I purchased a 2001 V6 Mustang for gas mileage and plentiful cheap aftermarket parts. I have still have my 2004 Mach 1 for go but with my daily drive, I thought a 3.8L V6 Mustang would be economical and could still look good too. I have added the
Mach 1 chin spoiler and some
Bullitt wheels and
halo projector headlights and
LED taillights but now wanted to lower it to enhance the performance and overall appearance. I wanted something that would lower the car quit a bit, but not oo much. We chose the
red budget Mustang lowering springs kit (LRS-SPRINGS). Now, these
lowering springs are made specifically for a GT or V8 appliactions, but I wanted to see just how much of a difference it made on a V6 Mustang. Here is a picture berfore I get started.
Let's do the front springs first. Support the Mustang on jack stands with the jack under one control arm. The first thing to remove is the caliper/bracket from the spindle, using 15mm socket. After you remove the caliper and bracket, you can tie them up out of the way with zip ties, then you can remove the Mustang brake rotor.
Be sure the jack is under the lower control arm and relieving some of the pressure. The next thing to remove will be the front spindle from the strut, using a 24mm socket and 21mm wrench. Remove the nut on the swaybar end-link, using a 15mm wrench. This should release the spindle assembly from strut. Slowly lower the jack which will release the pressure of the spring.
Carefully pry the old spring out of the cup on the lower control arm. Here is the two springs side by side, new and old if you will. These are going to look great and perform well too! They look like they will be one coil shorter than factory.
Remove both of the isolators from the old springs. I chose to reuse the original isolators as opposed to going with new
urethane isolators. While the
new isolators are urethane and will last longer, I wanted the smoother ride with the rubber bushings. To keep the top spring isolator in place, I used zip ties to keep them moving around on the spring.
Now the fun part, push control arm as far down as possible while prying the new spring into the cup, making sure the bottom of the spring is clocked correctly to set the spring into the deep part of the cup on the control arm.
Once the new lowering spring is in and you are sure the bottom is clocked correctly, start jacking up the control arm while making sure the swaybar end-link goes inside the hole on the swaybar. Continue jacking up the arm until the large strut bolts can be reinstalled. Tada!!! It is now safe to reinstall everything and then move to other side.
OK, the front is done, now to install the rear lowering springs. Jack up your Mustang and secure on jack stands on the plates in front of the rear lower control arm mounts. This will allow the rearend to release pressure from the original springs. In order to allow the rearend to completely fall down, you must undo the shock bolts, using a 15 mm socket and 18 mm wrench. Let rear end fall all the way down. Notice the clocking position of the spring before removing it.
Here is the old spring beside the new spring. I can't wait to get this job finished and see the finished product! These look awesome!
Secure the top isolator with either zip-ties. Again, I went with the factory rubber isolators instead of going with new
urethane spring isolators. Reinstall the new springs in the same clocking position as the old, making sure lower isolator is still on the lower control arm. While guiding the rear shock absorbers, raise the rear end with the jack, and bolt in your shocks. That's it! Make sure you put all of your tools away and clean up your work area. I am happy at how they turned out and they make my daily driver look completely different. It is about an 1.5" drop all of the way around. Not bad for
$99.99 springs and an afternoon of work. It looks great and didn't lose any ride quality. I would recommend
these red lowering springs to anyone with a 1979-04 Mustang!
