Continental, Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Mark Viii & Town Car
Set to normal riding height using New Generation Star (NGS) tester or equivalent scan tool before aligning vehicle. See appropriate ELECTRONIC article in SUSPENSION.
Contour, Cougar, Escort, Mustang, Mystique, Sable, Taurus & Tracer
Visually inspect vehicle for signs of abnormal height from front to rear or side to side. Check passenger and luggage compartments for extra heavy items and remove if present.
JACKING & HOISTING
| WARNING | When battery is disconnected, vehicle computer and memory systems may lose memory data. Driveability problems may exist until computer systems have completed a relearn cycle. See COMPUTER RELEARN PROCEDURES article in GENERAL INFORMATION before disconnecting battery. |
| CAUTION | On vehicles with air suspension, disconnect electrical power by removing negative battery cable or setting air suspension switch to OFF position. Switch is located in trunk on left front side of inner panel. |
FLOOR JACK
| CAUTION | DO NOT lift vehicle by placing jack under front or rear control arms, axle shafts or CV joints. |
Continental, Cougar, Sable & Taurus
Front of vehicle may be raised by placing floor jack under front engine crossmember. Rear of vehicle may be raised by placing jack forward of tie rod bracket or under either rear lower control arm-to-chassis mounting bracket. (Scheme 1), (Scheme 2) or (Scheme 3).
Scheme 1
Scheme 2
Scheme 3
Contour, Escort, Mystique & Tracer
Front of vehicle may be raised by placing floor jack under transmission crossmember. Rear of vehicle may be raised by placing jack under rear floor crossmember. (Scheme 4)
Scheme 4
Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Mark VIII, Mustang & Town Car
- Front of vehicle may be lifted by positioning a jack under center of front crossmember, lower control arm-to-spindle connection or side rail where stabilizer is connected. Rear end may be lifted by positioning floor jack under rocker flange at contact points used for vehicle jack or under differential housing.
- Ensure jack does not contact differential housing cover. Position jackstands under front lower control arms or rear axle housing between suspension arm brackets and differential housing. DO NOT place jackstands under suspension arm brackets. (Scheme 5)(Scheme 6) or (Scheme 7).
Scheme 5
Scheme 6
Scheme 7
HOIST
| CAUTION | Follow hoist manufacturer instructions. DO NOT let hoist or adapters contact suspension, exhaust or steering components. |
Frame Contact Hoist
On frame contact hoists, adapters must be placed at 4 contact points. Position adapters so they are centered on contact area. All 4 contact points must contact adapters. On FWD models, rear contact points are located forward of tie rod-to-body attaching brackets.
Contour, Cougar & Mystique
Front camber is not adjustable. If camber is not within specification, check for damaged suspension components, deteriorated bushings or distorted body mounting points.
Mark VIII
Loosen lower control arm inner pivot-to-subframe camber adjusting nut. Turn adjusting bolt as necessary to obtain correct camber specification. Hold adjusting bolt in place while tightening adjusting nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS .
Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis & Town Car
Adjusting cams are provided for camber/caster adjustment. (Scheme 8) Loosen 2 nuts on top of adjusting cams. Turn hex cams to adjust camber/caster angle. Hold each cam and tighten nuts. Checking camber angle is not necessary after adjustment has been performed.
Scheme 8
Escort & Tracer
- Top mounting studs on front struts are offset. Camber is adjusted by rotating strut to different positions. See «CAMBER/CASTER POSITION REFERENCE»(ref-1218-S05032936702000031300000) table. Lift vehicle to unload suspension.
- Remove wheel. Remove top strut attaching nuts. Lower strut, and rotate strut bearing to desired position. (Scheme 9) Reinstall strut into tower. Install and tighten attaching nuts.
Scheme 9
| Adjustment Mark (1) | Camber Angle - (Degrees) | (2) Caster Angle - (Degrees) |
|---|---|---|
| A | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| B | 0.5 | 0 |
| C | 0.25 | 0.25 |
| (1) Refer to illustration for adjustment mark locations "A", "B" and "C". (Scheme 9) (2) Caster is set while setting camber by rotating strut to appropriate position. | ||
| (1) | Refer to illustration for adjustment mark locations "A", "B" and "C". (Scheme 9) |
| (2) | Caster is set while setting camber by rotating strut to appropriate position. |
CAMBER/CASTER POSITION REFERENCE
Mustang
Remove rivet from camber plate. Loosen strut mount-to-strut tower attaching nuts. Move top of strut until desired camber is obtained. Tighten nuts to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS . Replacing rivet is not necessary.
Continental, Sable & Taurus
| CAUTION | During adjustment procedure, DO NOT drill deeper than 3/8" (9.6 mm) into strut tower. |
- For minor adjustments to camber and caster, loosen subframe mount bolts, and shift subframe. If this does not allow enough adjustment, loosen 3 upper strut mounting bracket-to-strut tower attaching nuts. Drill out 4 or 5 spot welds at upper strut alignment plate. (Scheme 10)
- DO NOT drill deeper than necessary to move alignment plate. Remove 3 upper strut mounting bracket-to-strut tower attaching nuts and alignment plate. Clean burrs from strut tower and alignment plate. Paint exposed metal surfaces.
- Position strut and alignment plate. Loosely install attaching nuts. Adjust camber/caster by moving top of strut. Tighten attaching nuts to specification. Drill 3 holes for rivets in perimeter of alignment plate. (Scheme 11)or (Scheme 12). Install 3 rivets.
Scheme 10
Scheme 11
Scheme 12
Continental
Loosen left and right lower control arm retaining bolts. Rotate cam bolts until camber is within specification. See WHEEL ALIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS table. Tighten lock nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS .
Contour, Cougar, Crown Victoria, Escort, Grand Marquis, Mustang (Except Cobra), Mystique, Town Car & Tracer
Rear camber is not adjustable. If camber is not within specification, check for damaged suspension components, deteriorated bushings or distorted body mounting points.
Mark VIII & Mustang (Cobra)
Loosen cam bolt nut at upper control arm inner pivot. Rotate cam bolt until camber is within specification. See WHEEL ALIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS table. Tighten lock nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS .
Sable & Taurus (Station Wagon)
Note. Rear camber adjustment bolt kit is necessary for Sable and Taurus (if not previously installed).
- Raise vehicle, allowing suspension to hang free. Remove stabilizer bar bracket from outboard ends of lower control arm and bushing. Remove parking brake cable retaining bracket.
- Place floor jack with wood block under lower control arm and bushing stamping (midway between lower control arm inner pivot bushing and rear spring). Remove and discard lower control arm and bushing inner pivot retaining nut.
- Using floor jack, preload underside of lower control arm. Remove and discard lower control arm inner pivot bolt. Slowly lower control arm and bushing out of crossmember bracket until spring is completely relaxed.
- Using a 1/2" diameter rotary file, elongate both crossmember bracket holes. (Scheme 13) If camber measured out of specification in the positive direction, go to next step. If camber measured out of specification in the negative direction, elongate crossmember bracket hole horizontally on inboard side, until slot length measures 0.94" (24 mm). Go to step 6.
- If camber measured out of specification in the positive direction, elongate crossmember bracket hole horizontally on outboard side, until slot length measures 0.63" (16 mm). Go to next step.
- Using floor jack, raise lower rear control arm and bushing back up into crossmember bracket. Using Rear Camber Adjustment Kit (E7DZ-5K751-A), install new inner pivot cam bolt from front side of crossmember.
- Install cam bolt with 2 new tab washers between crossmember bracket and control arm inner pivot bushing. Install new cam washer and nut. Tighten cam bolt nut to 40-55 ft. lbs. (54-74 N.m). Repeat procedure for opposite side.
- Reinstall stabilizer bar brackets and parking brake cable bracket. Tighten stabilizer bar bracket-to-lower control arm bolts to 14-19 ft. lbs. (19-26 N.m)
Scheme 13
Sable & Taurus (Sedan)
Note. Rear camber adjustment bolt kit is necessary for Sable and Taurus (if not previously installed).
- Raise vehicle, allowing suspension to hang free. Remove parking brake cable retaining bracket from crossmember bracket. Remove and discard control arm bolts and nuts. Remove control arms from crossmember bracket and allow them to hang free.
- Using a 1/2" diameter rotary file, elongate front and rear crossmember bracket holes. If camber measured out of specification in the positive direction, go to next step. If camber measured out of specification in the negative direction, elongate crossmember bracket holes horizontally on outboard side. Elongate holes 0.39" (1.0 mm) for each one degree of negative camber up to 7 mm (0.7 degree of negative change). Go to step 4. (Scheme 14)
- If camber measured out of specification in the positive direction, elongate crossmember bracket holes horizontally on inboard side. Elongate holes 0.39" (1.0 mm) for each one degree of positive camber up to 7 mm (0.7 degree of positive change). Go to next step.
- Using Rear Camber Adjustment Kit (E6DC-5K751-AC), install washer on new control arm bolt at rear crossmember bracket. Install control arm bolt and new tab washers between crossmember bracket and control arm inner pivot bushing. Crossmember bracket may need to be expanded to achieve assembly. Install control arm bolt washer and nut.
- Install new inner pivot cam bolt at front crossmember bracket. Install 2 new tab washers between crossmember bracket and control arm inner pivot bushing.
- Install adjusting cam and nut. Tighten control arm bolts and inner pivot cam bolt to 40-55 ft. lbs. (54-74 N.m). Repeat procedure for opposite side. Reinstall parking brake bracket.
Scheme 14
Contour, Cougar, Escort, Mustang, Mystique, Sable, Taurus, Town Car & Tracer
Caster is not adjustable. If caster is not within specification, check for damaged suspension components, deteriorated bushings or distorted body mounting points.
Loosen front tension strut-to-bracket lock nuts from both sides of bracket. Turn lock nuts to obtain correct caster specification.
Continental, Crown Victoria & Grand Marquis
See CAMBER ADJUSTMENT (FRONT) .
Sable & Taurus
Loosen front lower control arm-to-body retaining bolt. Rotate adjusting cam to obtain correct toe-in. While holding adjusting cam, tighten rear adjusting cam attaching nut. (Scheme 15)
Scheme 15
Continental, Contour, Cougar, Escort, Mystique & Tracer
Loosen bolt attaching rear control arm and bushing to subframe. Rotate adjusting cam to obtain correct toe-in. While holding adjusting cam, tighten rear adjusting cam attaching nut.
Rear toe adjustment is set by rotating rear suspension arm adjusting cam bolt at lower arm inner pivot. Loosen nut and set toe by rotating head of bolt. Tighten nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS .
Mustang (Cobra)
Hold rear tie-rod end while loosening locking nuts. Rotate tie-rod to obtain correct toe-in. See WHEEL ALIGNMENT SPECIFICATIONS . Tighten locking nut and recheck toe-in adjustment.
Crown Victoria, Grand Marquis, Mustang (Except Cobra) & Town Car
Rear toe-in is not adjustable.