New Springs and Struts

[LITTELHAWK]

Got new (good used) front springs and struts for my XR but I'm not sure how far or tight I need to get the nut that holds the assembly together. The Chilton manual gives the torque specs for the upper nut but doesn't say anything about the lower one.

[grampy666]

From the shop manual.

Coil spring retaining nut - 38-48 ft lb
upper mounting nut - 29-38 ft lb

[LITTELHAWK]

From the shop manual.

Coil spring retaining nut - 38-48 ft lb
upper mounting nut - 29-38 ft lb

Thanks!
I'll have to take them back out, I went way over that and my camber shows it.

[LITTELHAWK]

I know I over-torqued it a bit but, I had a friend tell me that the nut should be bottomed out on the strut threads regardless of torque. The torque is just to keep you from tearing up threads. If this is true, then it shouldn't be the cause of my really negative camber (-1.6/-2.1). I wouldn't worry about it too much, but the car is pulling right and my right tire hits my fender when I go over curbs/speed bumps.

I did replace all the tie rods and the control arms at the same time.

(Caster and Toe are fine)

[Esteban]

Correct. the nut should be bottomed out, then torqued. I usually just shoot it on with an impact.

[LITTELHAWK]

Correct. the nut should be bottomed out, then torqued. I usually just shoot it on with an impact.

That's what I did. I used a cordless Dewalt that at its max only has about 100 ft-lbs. Just wonder why my camber is off now. I definitely have more fender clearance than I did before, so the springs are definitely better than my original ones. It's negative on both sides so it can't be the sway bar out of place. The new control arms didn't seem any longer than the original ones. (Left was Moog, Right was Dorman). Bearings are also good.

[Esteban]

Did you install lowering springs? If so, that will definitely affect camber. If you get toe close to 0, then your tires wont wear out as fast. If you must fix camber, you'll have to slot the inner TCA holes inward and have a washer welded in place. But before doing that, I'd suggest getting good new rubber bushings or better yet, poly ones to keep your alignment specs stable for much longer.

[LITTELHAWK]

They weren't lowering springs. The control arms are both new as well as the bushings.

I'll start driving it again after I put all the parts I've been using to test my other one back in it and see if it feels like it may be something else causing it to pull.

[Spaldino]

is the negative camber a new thing after having installed the new suspension?

[john keefe]

Double check the length of the TCA... sounds silly, but you might have got a pair of longer TCA's for a Scorpio.

[LITTELHAWK]

is the negative camber a new thing after having installed the new suspension?

I'm not sure. I hadn't had the alignment done previously. The ride height was causing tire rub is why I did it all. Tire still rubs now but much less often and only when I make really tight turns. Before any time I hit a bump or braked too fast it would rub.