5.0 Mustang Cowl Shake/strut brace/subframe connectors

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donsjunkk@hotmail.com - 11 Aug 2006 17:51 GMT

Hi - I bought myself a very nice clean 89 LX 5.0 convertible and it is
my first fox body car and I can really see why this car has such a lot
of fans - it is great and I can see these cars being put on the same
gearhead pedestals as the 55-57 chevies and 64- 71 Mustangs in the near
future.

Anyway like many other owners I want to keep it great and make it even
better where I can.

One thing I am noticing and was expecting is quite a bit of cowl shake
- it has 86,000 miles on it so a combination of age and design are
probably a factor here BUT .... one comment I will make is that I took
my brother in laws 1992 5.0 convert which has about the same mileage on
it for a drive and it is much more tight - I looked under the hood and
there is no strut tower brace so I am wondering was anything done
factory design wise to make the 1992 cars stronger in terms of body
structure ? - I took a quick look under the front and can't see
anything exotic there either . I know there are a lot of components
that could come into play here but I just thought I would ask this
question as a starting point.

I have new struts on the car which the person I bought it from
installed but I don't know the vintage of the rest of the front end -
it passed the mandatory safety inspections we have up here so nothing
is worn below spec.

For reduction of the cowl shake and considering strut tower braces vs
subframe connectors which one of the 2 is the best approach ?

Thanks very much for any responses to my guestions - I visit this group
regularly and it seems like there are a lot of very knowledgeable
members here who are very generous in helping fellow owners and fans
out.

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NoOption5L@aol.com - 11 Aug 2006 21:29 GMT

> Hi - I bought myself a very nice clean 89 LX 5.0 convertible and it is
> my first fox body car and I can really see why this car has such a lot
> of fans - it is great and I can see these cars being put on the same
> gearhead pedestals as the 55-57 chevies and 64- 71 Mustangs in the near
> future.

> Anyway like many other owners I want to keep it great and make it even
> better where I can.

> One thing I am noticing and was expecting is quite a bit of cowl shake
> - it has 86,000 miles on it so a combination of age and design are
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> that could come into play here but I just thought I would ask this
> question as a starting point.

Good observation. I too noticed the same difference between my '87 LX
5 liter and my current '93 Cobra -- the Cobra being noticebly stiffer
than my older LX. What the difference is some where in the early 90's
Ford strengthen the floor pan because of the earlier cars developing
cracks in the pan around the seat bolts.

> I have new struts on the car which the person I bought it from
> installed but I don't know the vintage of the rest of the front end -
> it passed the mandatory safety inspections we have up here so nothing
> is worn below spec.

> For reduction of the cowl shake and considering strut tower braces vs
> subframe connectors which one of the 2 is the best approach ?

Both are equally effective, IMO, but the strut tower brace being the
easiest, cheapest of the two to install. With a 'vert, I'd install
both (use weld-in subframe connectors) and add a G-load brace.

> Thanks very much for any responses to my guestions - I visit this group
> regularly and it seems like there are a lot of very knowledgeable
> members here who are very generous in helping fellow owners and fans
> out.

Patrick

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Zod, General - 12 Aug 2006 04:08 GMT

> Hi - I bought myself a very nice clean 89 LX 5.0 convertible and it is
> my first fox body car and I can really see why this car has such a lot
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> - it has 86,000 miles on it so a combination of age and design are
> probably a factor here

car should have a LOT more miles on it like 180k, or it must have been
stored for 5 years or so.
I have a 93, 145k miles no shakes at all. Squeeks yes, no shakes. I had a
1987 with 160k, no shakes both are ex police cars. orgional motors (93 got
upper manafold replaced by supercharger)
You may want to check the alingment in case the car may have been in a
wreck,
Or you may have some tires that are dish panned that will do that too,
reset the cowl bumpers up some (on the front of the car they screw up) that
should stop shake too.
Check the lower part of the fan blade to see if it got worn, if so, the
engine mounts need to be replaced, they hold the engine too low, (another
way you can tell this is if the car lugs at very low speed 2mph or so it is
the engine changing position causing the throttle cable to get
longer/shorter)

>BUT .... one comment I will make is that I took
> my brother in laws 1992 5.0 convert which has about the same mileage on
[quoted text clipped - 5 lines]
> that could come into play here but I just thought I would ask this
> question as a starting point.

> I have new struts on the car which the person I bought it from
> installed

That could be a problem, but alignment check should find it.

>but I don't know the vintage of the rest of the front end -
> it passed the mandatory safety inspections we have up here so nothing
> is worn below spec.
>
> For reduction of the cowl shake and considering strut tower braces vs
> subframe connectors which one of the 2 is the best approach ?

try the simple stuff first. subframes are more to get rid of torque flex of
the body while accelerating.
My 93 has loosened up a lot, has a supercharger on it, probably need
subframes, cannot fit STB's in it.

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