CrazyAl

NO. The problem is that the "solid" LCAs are the wrong length for a lowered car. The solid ones only come in "stock" size, which is wrong for a lowered car. If your car is lowered, you need adjustables.


A 1-pc driveshaft changes your pinion angle. This is becasue it slopes down from the transmission immedietley, whereas the stock driveshaft goes straight for a while THEN slopes down. So, for you to get your pinion angle correct, you need some adjustment in the rear suspension. Solid UCA and LCAs would do you no good; your pinion angle would be wrong and your car will vibrate like mad. If you already have solid lowers, you have two choices:
1) Sell the solid lowers and buy adjustables.
2) Keep the lowers and buy an adjustable UCA.

CrazyAl

My Spohn panhard bar came pre-greased, so I am assuming your LCAs are pre-greased also. Just examime them. Is there grease in there? Yes? Then you're fine. No grease? Then grease them up. The grease is shold be clear and very sticky.

Note that you can't use standard petroleum grease on poly bushings. The oil will react with the poly. When you grease poly bushings you need silicone grease. BMR sells it, you can also get it from energy syspension, prothane, and so on.

The installation is very simple. There's a lot of posts on the forum from guys who did it in an hour with hand tools.

lukoi66

damn, outstanding info Al. Thanks

Kept me a major potential screwup :P

Vidgomd

+1 al your my hero!!!!!!!!!

but on a more serious note.. thanks for the info. like i said i ended up with adjustables. and they were pregreased. and LMperfomance had some quick a$$ shipping....... im actually shocked they send it out that fast and it got to me so quick.

Vidgomd

say i was to buy lowering springs for my car what else would i have to buy now since i already have the adj lca's?
or would i be ready to go

redfirevert06

All of this is very useful information.
Now for a silly question:
How do you adjust the LCA's once you lower your car? Do they need to be longer or shorter?
I am getting ready to install some springs and shocks, but after reading this, I am also considering the purchase of some adjustable LCA's and do this all at once.

Hey Vidgomd, I would next look into some Tokico D-spec adjustable shocks & struts. I just got mine and am awaiting a good time to put them on to go along with my Steeda springs.

CrazyAl

This depends on how good a job you want to do. I'm going to assume that you want to "do it right" the first time around. That means you need:

1) Lowering Springs
2) A means of adjusting the camber in the front end (if you lower the front). The most common thing is a set of "camber bolts"; these are cheap. Expect to pay about $20.
3) When you're done, you need to get an alignment at a local shop. The alignment shop might have camber bolts on hand, so you may want to call around and check on that first. If they don't have 'em, then make sure you have a set on hand when you bring the car in.
4) Adjustable LCAs
5) Adjustable panhard bar
6) Some means of measuring the pinion angle. You could also get your alignment shop to do this for you.

...that's all the stuff for the lowering itself. You might consider other optional upgrades while you (or someone else) is already going to be taking things apart to do the work. If you are thinking about upgrading shocks or sway bars or anything like that, this is the time to do it--no sense in paying for labor more than once!

That depends on what mods you have done to your car. Nobody can tell you "adjust the LCAs to X length" becasue every car is different. But they can tell you adjust the LCAs to a particular pinion angle. You have to measure you car's angle and adjust them (whichever way) until the angle is right. The BMR parts come with directions on how to do this. But basically, it works like this:

First, jack up the car. Then let it down, but keep the suspension loaded. I put the front wheels on ramps then supported the rear axle tubes with jackstands. Try to get the car to sit level.

Measure the driveshaft angle and the angle of the pinion flange. This requires an angle gage. You can buy one at sears for $10. Subtract one measurement from the other, and see if it is correct. If so, set your locknuts and you're done. If not, then adjust both LCAs a bit and measure again. Keep measuring and adjusting until the setting is right. BMR says -1 to -2 degrees is good for Autos, -2 to -3 is good for Manuals.

redfirevert06

Thanks for the feedback CrazyAl.

Another question...
I asked a sales rep at Steeda what all I needed to go along with my springs for alingment purposes. I mentioned the camber bolts and he told me to stay away from them since they might slip over time.
Are they safe to use?

I ordered the Ultralite springs, which don't drop the vehicle as much as some springs do. Maybe he said that to me since my vehicle won't be altered as much as a vehicle with a 2" drop.

Another question, somewhat unrelated.
When changing out the springs and struts in the front, are they attached? How do they install? Meaning, will I have to compress the spring in order to attach it to the strut before putting in on the car?
I remember doing this on a '91 and I didn't have to compress the spring in order to remove or attach the strut. I just put a jack under the A-arm for support and SLOWLY lowered it until the spring uncoiled. Does that make sense? I just don't want any suprises when I begin to install new springs and struts. Thanks!

CrazyAl

I haven't lowered my front end, so I don't have any personal experience with exactly how well the camber bolts do (or don't) work. However, there are a lot of guys on here who have used them with no problems. A buddy of mine has used them on his '05 with Eibach springs, and he's got 15,000 miles since the mod with no slipping. It may be that the Steeda guy just wants to sell you their "camber plates" instead of the eccentric bolts (which are quite pricey). I have never heard of a problem with the eccentric bolts slipping. Perhaps someone else can comment?

The front springs go over the front shocks like a "coil over". You remove the shock and spring as one unit. You then need a spring compressor to remove the spring from the shock.

Vidgomd

what would you expect to pay for an alingment?

you knwo i have a thud in the front of my car that ford says there is no fix for yet.. so im worried that if i touch the suspension in the front that they will tell me to go Fr.. myself