning the wrench every single time.
3 - Have a 22mm SHALLOW socket. The front bolt faces the axles, and you can't fit a deep socket in there. If I had a 22mm shallow, I'd have had that bolt out and back in with my impact driver, in less than a minute, using a wobble and an extension. There is enough room to torque this bolt without using a wobble, but again, you need a shallow socket.
4 - Have a 22mm ratcheting box wrench for the short front bolt that faces towards the rear of the car. There's basically zero room between the gas tank and the bolt.
5 - You can probably get away without removing the 21mm rear subframe bolts, especially if you get your exhaust out of the way.
6 - When you go to remove the front bolts, you may have a tough time getting the bolts out of the car, due to clearance against the axles. I have the GT350 half shafts, and was barely able to clear the driver's side. Passenger came out with no issue. The video that CJ Pony has on Youtube shows that the Ford Performance half shafts are too big, and the bolt needs to be cut.
7 - When you install the front bushing with the washer and short bolt, you'll be able to get the passenger side in, with no problem, due to the fact that there's a slight relief/cutout in the gas tank. The driver's side was impossible for me to do without having both front subframe bolts completely removed, and the driver's rear subframe bolt backed off about halfway. I kept a jack under the subframe to make sure that the droop was controlled, but that was the only way I could get enough clearance to install the bolt.
8 - If you have the Steeda Subframe Support Braces, you'll need to completely remove the two front bolts that connect to the underbody, as well as the bolt that connects to the factory subframe support bracket. The two Allen headed bolts can simply be loosened, not removed, as that will let you gain clearance to the 21mm front subframe bolt. Remember that the front subframe bolt HAS to be re-torqued before you start reinstalling the bolts for the subframe braces, as the brace partially obscures that bolt.
JR
1 - Watch the CJ Pony video on this a few times and have it handy on your phone or a garage TV. Bill is way better at describing and showing the installation process than the Steeda video.
2 - If you have aftermarket mufflers, just drop the exhaust. It takes less time to remove the clamps and let them droop than it does to back off the bolts 1/32nd of a turn at a time. My hands and forearms are wrecked from only moving those bolts about 12 degrees each time, and since the front bolts have very little clearance, you're repositioning the wrench every single time.
3 - Have a 22mm SHALLOW socket. The front bolt faces the axles, and you can't fit a deep socket in there. If I had a 22mm shallow, I'd have had that bolt out and back in with my impact driver, in less than a minute, using a wobble and an extension. There is enough room to torque this bolt without using a wobble, but again, you need a shallow socket.
4 - Have a 22mm ratcheting box wrench for the short front bolt that faces towards the rear of the car. There's basically zero room between the gas tank and the bolt.
5 - You can probably get away without removing the 21mm rear subframe bolts, especially if you get your exhaust out of the way.
6 - When you go to remove the front bolts, you may have a tough time getting the bolts out of the car, due to clearance against the axles. I have the GT350 half shafts, and was barely able to clear the driver's side. Passenger came out with no issue. The video that CJ Pony has on Youtube shows that the Ford Performance half shafts are too big, and the bolt needs to be cut.
7 - When you install the front bushing with the washer and short bolt, you'll be able to get the passenger side in, with no problem, due to the fact that there's a slight relief/cutout in the gas tank. The driver's side was impossible for me to do without having both front subframe bolts completely removed, and the driver's rear subframe bolt backed off about halfway. I kept a jack under the subframe to make sure that the droop was controlled, but that was the only way I could get enough clearance to install the bolt.
8 - If you have the Steeda Subframe Support Braces, you'll need to completely remove the two front bolts that connect to the underbody, as well as the bolt that connects to the factory subframe support bracket. The two Allen headed bolts can simply be loosened, not removed, as that will let you gain clearance to the 21mm front subframe bolt. Remember that the front subframe bolt HAS to be re-torqued before you start reinstalling the bolts for the subframe braces, as the brace partially obscures that bolt.
JR
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