This whole tale starts some time back. I ended up leaving a set of brake pads on for too long, and ended up gouging my rotors. Ouch. So, I go to remove the rotors and...they won't come off. They're actually rusted on. I don't know how that happened, cause I live in Southern California - we're not supposed to get rust like that. I only had a bit of rust on the hub, which I had to sand off to get my wheels to fit right. Weird. Anyway, I can't get the rotors off, so I have to replace the hub. I was planning on upgrading to the 99+ two-piston calipers anyway, so I went to a local junkard and got a pair of hubs & spindles from a 2000 'stang. It was easier than trying to notch my current spindles for the two-piston calipers. I figured while I was at it, I might as well put on the 03 Cobra a-arms I've been hoarding. I'd have to take off the hub & spindle again to swap the a-arms; might as well save some work.
It wasn't as bad as I expected. My work seems to take longer than most of the guys here, but that's ok. I enjoy every minute of it.
Anyway, here are the pics. First off is a shot of the existing parts. I'd already taken off the caliper before I thought of taking photos.
Don't mind the purple caliper, I'll replace it with a red one soon. Next pic is the strut and bumpsteer kit disconnected.
After getting to this point, I found the cause of a clunking noise I was getting from the left front wheel. The dust boot for the ball joint is torn, and there's dirt all inside. Still, not bad for a 171,000 mile Mustang. Notice all that road dirt, it'll be gone soon.
Next pic shows the spring out and everything unhooked from the control arm. Note that rotor just won't come off.
Got the control arm off. That wheel well looks mighty empty now.
A pic of both the old and new parts side-by-side. I painted the new hubs & rotors to match the control arm, all black. Aah, clean parts.
Now the Cobra a-arm is in. Looks so much better than the old one. The blanket is there to keep from scratching the new parts up while installing. Yeah, I know the road will chew them up. But I want to know they went on the car looking their best.
Spring is back in. The strut, bumpsteer kit and sway bar are all hooked back up.
Put on a new dust shield, also painted black. Everything behind the wheel is black, except for the caliper. It should look like the caliper is just floating behind the Cobra rins. Looks like I missed a bit of rust around the lug nuts.
Everything back together, looks sweet. I put anti-sieze between the rotor and the hub, I hope that will keep them from sticking together again.
And we're done...with that side. I started too late in the day, so I'll have to finish the other side tomorrow. Total time today was 5 hours. That includes pulling all the tools I needed outside, including the air compressor, and putting everything away afterwards (tools in the trunk; I'll be using them tomorrow, after all). I expect tomorrow's work on the passenger's side to be much faster. I think I'll be using the impact wrench more this time.
It wasn't as bad as I expected. My work seems to take longer than most of the guys here, but that's ok. I enjoy every minute of it.
Anyway, here are the pics. First off is a shot of the existing parts. I'd already taken off the caliper before I thought of taking photos.
Don't mind the purple caliper, I'll replace it with a red one soon. Next pic is the strut and bumpsteer kit disconnected.
After getting to this point, I found the cause of a clunking noise I was getting from the left front wheel. The dust boot for the ball joint is torn, and there's dirt all inside. Still, not bad for a 171,000 mile Mustang. Notice all that road dirt, it'll be gone soon.
Next pic shows the spring out and everything unhooked from the control arm. Note that rotor just won't come off.
Got the control arm off. That wheel well looks mighty empty now.
A pic of both the old and new parts side-by-side. I painted the new hubs & rotors to match the control arm, all black. Aah, clean parts.
Now the Cobra a-arm is in. Looks so much better than the old one. The blanket is there to keep from scratching the new parts up while installing. Yeah, I know the road will chew them up. But I want to know they went on the car looking their best.
Spring is back in. The strut, bumpsteer kit and sway bar are all hooked back up.
Put on a new dust shield, also painted black. Everything behind the wheel is black, except for the caliper. It should look like the caliper is just floating behind the Cobra rins. Looks like I missed a bit of rust around the lug nuts.
Everything back together, looks sweet. I put anti-sieze between the rotor and the hub, I hope that will keep them from sticking together again.
And we're done...with that side. I started too late in the day, so I'll have to finish the other side tomorrow. Total time today was 5 hours. That includes pulling all the tools I needed outside, including the air compressor, and putting everything away afterwards (tools in the trunk; I'll be using them tomorrow, after all). I expect tomorrow's work on the passenger's side to be much faster. I think I'll be using the impact wrench more this time.
