How to raise Ford Falcon FG MK II rear suspension

[Crusty181]

Hi,
just got back from Pedders in Moorabbin. They advised to have fitted H/D springs and standard Firestone airbags.
The new springs will lift the car when unloaded by about 15mm. They said it wasn't necessary to fit the kevlar H/D sleeves.

All up including fitting is $700. Does that seem reasonable?
The airbags are $295 and another place quoted me $200 to just fit the airbags.

cheers
Mike

Sounds reasonable enough. Pedders arent the cheapest, you will certainly find cheaper elsewhere. Pedders only sell their own stuff, they dont tend to talk rubbish and their gear is good. They still make most if not all of their own components, none of the other off the shelf players do that. Ive always found them pretty good and they have a nation wide network should anything go pear shaped.

 

[Drover]

I was a bit abstracted lately but I found Spicer Springs at Knoxfield to be a good mob to deal with, good work, good price and they not only fit but can fix. Just not sure if they do cars but I'm sure they would.....

 

[Bluey]

Sounds like you got it sorted wish i had a good think everytime i put my hand in my pocket

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
went to Pedders at Moorabbin today and got Heavy Duty rear springs and airbags fitted.
Thanks for all the input.

With the max of 30psi in the airbags, unloaded, the rear is now about 35mm higher. I made exact measurements of the height to the tongue unloaded, car loaded, and with car loaded and Penguin attached. I will measure it again properly when we load up to go away this weekend and post the results.

cheers
Mike

 

[mikerezny]

Hi,
we went away to Maldon for the weekend and I am very pleased with the suspension upgrade.

Here are the details of the vehicle heights before and after the upgrade. Measurements are height from the ground to the bottom of the towball tongue.

Original suspension:
Unloaded: 391mm
Car loaded backseat and boot: 369mm (-22mm)
Car loaded and van connected (about 127kg towball weight): 323mm (-68mm)

Upgrades suspension: H/D springs and air bags pumped to maximum of 30psi:
Unloaded: 447mm (56mm higher than original)
Car loaded backseat and boot: 435mm (66mm higher than original)
Car loaded and van connected: 400mm (77mm higher than original)

So, with the upgraded suspension, the Falcon when fully loaded now sits 9mm higher than it did originally when completely unloaded!
But most importantly, I now have 77mm more ground clearance than I had before the upgrade.

Also, originally, the car went down 68 mm when fully loaded and the trailer connected. With the upgraded suspension, it now goes down only 47mm.

After driving 330km over the weekend we haven't noticed any difference in the ride. I have noticed the increased visibility over the front bonnet!

So, seems like $700 well spent. Especially since it has eliminated the stress of contemplating an expensive vehicle upgrade to get better ground clearance for the time being.

Next on the list might be changing from highway tyres to A/T when I am next up for new tyres. That might get me a little better ground clearance and more peace of mind when I am off the black top.

And possibly installing a transmission cooler.

Comments, suggestions, and advice, as always, are most welcome.

cheers
Mike

 

[Bluey]

A bigger cooler is allways good i think but check with experts first glad its all worked out for you

 

[Crusty181]

Hi,
we went away to Maldon for the weekend and I am very pleased with the suspension upgrade.

Here are the details of the vehicle heights before and after the upgrade. Measurements are height from the ground to the bottom of the towball tongue.

Original suspension:
Unloaded: 391mm
Car loaded backseat and boot: 369mm (-22mm)
Car loaded and van connected (about 127kg towball weight): 323mm (-68mm)

Upgrades suspension: H/D springs and air bags pumped to maximum of 30psi:
Unloaded: 447mm (56mm higher than original)
Car loaded backseat and boot: 435mm (66mm higher than original)
Car loaded and van connected: 400mm (77mm higher than original)

So, with the upgraded suspension, the Falcon when fully loaded now sits 9mm higher than it did originally when completely unloaded!
But most importantly, I now have 77mm more ground clearance than I had before the upgrade.

Also, originally, the car went down 68 mm when fully loaded and the trailer connected. With the upgraded suspension, it now goes down only 47mm.

After driving 330km over the weekend we haven't noticed any difference in the ride. I have noticed the increased visibility over the front bonnet!

So, seems like $700 well spent. Especially since it has eliminated the stress of contemplating an expensive vehicle upgrade to get better ground clearance for the time being.

Next on the list might be changing from highway tyres to A/T when I am next up for new tyres. That might get me a little better ground clearance and more peace of mind when I am off the black top.

And possibly installing a transmission cooler.

Comments, suggestions, and advice, as always, are most welcome.

cheers
Mike

Good result Mike, and close enough to call it perfect. Ive always been very happy with Peddars Moorabbin

 

[Drover]

Good result for sure, getting rid of the original suspension is always a good upgrade..........................
Tranny oil cooler will makes things better in the not only the oil temp but also with the eng temp.

 

[bigcol]

now I am not too sure on the FG's, but
the EF-EL and AU-BA Fairmont Ghia's all had factory external Auto Trans Coolers, the Fairmont and Falcons all had the trans cooler in the rad
have a yarn with a local wreckers to find out about the FG's and which ones had the external cooler

some factory fitted coolers are down right crap, and fitted in the worst places you can think of.......
(there is a new dual cab 4x4 with the cooler next to the fuel tank, with no air flow around it.....)

but I have never had a problem with the Ford factory coolers on several cars over the years ( XA GT - 351 & C6 auto, XC Fairmont Ghia with 460 & C6 auto, DA LTD with Windsor 351 & C6 shoehorned into it.....currently a EF Fairmont Ghia with 5L & 4 speed slush box with factory cooler)
both the XA and XC both had "Tropical Pack" as well as "towing pack", the LTD was standard - except the motor & box

just something to think about with the cooler

 

[bigcol]

with your tyres, well, I would suggest getting rid of the low profile ones and maybe get the ones of the FG work ute - stronger rims (but smaller than the 17" you may already have - they are 16" I think ) with the bigger tyres........


again, just a thought

 

[Boots in Action]

now I am not too sure on the FG's, but
the EF-EL and AU-BA Fairmont Ghia's all had factory external Auto Trans Coolers, the Fairmont and Falcons all had the trans cooler in the rad
have a yarn with a local wreckers to find out about the FG's and which ones had the external cooler

some factory fitted coolers are down right crap, and fitted in the worst places you can think of.......
(there is a new dual cab 4x4 with the cooler next to the fuel tank, with no air flow around it.....)

but I have never had a problem with the Ford factory coolers on several cars over the years ( XA GT - 351 & C6 auto, XC Fairmont Ghia with 460 & C6 auto, DA LTD with Windsor 351 & C6 shoehorned into it.....currently a EF Fairmont Ghia with 5L & 4 speed slush box with factory cooler)
both the XA and XC both had "Tropical Pack" as well as "towing pack", the LTD was standard - except the motor & box

just something to think about with the cooler

Hi @bigcol , what you say is spot on, but does @mikerezny really need a cooler for his transmission. He has a powerful 6 cylinder car and is only pulling a Penguin at max of 1300kg, plus what he has in the back of the sedan.?? Unless he is going to take the tug and van over some really rough stuff at low speeds for long periods or leaves it in "Drive" instead of selecting the lower gears, it is unlikely that the engine and transmission will get that hot. I am fully aware that heat is the enemy of all transmissions, destroying "O" rings and clutch plates and that running a cooler transmission is beneficial in both the long and short term. Does that model Falcon have a warning light for hot transmission oil or do you just watch the temperature gauge to give you an Idea. I know my Colorado has a warning light that comes on if transmission gets above a set temperature.

 

[bigcol]

a very very old rule of thumb @Boots in Action

if your going to tow anything with an automatic

get a Transmission cooler



I've not pulled apart (and repaired and rebuilt) a C6 or C4 tranny for near on 32 years
but then I've only had a few auto's in that time, so the new generation automatics are a far superior beast now days

but you are correct, heat will kill them
the oil heat is what kills them

when the oil gets hot, it thins out, and reduces the lubricating effect it has, this in turn heats the clutch packs, inciting wear & abnormal wear on them.
this puts particles into the oil, which then helps to heat up the oil and keep it hot longer, causing more and more damage over a period of time

when you check the oil in a transmission, you watch the mechanic....... a good one will wipe the oil through his fingers then smell it
that will tell him if it has been hot, and done any damage that is yet to manifest itself

an example of how to find damage..........

I leave home at 4.30am, its dark still, and outside ambient temp is about 20*
by 4.35am I am on the freeway doing 100km/h, RPM sitting on 2000
by 5.00am before I am at work and still on the freeway, 100km/h and 1800 RPM

moral........
its still cold and the oil has not heated up by the time I am on the freeway giving it its head, so the RPM is high
once the oil has reached operating temp, the revs drop and it is not slugging to change gears etc

on the way home, at 3.30pm, the ambient temp is around 38*-45*
still sitting on 100km/h, but when I leave work, even with it cold, RPM is at 1800, but by the time I am nearly home, the RPM is close to 2000

why.......?
the oil is TOO hot, and it is slowly damaging the clutch packs

how do I know??????

felt and smelt the oil
smell the burnt oil, and felt the slight grit in the oil
it has not started to slip between gears, but I know there is damage, and it will need to be attended to in the next 6 months, before the trans is rattus shyttus completely............

 

[bigcol]

dont be fooled by car ads and the like

cars are built to a price
cars are mass produced to reduce that cost
they are engineered to a price to last X amount of years
and they are engineered to cover 95% of any and all types of driving

Lincolns and Cadillac's had air con and disc brakes in the 30's
normal cars got them in the 60's and 70's
why?

Lincolns and Cadilac's were 10x the price of a normal car at the time


if @mikerezny had specified when he brought his FG that he wanted the "tow Pack" and he paid the $1000-$2000 he would have gotten
tow bar
wiring for tow bar
slightly up graded suspension
and an oil cooler for his transmission

all of these are mass produced and cost the manufacturer bugger all to make and fit, but charge him alot

to go "after market" is even more money, but not specifically made for his make and model
"after market" suspension is a $2billion industry in Australia alone - hence why there will be up grades for 90% of common vehicles

 

[bigcol]

my advice @mikerezny check out Ford for the trans cooler price
then do the ring around (or visit) a few wreckers to see how they are fitted and what parts there are
then hit gumtree for someone wrecking one at home - you will have the new price, the wreckers price, so you will know what sort of money it should be
you will also get more bits and pieces from someone wrecking one, and fit it as per factory
it will have the holes and the bolts already there most probably


after market coolers are great, but you need to know just how big they are, and where you can fit them for the best benefit, otherwise its a waste of coin

 

[Boots in Action]

a very very old rule of thumb @Boots in Action

if your going to tow anything with an automatic

get a Transmission cooler



I've not pulled apart (and repaired and rebuilt) a C6 or C4 tranny for near on 32 years
but then I've only had a few auto's in that time, so the new generation automatics are a far superior beast now days

but you are correct, heat will kill them
the oil heat is what kills them

when the oil gets hot, it thins out, and reduces the lubricating effect it has, this in turn heats the clutch packs, inciting wear & abnormal wear on them.
this puts particles into the oil, which then helps to heat up the oil and keep it hot longer, causing more and more damage over a period of time

when you check the oil in a transmission, you watch the mechanic....... a good one will wipe the oil through his fingers then smell it
that will tell him if it has been hot, and done any damage that is yet to manifest itself

an example of how to find damage..........

I leave home at 4.30am, its dark still, and outside ambient temp is about 20*
by 4.35am I am on the freeway doing 100km/h, RPM sitting on 2000
by 5.00am before I am at work and still on the freeway, 100km/h and 1800 RPM

moral........
its still cold and the oil has not heated up by the time I am on the freeway giving it its head, so the RPM is high
once the oil has reached operating temp, the revs drop and it is not slugging to change gears etc

on the way home, at 3.30pm, the ambient temp is around 38*-45*
still sitting on 100km/h, but when I leave work, even with it cold, RPM is at 1800, but by the time I am nearly home, the RPM is close to 2000

why.......?
the oil is TOO hot, and it is slowly damaging the clutch packs

how do I know??????

felt and smelt the oil
smell the burnt oil, and felt the slight grit in the oil
it has not started to slip between gears, but I know there is damage, and it will need to be attended to in the next 6 months, before the trans is rattus shyttus completely............

Well said @bigcol , could not agree with you more. I must be a "good mechanic" because I ALWAYS wipe oil on fingers and SMELL the oil and also carefully check the COLOUR too. I also have the transmission oil changed before setting off on any long journey towing my "little Penguin" just to make sure there is NO bits floating around in the transmission oil. (Small cost in the long run!!) Even though they have a fine strainer to trap these "bits", some are so fine that they are sure to get through. I also do not load up my transmission too early when towing my van so perhaps that helps. The new generation of auto transmissions ARE a superior beast nowadays compared to the Holden Hyra-matics, Power Glides, and Fordamatics. The only decent one from that era was the Chrysler Torque Flite.
Now that heavy trucks with up to 16 or more gears in an auto are the norm, considering the load they are performing, it is a bluddy miracle piece of machinery. Your first para is generally correct for longevity of transmission IF you are going to use it in heavy work - heavy being the operative word for each individual to assess. Hope this clarifies my earlier post.

 

[Drover]

I can get my Colorado tranny temp climbing on a hot day running solo. Any extra load or heavy traffic will get the tranny temp climbing it doesn't have to be dragging anything behind and since they rarely have anything to indicate tranny temp you will never know, though when engine temp climbs up the light means it has been cooked and it too late, I prefer to keep my tranny below 100, use the old oil rule of over 106 is too much though these syn oils can take a bit more its just not good.......My model Colorado displays tranny temp along and with the cup holders a brilliant addition that all vehicles should have.

While the new boxes are way better than earlier version they are susceptiable to the same problems of old, I still see the same amount of grey sludge in the pan that the old ones had and with pre coolers, engine cooler, steering cooler, air con cooler all wanting a bit of the same air flow a seperate cooler for the auto will keep the engine temp down as well as a bigger fan.

Modern truck auto's are mostly manual gearboxes with an electronic top plate which does all the shifts including clutch, heaps better than old style slush boxes which would have the oil boiling in short order................

 

[bigcol]

I must be a "good mechanic" because I ALWAYS wipe oil on fingers and SMELL the oil and also carefully check the COLOUR too. I also have the transmission oil changed before setting off on any long journey towing my "little Penguin" just to make sure there is NO bits floating around in the transmission oil. (Small cost in the long run!!) Even though they have a fine strainer to trap these "bits", some are so fine that they are sure to get through.

whats the colour of the oil............
blood red - new
dark red - used
reddish brown - roo ted

 

[Boots in Action]

whats the colour of the oil............
blood red - new
dark red - used
reddish brown - roo ted

Aaahh! @bigcol , that is one thing I have known about for years - the smell and colour of burnt or overheated auto transmission oil. Have seen lots of it in cars and burnt clutches in manuals (not real tugs) pulling heavy vans up steep and winding roads, especially when they stop to admire the view, and try to move off with a dead weight (load) behind pulling them back down the incline!!! They do not like or know about the "jack-knife" take off on steep grades, by placing tug at right angles to the road to get up a bit of speed before straightening up and before load is actually being moved up the grade!!
I like mine "blood red" to start with, and NOT too "dark red" after some use!! Time to do something by the time it gets to that stage. I just keep an eye on the "gradual" change so I can monitor the system. Lucky @Drover with a temp gauge for transmission on his Colorado. Mine only has a warning light that comes on. Have only seen it twice - once when pulling Penguin hard and slow in 4WH at only 20 to 30 kph in hilly dirt track in very hot conditions. As soon as I saw it, pulled over and stopped, placed shift in Neutral, left engine running and raised bonnet expecting the worst!!. Within a minute or so, light out (as per vehicle handbook) and onward again with no more red light. Interesting that engine temp gauge (although a little above normal) was certainly nothing to be concerned about. Wish I had that gauge though as you can detect any rising tendencies before the light comes on. Checked tranny oil a couple of days later before leaving up the track again (had 6 day break in same place and no vehicle use ) and was happily surprised that oil was NOT discoloured or showing any signs of darkening. Other time was less eventful and only momentary.

 

[bigcol]

as yours seems to be lacking the temp gauge, have a think about getting a "Scan Gauge"

it wont do the dishes or fire up the BBQ, but comes close to doing everything else you need.........

there is a wide variety of different ones, but research to find a good one

 

[Boots in Action]

as yours seems to be lacking the temp gauge, have a think about getting a "Scan Gauge"

it wont do the dishes or fire up the BBQ, but comes close to doing everything else you need.........

there is a wide variety of different ones, but research to find a good one

Thanks @bigcol , I will look into it about the "scan gauge" . I have also been thinking about adding an oil cooler for the long term health of vehicle, but cost verses possible need is holding me back. My daughter has the same model Colorado (same colour too) which they bought new WITH an oil cooler. But then they are towing a dual axle 2010 Jayco Journey and definitely had a need, although they rarely go off road to the secluded places that we go. Thanks for the tip though. Will keep you informed.