I've noticed a bit of talk about adding coil-overs onto our 'tours and thought I would pass along some info that I gained from the Mustang side of life. I have not tried this mod yet, but can say that I do trust the group of folks that have successfully performed and are using this mod.
Some guys were wondering if there was a way to adjust their spring perch height without jacking the weight off the suspension. This was because these guys wanted to lower their suspension for auto-xing duties at the track and wanted to skip the jacking routine in order to save some time and hassle. Well a member found a solution that allows him to adjust the lower nut while the car is still setting on the ground. He found that if you install a common needle thrust bearing in between the bottom spring perch and the adjustment nut that you can still turn the nut with the car's weight on the suspension. I know that if the car is too low you would never be able to get the spanner wrench in to turn the nut and lock it back down, but in some cases it would work.
You can purchase the needle thrust bearings and their companion washers at MSC Industrial Supply (
www.mscdirect.com). The thrust washers were recommended to prevent the bearings from damaging the aluminum components. All you need to do is match up the appropriate sized ID of the bearing with the OD of your coil-over sleeve and you are set. The total cost of 4 bearings and washers (2.5" ID) is around $50, so it is not too expensive. When I finally go with coil-overs on my 'tour I plan on adding them. Later.
