Nope, not your imagination. Mine (stock form) was off about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch (biased to the drivers side) from the factory. When I installed the Steeda springs I knew I needed the adjustable panhard bar to bring it back into line - which it did.

Sorry I can't answer your second question about whether Ford can straighten things out without the use of an adjustable bar. If not, they should - with them picking up the price for a new bar if they can't play around with or adjust the old bar.

 

I cut them. Removed one coil.

Funny these cars are so off from the factory. So far that is really the only issue I have had with the cars build quality.

 

So are there any techs out there that know if the rear can be adjusted?
I know an adjustable panhard bar can be installed, but I know the dealer isn't going to put one in.
If I take it in and prove that it's off center, what can they do to correct it?

 

All they can do is put an adjustable bar in. Ford doesn't offer one, so you could buy your own and have them install it. I really doubt they would pay for one themselves. Since they are all off center, Ford will just say it's a "normal condition" and tell you to get lost.

Personally, I'm buying an adjustable one, and putting it on when I replace the LCA's with BMR's.

 

Sounds like they need to put out a TSB on it if there are so many that are off.

 

Mark,
If your rear was already off center, are you saying the springs made in worse? I've read where some people are saying the springs shifted the rear to the right. In my case (the left tire sticks out more than the right) wouldn't the springs make it better?

 

Hi Guys,
I owned a 99 GT that the rearend was offset by 1/2" to the passenger side. I took it to the dealer and they said they didn't know if they could do anything about it that it was a production issue! Well they got the body shop manager involved and he ended putting the car on a frame straightening machine! One pull was all it took! The rearend was centered and then it was off to check the alignment which fortunately was ok too! The boby shop manager said that was the only way to fix it!

 

Since you have not changed your suspension I recommend putting your stock tires back on and checking the gap on both sides. If it is still out have the dealer look at it. I know mine is off by 1/2" but that is because I lowered my car and have not put an adjustable panhard rod on it yet.

 

I can't tell from just looking at my car if it's off either way. However, I did notice that the passenger side rear sits almost 3/8" lower than the driver's side.

 

I believe this is called "thrust angle" and the symptom is one wheel further to left or right from the other. I had this problem on my '97 and it was from worn suspension bushings. They were replaced under warranty and it solved the problem.

 

Folks, a few things...

1) Side to side position of the axle on an '05 Mustang is not adjustable with factory components, as has been noted by some. You'd need an adjustable panhard rod.

2) Think about the way a panhard rod suspension works.... as the the axle travels from max jounce through normal ride heights to max rebound, the axle moves side to side because of the way the panhard is fixed to the body on one side and swings the axle like a pendulum when it goes up and down. The shorter the panhard rod, the more this occurs. Happens on everything from old beam axle Honda CRXs to GM F-cars to Minivans. At some point in its up-down travel, the axle will be centered, but that isn't necessarily the ride height your own car may be at when you're looking at it. I'd be willing to bet if you looked at this misalignment on a whole bunch of '05 Mustangs that were at the same ride height, you'd find that the lateral offsets were remarkably similar. Certainly when you lower the car, you will further skew the axle. There's a reason adjustable length panhard rods have been a common addition to 3rd and 4th gen F-cars.

3) Typical manufacturer ride height variability is +/- 5 to 10 mm per corner. If you happen to have one on the high side on one side, and the low side on the other, it can be 1/2 to 3/4 inch difference. This is because of variability in springs themselves, in the weight of options on the car, minor variation in suspension components, etc. Some ride height variability is typical on most cars, it's just that the average Camry owner isn't looking at it. And of course, when lowering cars, the closer you get the fender lips to the tires, the easier it is to "read".

cheers,
k

 

So since there's already a large tolerence allowed by the factory, what's the big deal if lowering the car stays within those tolerences?

Especially, as in my case, if there's the possibility that lowering it would improve things by bringing it closer to center.

 

I've looked at mine ('05 GT), and I don't see any difference, looking from the rear of the car.

 

this is probably the best advice given. with any new car or after any suspension mod, having the car put on a modern alignment jig with laser/computer controls is a must for the very best alignment and tracking.

actually, ANY mods or alingments done to the car WITHOUT a frame alignment first is not a sound idea. any changes made to an out of spec frame alignment will compund any problems that already exist, or cause new ones, now that some of the components are non-standard. jackg 90seville 97k

 

I agree, but there is no reason to have the unibody tweaked or the rear
suspension pulled to one side to allign on the '05 if it has not been in a wreck

the last gen mustangs had a different rear suspension design that made centering the axle a thing of chance (hence the frame rack and pulling the axle to align)

a modern frame rack (at body shop) could be used for checking track front to rear only, and if you have the adjustable bar, adjust it at that time

but a good tec w/ a 4 wheel allignment rack can check the track and adjust everything while up there
bottom line, IMHO, if your not racing or a big track time type person the rear track being out a bit from the factory is not going to be noticed by most

if for lowering, racing, looks or clearance (wider rims/tires) go for adjustable panhard/track bar

 

it's always a good idea, imo, to take baselines before any mods are done. i'm not a big fan of modifying or cutting components on a car or using non oem parts. i always feel that i'm being the testing mule for the parts manfr and therefore, don't know what the results will be until it's too late. jackg 90seville 97k

 

..

 

See, to me that sounds like a contradiction. I'm only doing it for looks, so if it is OK to be off from the factory, I don't understand why it has to be adjusted when lowering if it stays within the same sloppy specs Ford has.

 

Yes, within 1/8 of an inch.

Late post, wasn't following with you, sorry.


Paul