5_litre_eater

First of all, this was a huge improvement over the worn out stock shocks and springs! The install was a nightmare due to all the rust-- I had to cut off a few nuts, but I was able to complete in the install in decent time.

I noticed the ball joints all look flat-- they don't bulge out at all. Is this a sign I need to replace them? The upper ball joint was so flat, I was able to put the castle bolt on almost past the cotter pin hole. Does this sound right? The car has 90,000 miles on the clock.

As I have posted before, I'm more familiar with Mustangs, since that's what I used to own. I'm still learning about the f-body, but I know if the ball joints on my mustang looked like this, they would be getting replaced.

Secondly, I noticed the car isn't sitting even on all 4 corners after I lowered it. The driver side is sitting higher than the passenger side. I took some measurements --

Front driver..........27 1/16
Front passenger....26 7/16 (5/8" difference)

Rear driver...........27 1/8
Rear passenger.....26 7/16 (11/16" difference)


Any idea what would cause this? I can't think of anything I would have done to make it uneven. The front shocks are using the top spring perches, and every corner is using the factory spring isolators.

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Were the joints themselves loose feeling at all? Ball joints are ball joints, no matter the vehicle really. If they're worn they need redone. I replaced mine on my 99 at just a tad over 100k, although the ball joints on my old 98 lasted until the demise of the whole car at 161k (I really have no idea how).

Driver side sitting a little higher than the passenger side is normal for these cars. Excuse given is that it evens out when you sit in it. I think it is caused by a minor design flaw

5_litre_eater

The ball joints didn't seem loose, it just seemed odd to see them so flat. And I have never been able to screw a castle bolt on that far before, so that seemed strange to me.

As far as the ride height, the weird thing is I know the front driver side needed the spring slightly compressed to get the shock nut on, but the passenger side didn't need to be compressed at all.. weird?

5_litre_eater

After doing some searching online, I think part of the problem is the rear springs aren't clocked correctly. I've read the pigtails need to point at the back of the car (however, some say front). Do the front springs need to be clocked any certain way?

SparkyJJO

iTrader: (11)

Front springs can only go on one way and have everything line up properly. The upper mount bolts in one way, and it has a formed seat for the spring coil to fit into.

dabest09

iTrader: (1)

You might need to readjust your rear springs and face the pigtails to face the rear like you said. I did that and it looks better, but the drivers side is still higher than the passengers side, just the way these cars are, nobody will ever notice it. Plus it levels out when you sit down in it.