Peter Hart Posted December 15, 2014 Report Share Posted December 15, 2014 Gents, I've just completed some extensive suspension work on my V registered (2000) mk2 Mondeo hatch and now need to have the car aligned again. The work I've done is to install Apex lowering springs with Anschler gas shock absorbers all round. New lower wishbones, new rear anti roll bar drop links and new (breakers yard) off side complete drive shaft including inner shaft and support bearing, plus a new off side wheel bearing. The reason I did this was that the off side rear ford shock absorber had leaked all its oil and the inner drive shaft support bearing was noisy. I had always planned to have the cars alignment checked after I'd finished the work and I'd heard about WIM from my fellow mondeo pals so I thought I'd come here for advice. I completed the work last Thursday and have driven it to work and back (50mile round trip) three times since then. The car appears to drive straight with perhaps a just hint of pulling to the right, but this is very slight. It brakes in a straight line and accelerates striaght too. The steering wheel is now off centre by about 10 degrees to the nearside when driving straight. I'm getting creaking noises from (I assume) the front rubber top mounts as I pull away but other than that the car feels and sounds like new. We bought the car two years ago from a couple who had it from new as the wifes company car that she very rarely used. It had covered less than 50k miles then and now shows just under 65k. The brakes are standard as is the engine and gearbox. The car is a V6 ghia x manual hatch. It went through the MOT on Saturday just gone with no advisories the mechanic saying the work looked professional. Like I say I'd always intended to have the alignment checked after my work and now I'm here for advice as to when, where and who to use for just that. I've heard its best to run the car as it is for a whlie before getting it checked and adjusted...? is that correct? and could you recommend a good professional place to have the work done close to me in Essex please Cheers Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 How low have you gone, 30mm or more? I had mine lowered 30mm on Eibach springs and I got camber wear on the inside edges. All cars are different though, some will be affected and some won't so you might get lucky. Whatever you do don't fit the camber kit you can buy for this car, worse thing I ever did!! The MK2 has adjustable rear and front toe so you definitely need a geometry to set it correctly and the steering wheel straight. Have you changed the front ARB bushes or links? Creaking noises are common from this area as well but if it is the top mounts you can try some spray grease on them, this is what I used and it stopped it for abit. I'm originally from Hockley but I can't recommend anywhere near to you as I've always used WIM. The best thing to do is look on http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/and find somewhere close to you but there aren't many. Google them first to see what they're like if Tony hasn't heard of them as well, it's all very well having the equipment to do a geo but most of it is down to the person operating it 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 If the creaking is on bump/ droop during the suspensions transitions the the probable reason is a bushing so some sequential WD40 around them should find which one is the criminal..... As for the steering position this thread should explain> http://www.wheels-inmotion.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=118 Lowering coils run at much higher poundage and are normally pre-stressed rather than the OEM cold rolled coils, all this means they don't need to settle so your safe for the geometry just be sure to get a printout. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Thanks for your replies gents, I went for a 40mm drop and the results are as follows: Pre suspension work first: OSF= 400mm, NSF= 400mm, OSR= 355mm (old shock spewing oil), NSR=370mm. Post suspension work: OSF= 360mm, NSF= 360mm, OSR= 330mm, NSR= 330mm. I dismantled cleaned out and regreased the original front top mount bearings as there were no signs of pitting to the races. When changing the near side lower wishbone, I inverted the leading wishbone/subframe bolt and I understand the potential implications of doing this. In mitigation, I used a new nut and bolt and the bolt used is a nylok type. I cut down the bolt to clear the gearbox housing leaving enough on the bolt to bite fully into the nylon on the nut and some. I didn't change the front drop links as they show minimal signs of wear, but I do have a new pair and nearly changed them but chose not to. Thanks for the advice gents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Inverting the bolt is common place, i've done it a few times so a nylock, maybe topped up with thread lock will be just fine.... It seems they have hit the target drop so they must be pre-stressed meaning no settling required. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Just done a little search using the URL above and come up with these people....anyone know their work? http://www.alignmycar.co.uk/location/?postal_code=cm3+5tt&radius=50&x=138&y=21 Cheers Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Inverting the bolt is common place, i've done it a few times so a nylock, maybe topped up with thread lock will be just fine.... It seems they have hit the target drop so they must be pre-stressed meaning no settling required. Thanks Tony, I've got lots of paperwork on the car but nothing on lower arms so I'm presuming the ones i've just replaced were OE. The inner bushings were split but not as bad as I've seen on previous Mondeo's I've owned. The outer swivels were both Ok so I guess they could've gone further but as I was breaking the suspension down anyway I thought it was best to replace them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Is it Drive Dynamic your looking at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Inverting the bolt is common place, i've done it a few times so a nylock, maybe topped up with thread lock will be just fine.... Yet you moaned at me when I did it and said it worried you! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 But you used the OEM nut didn't you? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 But you used the OEM nut didn't you? Nope, new bolt and nut every time I changed them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Is it Drive Dynamic your looking at? Yes Tony do you know them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 No..... Don't despair that's normally a good thing.. Historically i deal with things when it all goes wrong for the customer at a given centre. Their web site looks good and the information is correct plus the prices are about right so i give them a thumbs up. As said just be sure you get a printout and that they measure the castor angle? To explain most places won't measure the castor angle because it's not adjustable on your car but it takes seconds to do, is within the price and opens loads more information in the event there's still issues. Mention wheels-imotion if needs be, i've left a deep footprint out there and few have challenged me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Found the cause of the creaking noise...I think. It seems the new nylok nuts that Anschler supplied with their gas shocks is taller than the OE nut. When the top hat mount is torqued down inside the engine bay it doesnt bear down on the engine bay strut housing just on the strut nut itself, leaving a gap between the top hat mount and the strut housing. So much for my professional install eh?!! fcuk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Yep it's probably that. Can you tighten the top mount nut any more? If not then I would reuse the original ones or buy some from Ford. Once that top hat is sitting flush on the hole you should be good. Obviously sort that out before before getting the geo done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Didn't you have similar issues Rich? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Yep it's probably that. Can you tighten the top mount nut any more? If not then I would reuse the original ones or buy some from Ford. Once that top hat is sitting flush on the hole you should be good. Obviously sort that out before before getting the geo done. No, the top mount nut won't go any more. Can I remove/replace that lower nut in situ? I'm thinking I can because the weight of the car is in the strut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Yes because it's all held captive.... How about running some washers down there to force the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 I've got some new nuts and they look the same as the OE ones that came off the OE struts...gonna give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Be sure the steering position is level before you lock it all down, reason i say is a condition called "memory steer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted December 16, 2014 Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Didn't you have similar issues Rich? Yeah with the camber kit fitted, not the original top mounts. On the camber kit it caused the nut to sit higher so the original top hat wouldn't fit and using the one that came with the kit was ok-ish but was like cheese and bent! The replacement was better but I still wasn't happy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Be sure the steering position is level before you lock it all down, reason i say is a condition called "memory steer". Whats memory steer? Just changed all the nuts and the top hat mounts sit ok now. No more creaking on the test run either. Memory steer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2014 Just googled memory steer and she is not displaying this fault. The steering wheel returns to "centre" after I make a right or left turn freely. Its just that the wheel is about 10 degrees pointing to the near side when the car is driven in a straight line. Other than that now, and she feels really nice. I'm guessing that a proper 4 wheel alignment test and adjustment will now finish it off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted December 17, 2014 Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Few have even heard of memory steer but as you have read if the car has it the owner can spend much time and money trying to find out what's wrong. All you need now is that geometry for a simple fix but as said be sure they measure everything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Hart Posted December 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2014 Thanks for your help and advice gents. I'll post the before and after print outs on here when shes all done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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