Thanks FTBR!

FortLewisCobra

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Dec 9, 2009
Messages
345
Location
My house
First of all big thanks to Bruce and the team at FTBR! The kit is well engineered and made, any issues I had during installation were from Ford's "good enough" approach to the IRS. I ordered the FT 5001 kit with the Ford Racing diff cover and I highly recommend anyone else considering replacing their bushings do the same. The cover is far beefier than the various braces I've seen, not to mention its a work of art no one else gets to see.
19420561_10101680689611859_5333847592034926003_n.jpg


The install took me several weekends over the course of two months. This is longer than some but I wasn't in a rush and I some other projects and maintenance I took care of at the same time. With all the tools and parts ready and a few volunteers who know what they're doing I could see doing this in a weekend or two. Be forewarned, it is a lot of stuff. I've replaced a motor, done clutch jobs, and installed lockers but I did find this slightly intimidating at first:
19260712_10101680689571939_1961859756249836634_n.jpg


However the kit is well organized, the directions are thorough, and Bruce's videos answered any remaining questions.

I did the install in my garage with hand-tools and jacks, someone with a lift and air tools would probably have an easier time, but its definitely doable for the weekend warrior. The essential tools I found:
-Ball joint puller
-Dremel
-Various files
-Harbor Freight electric impact wrench
-Jack, preferably two for the re-install
-Various pry-bars
-Furniture dolly (move the IRS around once it's out)
-Drill with 2 inch hole saw and 2 inch wire brush
-A Freezer
-Paint Pen
-Bruce's bushing removal tools!

There are plenty of right ups so I'll stick to tips on what I found helpful:

1. Watch all the videos first. I read the directions then dove into it but I frequently found myself stopping and looking up the applicable videos. It would have been faster to watch them first.

2. Have a shop look over your differential while it's out and rebuild the LSD while its accessible. I did the LSD with the ford racing kit on my own. If you have ever installed a lunchbox locker on an offroader, the positrac is half as complicated. You should have someone who knows what they're doing verify backlash, pinon depth, and general wear and tear. If you're like me you will discover the rubber was covering up some not insubstantial gear whine and cobra clunk, might as well take care of it while the diff is accessible.

3. Be prepared for some maintenance although I didn't notice the gear whine until it was too late my swaybar endlinks were obviously shot. I verified my axle boots and hubs were intact and serviceable. Replace the fuel filter while you're there. I've done it with the IRS in place, not fun. After 90,000 miles things were a little worn. I took the time to clean and paint the subframe.
19399816_10101680689537009_7224348657461991761_n.jpg

Painted:
19399466_10101680689726629_8974524098743599383_n.jpg


4. Bushing removal and installation tips:
-Use a hole saw on the LCA bushings. No drama, no fuss if you find one that just fits in the bushing (2 inch IIRC) then follow it up with your wire brush attachment.
-The removal tools are essential, can't stress this enough. Use plenty of anti seize or you will tear them up.
-Freeze your bushings prior to installation, most slid right in or at most required a slight tap.
-You can use a dremel for the UCA bushing removal, I went through a cut off disk or two clearancing the outgoing bushings for the bushing removal tool but it worked. I used the sanding wheel to smooth the buckets after I filed them and help widen the bolt holes.

5. Reinstall: Get a second jack for reinstall. I used my harbor freight furniture dolly to evenly lift the IRS with one jack then the second under various corners to help push and fine tune the level of the frame when bolting it back. This is also where the long prybar came in handy. The 9/16s bolts took a lot prying and pounding before I could feed them through. Another important point, I left the axles and hubs out until the frame was end, way lighter that way.

6. Alignment after your done. It's essential, I made sure to put the camber bolts back where I marked them and left my tie rods as they were. You would assume little or no change to the alignment. When I took it to get aligned my before measurements had the whole rear end oriented slightly to the passenger side. Somewhat related, I maxed my differential angle with the provided shims and have had 0 drive line vibration since.

19429917_10101680689502079_5945531685703084453_n.jpg


7. Enjoy the end result. I've only had it running a handfull of days but the difference on things like a tight S curve is immediately noticeable. No more floating feel as the suspension "unloads" coming out of a corner, it just smoothly transitions from one corner to the next. The only sacrifice is I have to turn the radio up on the highway for now, I can live with that.
 

NVRL8TE

Death or Glory
Established Member
Joined
Sep 27, 2012
Messages
2,200
Location
Cleveland, OH
Good deal!

I look forward to doing this, as it's one of the few places i haven't fully redone yet.
 

sigjig

New Member
Established Member
Joined
Jun 10, 2010
Messages
14
Location
jordan, ny
Nice job on the bushing and differential cover replacement!
I'm almost finished with the same job on my'03. As you stated the the FTBR team and the parts supplied were awesome. Any issues that I had were self induced.
My only remaining issued is to replace the inner CV joint boot. I haven't as of yet, been able to determine how to remove the 3 roller assembly at the end of the axle. Initially, it appears that the assemble just slide off the end of the axle. I tried a few light taps, but got no movement. Any suggestions?
 

hotcobra03

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
7,461
Location
poteet,texas
Nice job on the bushing and differential cover replacement!
I'm almost finished with the same job on my'03. As you stated the the FTBR team and the parts supplied were awesome. Any issues that I had were self induced.
My only remaining issued is to replace the inner CV joint boot. I haven't as of yet, been able to determine how to remove the 3 roller assembly at the end of the axle. Initially, it appears that the assemble just slide off the end of the axle. I tried a few light taps, but got no movement. Any suggestions?
I just did a friend's boot..not a cobra but same thing..
Hit it harder..

Some I've done on drive shafts had a lock ring around inner edge stopping it..

Car just had some peened spots..just enough to hold it

It still had clip to hold bearings to shaft
 

gaspasr

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Aug 5, 2011
Messages
1,037
Location
College Station
I have a cobra with the kit and one without. Previous owner installed it in my vert. No one regrets this mod!
 

01yellercobra

AKA slo984now
Established Member
Joined
Oct 5, 2005
Messages
21,128
Location
Cali
Nice job on the bushing and differential cover replacement!
I'm almost finished with the same job on my'03. As you stated the the FTBR team and the parts supplied were awesome. Any issues that I had were self induced.
My only remaining issued is to replace the inner CV joint boot. I haven't as of yet, been able to determine how to remove the 3 roller assembly at the end of the axle. Initially, it appears that the assemble just slide off the end of the axle. I tried a few light taps, but got no movement. Any suggestions?
The Level 5's I've worked on had a snap ring that needs to be removed. And I had to use a press to get the yoke off the shaft.

Misspelling brought to you by Tapatalk
 

P49Y-CY

fomocomofo
Established Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Messages
11,218
Location
southwest
congrats and enjoy! they make a nice product. both of my cobras' irs are ftbr equipped
 

1wild-horse

Purveyor of missed information
Established Member
Joined
Apr 4, 2009
Messages
3,399
Location
IA
I also recently took the plunge and upgraded. My Poly pinion bushings were so shot the nose was moving enough to distort the hole in the washer. I doubt very much it's going anywhere now. No regrets either, the minimal amount of extra noise is nothing compared to how tight the car feels. The peace of mind of not having to go back in also outweighs any extra noise.
 

Mustang289

Member
Established Member
Joined
Jul 2, 2009
Messages
339
Location
Sterling, VA
Just curious why you have to turn radio up while driving. Is your suspension noisy with FTBR kit?

First of all big thanks to Bruce and the team at FTBR! The kit is well engineered and made, any issues I had during installation were from Ford's "good enough" approach to the IRS. I ordered the FT 5001 kit with the Ford Racing diff cover and I highly recommend anyone else considering replacing their bushings do the same. The cover is far beefier than the various braces I've seen, not to mention its a work of art no one else gets to see.
19420561_10101680689611859_5333847592034926003_n.jpg


The install took me several weekends over the course of two months. This is longer than some but I wasn't in a rush and I some other projects and maintenance I took care of at the same time. With all the tools and parts ready and a few volunteers who know what they're doing I could see doing this in a weekend or two. Be forewarned, it is a lot of stuff. I've replaced a motor, done clutch jobs, and installed lockers but I did find this slightly intimidating at first:
19260712_10101680689571939_1961859756249836634_n.jpg


However the kit is well organized, the directions are thorough, and Bruce's videos answered any remaining questions.

I did the install in my garage with hand-tools and jacks, someone with a lift and air tools would probably have an easier time, but its definitely doable for the weekend warrior. The essential tools I found:
-Ball joint puller
-Dremel
-Various files
-Harbor Freight electric impact wrench
-Jack, preferably two for the re-install
-Various pry-bars
-Furniture dolly (move the IRS around once it's out)
-Drill with 2 inch hole saw and 2 inch wire brush
-A Freezer
-Paint Pen
-Bruce's bushing removal tools!

There are plenty of right ups so I'll stick to tips on what I found helpful:

1. Watch all the videos first. I read the directions then dove into it but I frequently found myself stopping and looking up the applicable videos. It would have been faster to watch them first.

2. Have a shop look over your differential while it's out and rebuild the LSD while its accessible. I did the LSD with the ford racing kit on my own. If you have ever installed a lunchbox locker on an offroader, the positrac is half as complicated. You should have someone who knows what they're doing verify backlash, pinon depth, and general wear and tear. If you're like me you will discover the rubber was covering up some not insubstantial gear whine and cobra clunk, might as well take care of it while the diff is accessible.

3. Be prepared for some maintenance although I didn't notice the gear whine until it was too late my swaybar endlinks were obviously shot. I verified my axle boots and hubs were intact and serviceable. Replace the fuel filter while you're there. I've done it with the IRS in place, not fun. After 90,000 miles things were a little worn. I took the time to clean and paint the subframe.
19399816_10101680689537009_7224348657461991761_n.jpg

Painted:
19399466_10101680689726629_8974524098743599383_n.jpg


4. Bushing removal and installation tips:
-Use a hole saw on the LCA bushings. No drama, no fuss if you find one that just fits in the bushing (2 inch IIRC) then follow it up with your wire brush attachment.
-The removal tools are essential, can't stress this enough. Use plenty of anti seize or you will tear them up.
-Freeze your bushings prior to installation, most slid right in or at most required a slight tap.
-You can use a dremel for the UCA bushing removal, I went through a cut off disk or two clearancing the outgoing bushings for the bushing removal tool but it worked. I used the sanding wheel to smooth the buckets after I filed them and help widen the bolt holes.

5. Reinstall: Get a second jack for reinstall. I used my harbor freight furniture dolly to evenly lift the IRS with one jack then the second under various corners to help push and fine tune the level of the frame when bolting it back. This is also where the long prybar came in handy. The 9/16s bolts took a lot prying and pounding before I could feed them through. Another important point, I left the axles and hubs out until the frame was end, way lighter that way.

6. Alignment after your done. It's essential, I made sure to put the camber bolts back where I marked them and left my tie rods as they were. You would assume little or no change to the alignment. When I took it to get aligned my before measurements had the whole rear end oriented slightly to the passenger side. Somewhat related, I maxed my differential angle with the provided shims and have had 0 drive line vibration since.

19429917_10101680689502079_5945531685703084453_n.jpg


7. Enjoy the end result. I've only had it running a handfull of days but the difference on things like a tight S curve is immediately noticeable. No more floating feel as the suspension "unloads" coming out of a corner, it just smoothly transitions from one corner to the next. The only sacrifice is I have to turn the radio up on the highway for now, I can live with that.
 

FreddyFingers

Merica
Established Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2015
Messages
111
Location
Oklahoma
I installed my full ftbr kit back in 2008 in conjunction with about every suspension stiffening thing you can do and have always loved it. To tackle the slightly noisier ride I used Dynomat on the floor pan,trunk and doors.

Sent from my SM-G935V using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

1Kona_Venom

US Army (Ret)
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Premium Member
Joined
Feb 19, 2010
Messages
4,938
Location
Savannah, Ga
Good kit. Probably overkill for what MOST owners need.
People, sometimes good parts make noise

Had the FTBR kit on both of our Cobras, noise did not bother anyone in my family:)
 

FortLewisCobra

Member
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Joined
Dec 9, 2009
Messages
345
Location
My house
Just curious why you have to turn radio up while driving. Is your suspension noisy with FTBR kit?

My rear diff had gear whine. That's why I recommended having the differential checked while it's out. The OEM rubber isolated the diff to the point I had no idea it was whining. It's not bad, I can't hear it with the radio on or ac on high.

If you Google 8.8 gear whine there is YouTube video after video of new gt's and gt500s with it, so I can't complain that my 90k cobra has a little lol.
 
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