Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

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Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

September 30, 2006, 11:11:58 PM

Alright guys, I might have got my hands on a MN-12 cat, and I was just wondering if the front control arms and spindles and other misc parts will fit?, and I know that they are IRS in the rear so that puts me on to my next question...

Did the SN-95's have the 8.8's and 5 lug axels?

I'll have more questions as I go. I just wanted to get that out of my head and on the board.. So if my buddy wants to sell me the cougar I can say yay or nay to it.

Thanks

Clayton

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #1 – September 30, 2006, 11:30:31 PM

NOTHING from an MN-12 Tbird will bolt onto a Fox suspensionwise. Two TOTALLY different platforms... The TBird IRS is nothing like the Cobra one.

The V6 SN-95's had 7.5's and the V8's had 8.8. Both were 5 lug.

The MN-12 and SN-95 5-lug bolt patterns are different.

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #2 – September 30, 2006, 11:43:05 PM

thank you chuck

all i needed to know

Much appreciated

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #3 – October 01, 2006, 01:34:05 AM

And to add/amend Chuck's post, all MN-12 wheels share the same bolt pattern as Taurus/Sable/Continental and possibly TownCar, although I havn't determined this for myself.
EDIT: MKVII wheels are NOT the fwd bolt pattern...

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #4 – October 01, 2006, 01:50:02 AM

MN12s were definitely kinda weird...I looked at the front suspension on my brother's '97 and it looks an awful lot like the front suspension setup on my '94 Tempo (single lower control arm with a torsion bar-type setup)

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #5 – October 01, 2006, 10:12:19 AM

Quote from: FordTruckFreeek;106338

And to add/amend Chuck's post, all MN-12 wheels share the same bolt pattern as Taurus/Sable/Continental and possibly TownCar, although I havn't determined this for myself.
EDIT: MKVII wheels are NOT the fwd bolt pattern...

Town Cars share the 5-4.5 bolt pattern of Crown Vics, Mustangs, Rangers, etc.

The 5-4.25 pattern was shared by Taurus/Conti/Sable/Windstar/MN12 T-Bird/Cougar/Lincoln LS/2-seat T-Bird/FWD & RWD Volvo, and I would imagine the Jag that used the DEW98 platform

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #6 – October 01, 2006, 01:17:19 PM

ive never seen a mn12 w/a torsion bar. dual a-arms with coil over shock setup in the front.
there is one part of the mn12 IRS that is the same as the cobra IRS. the 8.8 pumpkin is the same, but thats it

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #7 – October 01, 2006, 01:53:57 PM

It's more of a lower arm with a compression strut..not a torsion bar.

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #8 – October 01, 2006, 02:41:45 PM

I've always called it a strut rod (assuming you mean the thing that holds the lower control arm in the fore-aft postion and causes some really weird steering when the bushings beat out of it).

The front suspension in an MN12 is remarkably similar to that in an older Honda Civic - it has the upper wishbone, lower arm, strut rod, coil-over, etc. The main difference with the Civic (aside from the physical size of the parts) is that the Civic's spindle has provisions for a drive axle.

About the only thing it shares wth the Tempo design is the lower arm (similar deisgn but not interchangeable) and coil over. The MN12 also has an upper arm. (wishbone)

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #9 – October 01, 2006, 10:28:35 PM

Torsion bar wasn't what I meant, that's what popped into my head for some reason...I meant radius rods or radius arms, whichever you prefer to call them, much like the 4WD F-150s with the "twin traction beam" front suspension used as axle locators for the longest time.

As for dual a-arms or whatever...I coulda swore when I looked at my brothers car it had a single lower control arm, with the machperson strut, and radius rod.

Instagating a suspention mod.. need to clairify some things

Reply #10 – October 01, 2006, 11:24:21 PM

Then upper wishbone is bolted to the strut tower and the top of the spindle (you can actually see it when you look in the wheel well of an MN12 without taking the wheel off). It's the only car I ever had that the air conditioning got in the way of changing a ball joint :hick: It's also the only car I ever had that I paid $300 apiece for ball joints for - both uppers went shortly after the warranty expired. I think they're cheaper now tho...

*EDIT* A diagram: