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possible post for the FAQ section?
Replacing SVO front control arms with SN95 arms-
As many know, the SVO ball joints are not replaceable, and new arms are no longer available.
however, the SN95 ('94-'04) mustangs use control arms that are allmost ientical to the SVO arms with a few minor changes-
1) the sway bar hole is further out by approx 1/2 inch (won't make much difference, just the end link will be on a little angle)
2) the ball joint is a smaller size- this is remedied by using Maximum motorsports ball joint adapter "MMFCAB-10". see http://www.maximummotorsports.com. I got these for $35 for the pair.
3) the SVO spindle mount is a little thicker than the SN95 spindle mount, so the nut doesn't go as far down the ball joint threads- I just zapped it on with an air gun and used thread locker- the SN95 nuts are cotter-pin-free anyway, so make ure to use the SN95 nuts as the threads on the SVO nuts are different.
4) ride height- this is dictated by the distance between the spring pocket in the lower control arm and the k-member. After first installing the control arms, the ride height sat about 1/2-3/4 inch higher. this will probably settle after the spring seats correctly in the lower a-arm. (I wanted a little lift anyway- the Eibach springs sit a little low in the front for me).
benefits to this swap are many-
the SN95 a-arm is quite a bit lighter than the SVO a-arm.
the ball joint has an expected life of 250k+ miles. It is also a low friction ball joint (you can see when you get a pair).
the ball joints are relpaceable- you can choose to run Steedas X2 ball joint (for better a-arm placement) if you want.
they are everywhere- all a-arms were the same (except for hte cobra- they used a different rubber)
and the price- mine were free- they were sick of tripping over them in the garage. You should be able to pick up a pair for $50 or so.
total price for fixing the click-click-click? $40 ($35 for ball joint adapters + shipping). and a good days work.
as seen on another forum- "I picture someone asking a Ford engineer back in '92 or so "Can you make us a stamped steel arm that is exactly the same as the SVO fabricated arms?"
Replacing SVO front control arms with SN95 arms-
As many know, the SVO ball joints are not replaceable, and new arms are no longer available.
however, the SN95 ('94-'04) mustangs use control arms that are allmost ientical to the SVO arms with a few minor changes-
1) the sway bar hole is further out by approx 1/2 inch (won't make much difference, just the end link will be on a little angle)
2) the ball joint is a smaller size- this is remedied by using Maximum motorsports ball joint adapter "MMFCAB-10". see http://www.maximummotorsports.com. I got these for $35 for the pair.
3) the SVO spindle mount is a little thicker than the SN95 spindle mount, so the nut doesn't go as far down the ball joint threads- I just zapped it on with an air gun and used thread locker- the SN95 nuts are cotter-pin-free anyway, so make ure to use the SN95 nuts as the threads on the SVO nuts are different.
4) ride height- this is dictated by the distance between the spring pocket in the lower control arm and the k-member. After first installing the control arms, the ride height sat about 1/2-3/4 inch higher. this will probably settle after the spring seats correctly in the lower a-arm. (I wanted a little lift anyway- the Eibach springs sit a little low in the front for me).
benefits to this swap are many-
the SN95 a-arm is quite a bit lighter than the SVO a-arm.
the ball joint has an expected life of 250k+ miles. It is also a low friction ball joint (you can see when you get a pair).
the ball joints are relpaceable- you can choose to run Steedas X2 ball joint (for better a-arm placement) if you want.
they are everywhere- all a-arms were the same (except for hte cobra- they used a different rubber)
and the price- mine were free- they were sick of tripping over them in the garage. You should be able to pick up a pair for $50 or so.
total price for fixing the click-click-click? $40 ($35 for ball joint adapters + shipping). and a good days work.
as seen on another forum- "I picture someone asking a Ford engineer back in '92 or so "Can you make us a stamped steel arm that is exactly the same as the SVO fabricated arms?"
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