At the axle end, the Edelbrock...
At the axle end, the Edelbrock shocks use a heavy rubber bellows to protect the piston rod and seal from dirt, moisture, and small debris. This is important, as the piston rod is now hanging down close to the ground, rather than hiding up in a cavity in the hatchback area. This end also uses urethane bushings.
Laying the SN-95spec...
Laying the SN-95spec Edelbrocks next to our Fox-specific struts clearly shows the difference in mounting height. Edelbrock says the longer stroke in its shocks allows the SN-95 spec strut to work in a Fox chassis.
What looks like a huge-diameter...
What looks like a huge-diameter piston in the front struts is actually the reservoir end. The piston rod is hidden inside the dark metal housing at the spindle-end of the strut.
Edelbrocks shocks use...
Edelbrocks shocks use a small bronze weight in the inertia valve to activate its fancy rebound-valving strategy. The weight is simply much heavier than the rest of the valve, so it doesnt react as quickly to sharp extensions of the shock. This opens the inertia valve to radically lower the rebound dampening rate and let the wheel fall into a depression instead of having the entire corner of the car fall down. This feature makes the Edelbrocks directional, hence the sticker.
Edelbrocks rear shocks...
Edelbrocks rear shocks are conventional looking, except they mount upside down. This is the upper end of the shock showing its firm polyurethane bushings, which offer a bit quicker response than Fords rubber units. We havent heard a peep from these bushings either, and probably wont as they hardly move relative to their metal mountings as in a suspension bushing.
Edelbrock provides these Allen-head...
Edelbrock provides these Allen-head recesses at the top end of the front struts for installation purposes. They allow holding the strut from rotating while wrenching down the upper nut inside the engine compartment.
We barely got film in the...
We barely got film in the camera before Derek Ostrom of Autosport & Performance had the rears swapped out. All thats needed is to attend to the nuts top and bottom, then the shocks just pull on and off the axle.
Unlike installing springs,...
Unlike installing springs, replacing the Mustang front strut requires only taking off the brake caliper and the two large nuts and bolts holding the bottom of the strut to the spindle, along with the small nut atop the shock in the engine compartment (at the onion head). The caliper easily removes with two Torx-headed bolts. Once loose, hang it by a bent coat hanger, not the brake hose. The big strut hardware is most easily handled with a hefty air gun, but can be done by hand.
Likely the toughest part of...
Likely the toughest part of the shock install for the home mechanic is safely controlling the front suspension against its spring pressure once the strut has been released. Derek raised and lowered the car on a hoist with a jackstand under the front suspension. You could do the same at home with the car on jackstands and a floorjack under the A-arm.
One stock part youll...
One stock part youll have to carry over is the protective sleeve atop the front strut. Simply slide it off the old strut and slip it onto the new one. Easy.
While Edelbrock supplies those...
While Edelbrock supplies those nice Allen sockets to hold the strut from rotating while installing the upper nut, Derek simply gunned on the upper hardware. Because the upper strut alignment hardware is never disturbed, and the lower mounting bolts are so close to the outer end of the front suspension, there should be no need to put the car on an alignment rack after a simple shock install like this.
In our experience, the Edelbrock...
In our experience, the Edelbrock 94-and-later shocks work fine on the 79-93 carsno matter what the ends of the boxes say.
Edelbrock has released its Mustang damper--but labeled only for SN-95 cars. Would it also fit the more numerous '93-and-earlier Fox-chassis cars? "Absolutely," Edelbrock spokesman John Sullivan says. We protested that our test shocks came in boxes labeled for '94-and-later Mustangs. "We're changing the catalog" was the reply. So on went the shocks--a mindlessly easy task for a Mustang wrench, although some method of safely supporting the car and controlling the energy in the front springs is needed.
While there are obvious differences in mounting height between Fox and SN-95 shocks (Fox shocks are shorter), Edelbrock says its dampers have a slightly longer travel to accommodate this. In any case, our '91 5.0 LX is nearly stone stock, so we weren't worried about bottoming or topping out the shock. Edelbrock says it has even tried its shocks and struts on a lowered Fox with good results, so who were we to argue?
Horse Sense:
The tricks in Edelbrock's shock valving were first proven in Formula One and Paris-Dakar rally-raid cars.