04 Cobra IRS poly bushings

[SVT32VDOHC]

Looking on Steedas website and they have:

IRS Differential bushings
Cobra Differential Bushings - '99-'04 Ford Mustang
IRS Subframe bushings
Cobra Rear Subframe Bushings - '99-'04 Ford Mustang


I want to get the differential and subframe bushings. Do these have to be pressed in/out?? Or can you just unbolt the bolts and slide them out? I have never worked on an IRS before, I just got the car.

 

[PistolWhip]

They won't just slide out. You can buy them from Maximum Motorsports with a removal tool included, or you can use a drill and hole saw. Either way, getting the factory bushings completely out can be a pain in the ass but once you do one, you'll have no problems with the other 3.

The IRS dif bushings are totally different. The fronts are cake and should only take a few minutes, but the back is allot more involved. I've never done it, but I think you need to remove the entire dif housing.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

They won't just slide out. You can buy them from Maximum Motorsports with a removal tool included, or you can use a drill and hole saw. Either way, getting the factory bushings completely out can be a pain in the ass but once you do one, you'll have no problems with the other 3.

The IRS dif bushings are totally different. The fronts are cake and should only take a few minutes, but the back is allot more involved. I've never done it, but I think you need to remove the entire dif housing.

Yeah, I noticed on MM website it said something about leaving the factory shells in place. I don't see how you could get the bushings out without the shells...besides burning them out and I am not doing that. And the carrier bushings looked easier than the others. I haven't even looked under there yet. I need to get the car on the hoist and see how everything looks.

 

[01_OXFORD_SVT]

I did this install on my 01 Cobra that I had prior to my 03. Differential bushings are cake.. The subframe bushings are a PITA. Get the Maximum Motorsports tool for removing the bushings. Before using the tool, I drilled several holes in the bushings themselves then used the tool to press them out. Take a small wire wheel on a drill and press it thru the "shells" a few times, grease with supplied lube and then press in the new bushings. I found this easiest to do with a BMF C-Clamp..

 

[Wicked46]

I am currently in the process of doing mine and I'm following this write-up.... And yes, I removed the entire IRS assy to have easy access to everything. I also removed the Diff so I can re-seal the cover. Anyway, here is a write-up

Ford Mustang Corba IRS Upgrade Irs Removal Photo

 

[P49Y-CY]

thanks for posting that link wicked46

i am leaning towards having a shop do my bushing install, but links like that show me i might be able to do alot of it myself

i'm thinking i could maybe just take as much of it apart as possible on the car (halfshafts, diff housing) and then lower the subframe... hmmm - still studyin on it

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

I did this install on my 01 Cobra that I had prior to my 03. Differential bushings are cake.. The subframe bushings are a PITA. Get the Maximum Motorsports tool for removing the bushings. Before using the tool, I drilled several holes in the bushings themselves then used the tool to press them out. Take a small wire wheel on a drill and press it thru the "shells" a few times, grease with supplied lube and then press in the new bushings. I found this easiest to do with a BMF C-Clamp..

Thanks. I read the article on the link provided by the other member and I am not pulling the whole IRS down. You said the diff bushings are cake? Do they press in and out? From the pic, it looks like they just sit above and below the diff mounting point. IF that is the case, I'll just order those.

 

[04HarleyF250]

Theres a guy on SVTP that sells a bushing kit - didnt find it until I had already done mine, but I wish I would have went with his kit. I cant remember his membername right now, i wanna say ac427 or something like that (avatar is a clown). Seems like a real honest/ knowledgeable guy.

Its not a bad job to do in the garage; i just couldnt justify paying what a shop would want to put it in. Put it in yourself and spend the money you saved on some more parts

 

[Steve2050]

This seems to take a considerable amount of time(all bushings). Does the hop disappear and does the car feel tighter?

 

[Tractionless1]

If you don't buy the SVTP vendor's delrin bushings get MM poly's as not all poly's are the same grade. MM's are superior to the rest from what I have read here.

 

[PistolWhip]

It's not gonna make the hop disappear completely. It does make the back end of the car feel much more stable. The feeling is hard to explain until you actually feel it. I didn't think there was really anything wrong with my IRS until I actually went for a ride in a car that had a complete bushing swap done. It was amazing the difference that you feel in control and traction.

To completely stop the hop, I've found that it takes different combinations on different cars. My vert took a set of drag radials, air bags and a set of coupe rate shocks and the car was perfect. My Coupe just took lowering springs and drag radials and I have no hop.

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

It's not gonna make the hop disappear completely. It does make the back end of the car feel much more stable. The feeling is hard to explain until you actually feel it. I didn't think there was really anything wrong with my IRS until I actually went for a ride in a car that had a complete bushing swap done. It was amazing the difference that you feel in control and traction.

To completely stop the hop, I've found that it takes different combinations on different cars. My vert took a set of drag radials, air bags and a set of coupe rate shocks and the car was perfect. My Coupe just took lowering springs and drag radials and I have no hop.

That's what I am hoping for. The owner of the car before me said he had no hop. But he drove it in the summer and I just picked this thing up and drove it in 35* weather. All it does is spin. Once the roads warm up and I have some sticky tires they won't spin as much, resulting in less hop. I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[funtruck]

ac427cobra, check out his new page

Full Tilt Boogie Racing Homepage

 

[01_OXFORD_SVT]

The front differential bushings are easy.. The one BIG rear differential bushing is a bitch. And no.. they dont completely eliminate the hop, but they do make the IRS feel more "solid" if you will.. Maybe "predictable" is the word Im looking for.

The IRS subframe bushings are Mehhhh... So.So.

 

[P49Y-CY]

That's what I am hoping for. The owner of the car before me said he had no hop. But he drove it in the summer and I just picked this thing up and drove it in 35* weather. All it does is spin. Once the roads warm up and I have some sticky tires they won't spin as much, resulting in less hop. I'll just have to wait and see.

do you mean all it does is hop? in the cold

cuz if my car would be able to spin without hopping at all i wouldnt mind so much. at least i would be only going through tires. i think the hopping does some bad damage.

i can't even think about putting regular tires on this car, i can only use drag radials.

i made the mistake of having street tires on last month for short time (dr's seem tough to find right now :shrug and it hopped bad a few times. well that same week my right wheel bearing started wobbling. i am just lucky i haven't broken a halfshaft (yet).

i gotta replace these irs bushings soon

 

[04TorchedSVT]

just curious if u only replaced the diff bushings would the ride be harsher compared to the stock bushings.

 

[SickBlackMach]

I did my subframe bushings with new MM units and I notice a better feel to the rear end.

When I did mine, I used a corded craftsman drill and drilled the heck outta the stock rubber all the way around the center cylinder that the bolt goes through. I pretty much got the middle metal piece free by drilling, pulled it out then used the tool. Trying to press out the bushing with just a few holes in it can lead to MM tool failure, that's a STIFF rubber bushing!

I'll end up going with ac42cobra's bushings when I can talk a buddy into letting me use his garage for a weekend. It's not that bad of a job, just use pneumatic/electric hand tools and grab a buddy for the IRS re-install, should go smoothly!

 

[SVT32VDOHC]

Hmmm...why was the rear bushing tough? What did you have to take apart.

 

[04HarleyF250]

Drop the whole IRS assembly out. Theres some trashy nut/ washer clip things holding in the rear subframe, but other than that its not bad. Theres a really good write up on here you can reference, but i think its just the ABS wires to unclip on the diff, then hang the calipers from the vehicle, and catch the driveshaft while lowering it all out.

While I had it out, subframe bushings, control arm bushings, aluminum diff bushings, brace, and fuel filter (since its nearly directly above the diff).

Theres a tab welded to the nut that holds the rear subframe in, to prevent it from spinning since you cant get to the back of it. I had one come off with ease, and one tab break off, which ended up being a huge pain. I dont know if this happens to a lot of people, just be aware of it, and hopefully you can avoid it.

 

[P49Y-CY]

i've got a basic question about reinstalling the subframe after installing all bushings:

while re-installing the irs subframe, do you have to compress the spings? i think that if you install the front subframe mounts and then swing it up in the rear to attach at the rear subframe mounts, the springs will lift the car itself up as they compress between the lca and the body