Front Stabilizer Bar Upgrades
So Ive had some people private message me about the front suspension upgrade I did a couple years back. So I thought I would copy my post from another forum to give the information to others who may be interested.
First Post
Okay so a few weeks back I upgraded my links to greaseable moog links. that have a lifetime warrantee. Also upgraded my bushings to Energy Suspension greasable bushings. This require little time to remove the links. but removing and installing the bushings took a good amount of time. the new bushings are urethane so they must be greased up very well and pushed hard to pop over the bar. the new bracket has to be modified slightly and painted to prevent corrosion because when modifying the bracket you ruin the integrity of the zinc coated bracket. The main thing I forgot to mention was that the bushing bracket also needs a 90* angle zerk fitting due to the limited clearance above the bracket to give room for the grease gun hose. Its a SAE fitting not metric as I originally thought.
I after driving it a few times I noticed significant differences in handling around sharp turns. The Escape has much less body roll than before. and the suspension is much more quiet.
Second Post
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you'll need 9.5157 energy suspension bushings. Two 90*degree zerk fittings to replace the straight ones they supply. they are SAE. You can get these at any auto supply. The best prices for the energy suspension parts seemed to be amazon.com. Also you'll need to modify the bracket for the bushing by drilling the mounting holes for the larger diameter bolts. I painted over the brackets to prevent any rust from the new drillings. Youll need to lube the bushings to get them to flex over the bar. the urethane bushings are very hard. the old bushings are very thin and flexible. At the same time replace your stabilizer links with new ones from MOOG. I bought mine at Advanced Auto Parts. they had the best prices and the links are greaseable and have a lifetime warranty. Make sure you put the new zerk fittings on before you put the brackets on. I changed mine later and it made it hard to access. The best access for working on these is from behind the wheel under the front doors.
If you want to do the rear bar It shouldnt be too hard... they mount the new bar to the spring supports. and the frame around the rear differential. to do it like the new ones you would need to buy new hubs/spring supports. Not sure how hard that would be. Im going to keep my eyes out for a junked escape and get the parts. It should be a dramatic upgrade. especially since the 01-07 Escapes are lighter and less top heavy than the new 08+.
I have pictures too of the new and the old style.
Third Post
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This is the new suspension from 09 models, notice the new style supports where the link connects on the right side. Also you would have to drill new holes into the differential support for the bushings if you wanted to upgrade.
This picture was taken at Tasca Ford where the Mustang Cobrajet motor was created by Tasca Racing.
__________________
First Post
Okay so a few weeks back I upgraded my links to greaseable moog links. that have a lifetime warrantee. Also upgraded my bushings to Energy Suspension greasable bushings. This require little time to remove the links. but removing and installing the bushings took a good amount of time. the new bushings are urethane so they must be greased up very well and pushed hard to pop over the bar. the new bracket has to be modified slightly and painted to prevent corrosion because when modifying the bracket you ruin the integrity of the zinc coated bracket. The main thing I forgot to mention was that the bushing bracket also needs a 90* angle zerk fitting due to the limited clearance above the bracket to give room for the grease gun hose. Its a SAE fitting not metric as I originally thought.
I after driving it a few times I noticed significant differences in handling around sharp turns. The Escape has much less body roll than before. and the suspension is much more quiet.
Second Post
you'll need 9.5157 energy suspension bushings. Two 90*degree zerk fittings to replace the straight ones they supply. they are SAE. You can get these at any auto supply. The best prices for the energy suspension parts seemed to be amazon.com. Also you'll need to modify the bracket for the bushing by drilling the mounting holes for the larger diameter bolts. I painted over the brackets to prevent any rust from the new drillings. Youll need to lube the bushings to get them to flex over the bar. the urethane bushings are very hard. the old bushings are very thin and flexible. At the same time replace your stabilizer links with new ones from MOOG. I bought mine at Advanced Auto Parts. they had the best prices and the links are greaseable and have a lifetime warranty. Make sure you put the new zerk fittings on before you put the brackets on. I changed mine later and it made it hard to access. The best access for working on these is from behind the wheel under the front doors.
If you want to do the rear bar It shouldnt be too hard... they mount the new bar to the spring supports. and the frame around the rear differential. to do it like the new ones you would need to buy new hubs/spring supports. Not sure how hard that would be. Im going to keep my eyes out for a junked escape and get the parts. It should be a dramatic upgrade. especially since the 01-07 Escapes are lighter and less top heavy than the new 08+.
I have pictures too of the new and the old style.
Third Post
This is the new suspension from 09 models, notice the new style supports where the link connects on the right side. Also you would have to drill new holes into the differential support for the bushings if you wanted to upgrade.
This picture was taken at Tasca Ford where the Mustang Cobrajet motor was created by Tasca Racing.
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