figured i would treat myself some. since i have my beater back on the road, i can afford to have the cobra off for whatever reason. i have had the MM IRS bushings sitting in my shed for who knows how long. install was pretty straightforward, worst part was aligning the bushings back up. removal and installation of the actualy bushings is actually easy with the right tools. going by the MM directions, i couldn't get the rear IRS low enough until i disconnected the front bushings and lowered the whole assembly. i used a fairly large drill bit (barely fit b/n crush collar and metal sleeve), drilled as many holes as i could, and drilled out as much rubber as i could. then i took a large C clamp and a large hole saw bit to fit on the outside of the bushing housing, and pushed the remains of the bushing out. i used a small wire wheel and 1.5" sanding rolls to clean out the rest of the rubber. i left the MM bushings in the freezer while i did all of the work. i sanded the sleeves down enough so that i could push the bushings in by hand without grease just past the first mark. then with grease they would go about half way. used the c clamp again with the hole saw bit to compress the MM bushing into the sleave, went in very easily with the grease. i took the wire wheel also to the front and rear areas where the bushing will slide up into to make it easier to align the bolt hole correctly. this is where it gets frustrating. went through many different attempts to get the IRS back up, final solution was to do the fronts first, one at a time, using different jack and jack stand combos. i also switched to 14mm bolts so that there would be no play. for the rears i ended up having to set the rear IRS bar on jack stands, and lower the car onto the bushings. i want to thank everyone for all of the info they posted about their installs as they were very helpful. the tools definitely that were needed: large C clamp ( i believe mine was 6"), large socket or hole saw bit to fit over bushing housing, 1.5" sanding rolls and wire wheel, 3 jacks and 2 sets of jackstands, and all of the usual sockets/ratchets. so since i went through all of that hard work i decided to reward myself with a set of springs and the predator, which will be at my house by next week.
installed MM IRS bushings, got a Predator and H&R race springs on the way
- Thread starter fiorefiveoh
- Start date
Ive heard a rotozip works wonders for cleaning/cutting out original bushings.
yeah i imagine it would, i just used a high speed/power electric drill. i would guess the rotozip would be easier to manuever also.
I have a slight vibe, I am paranoid that the bushings will make it more noticeable. Do you notice any increased vibration?
Where did you get the 14mm bolts? I guess i should do those either way.
Where did you get the 14mm bolts? I guess i should do those either way.
no actually it drives smoother, especially on the highway cruisin b/n 75-85. i just bought good bolts from sears, matched them up with the length of the stock 12mm bolts. i also bought regular washers and lock washers. i have steeda differential bushings also, but i want to wait and feel the difference with each mod, to see if they actually do anything.
Joe - another couple options for the 14 mm bolts are: from MM, or right from Ford. (They are the same bolts as used for both ends of the LCAs on >= 99 solid axle cars.) Got mine replaced under warranty cause they were the wrong size.
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