Alignment Question

97MarkJA

97MarkJA

Dedicated LVC Member
Joined
Jan 18, 2010
Messages
1,486
Reaction score
65
Location
Forest Lake
Last spring I did an entire suspension rebuild when I got new wheels and tires from Brad and did the gears/posi, I did both the front and rear. still on air and it works perfect. My car is sensor lowered about a inch and a half all the way around.
I put about 6k miles on it over the summer, after taking it out of storage I noticed today that the front tires are starting to wear on the inside.
I had the work done at tousley and they did the cruise recall on it at the same time, the guy that did it left his tools under the hood (found them when I got home)
Tousley normally does a good job but I'm hesitant to take my car back, we have a local shop here in town and the head mechanic did a 4 wheel on my classic mini when I built it. I've checked around and alot of the shops wont do air ride cars. I spoke with the local guy this morning and he said "no problem, bring me anything. as long as the parts are good and I can get it on the rack I'll get it done for you, if you dont like the way it drive bring it back and I'll change it."
My question is the ride hieght, looking at the Ford manual it says for the alignment to be done in the "curb loaded position with the air ride switch off"
Do they mean vented position?
 
i dunno either, but the guy that does mine has always done it in the raised position.
 
Being lowered an inch 1/2 all the way around with air, I would also expect the inner front tires to wear faster than they should. If you take it and get it aligned, I would do it while the car is up and loaded and shut off the switch and then pull it up on the lift.

Yours is sensor lowered more than most on here so you must have drilled additional holes to get it that low because without drilling, I don't even think it comes down a full inch.

Next time your car vents on a level surface, look at the front wheels from behind the car and see if they seem to be bowing out on the bottoms.
 
If it made that much of a difference, wouldn't your alignment be outta whack, when the car lowers itself at 55mph. I have never had to have an alignment on my mark in the 6 years I have owned it, so I have no frame of reference here.
 
Everything I have read says to sensor lower then have the car aligned.

Any shop should be able to give you a before and after print out of the Alignment specs, and tell you were your car is "at".

I think the curb position is the vented position.

I would ask Eddie, he would know.
 
Do it with the switch off (protects fingers etc). This means that the car should be in the raised, traveling position. Copy your factory spec's from the shop manual and take with you. I have found that some shops have a different set of numbers than the factory. I would go with your local guy, as all Dealer techs are not always that hot on alignments (yes, I've learned the hard way).
 
philly0420 said:
If it made that much of a difference, wouldn't your alignment be outta whack, when the car lowers itself at 55mph. I have never had to have an alignment on my mark in the 6 years I have owned it, so I have no frame of reference here.
Click to expand...

Ours doesn't because we're probably normally sensor lowered. Mine is anyway and that's not even an inch and then hitting 55, it don't drop down a whole lot but he's already an inch 1/2 lowered and then dropping down again at 55. That's going to be making the bottom of his tires angle out on the bottom.
 
Checked the specs and it states "Curb height w/half tank of fuel"... guessing they dont hold true to the half a tank of fuel.
found the answer on Eddies site.
The biggest difference between the '93-'98 Mark VIII air suspension system is that it has 2 different heights....and the correct height depends on the speed at which the vehicle is traveling.

When the ignition is first turned on or after the vehicle drops below approx. 40 mph, it will raise itself to "city height"....which is good for clearing potholes, manhole covers & such that is frequently encountered at lower speeds.

For '93 and early '94 Mk 8's, the vehicle automatically lowers to "curb height"....which is almost an inch at hwy. speeds(approx. 60-65 mph). For Mk 8's mid year '94 through '98, the vehicle lowers approx. half an inch at hwy. speeds.

When the vehicle is parked, ignition off and door(s) are opened then closed, the vehicle will vent once again to "curb height".
 
It may seem like a silly question but 245/45/18's arent the cheapest tire in the world to burn through. I may have to raise it back up some if its out of range, I wouldnt think so... I've seen them much lower.
 
Makes sense.

I would get the print out, then you will know the specs and what was changed.
They should be able to get it in spec lowered.
 
I want curb height on the freeway!...can a 93 air ride module work on a second gen or other years if someone else should ask?
 
I know it does not answer your question, but its interesting reading.

Some of the more important features of the Mark VIII suspension.

The computer, using sensors located throughout the car, automatically adds or removes air from the airbags to level out the car front-to-back and side-to-side. This feature keeps the car level regardless of how much weight is in the trunk and how many passengers are inside. The side-by-side feature is disabled when body roll is detected.
One of the most publicized features of the Mark VIII is the lowering ability of the suspension. When highway speeds are reached, the computer vents the suspension to drop the car about 8/10ths of an inch. If the computer senses that the car has maintained 55-64 mph for 30 to 45 seconds, it will begin to vent the suspension. If 65 mph is reached, the computer will vent the suspension without waiting the 30-45 seconds. By dropping the suspension, drag is lowered (cd drops to .32), wind noise is reduced, and the car becomes more stable.
The Mark uses a independent rear suspension (IRS) setup. This aids in cornering and improves ride comfort and control. The rear suspension is mounted on its own subframe, which is in turn isolated from the rest of the body by rubber mounts.
The rear shocks are electronically controlled to help prevent dive during heavy breaking.
Saving weight in the suspension was a priority. The differential pumpkin and lower arms are made of aluminum, and the front and rear sway bars are hollow.
 
For the best handling at high speeds, the front & rear alignment should be done AFTER the car has lowered(vented) to curb(hwy.) height. This will assure that the alignment is at the best setting and you have your best possible handling at hwy. speeds. An exception would be in the case of someone that rarely ever gets on the highway and/or does mostly city driving. This is an example of what I called a "zero-tolerance" alignment....which means everything is set to nominal.....DEPENDING ON THE CUSTOMERS DRVING HABITS. (never goes fast,etc.) In this case, the camber could be set closer to 0 on the camber, which most likely would help tire wear.

"In my opinion", the reason they changed from lowering almost an inch to almost half an inch in mid '94, is because I think it affected the alignment too much. In a perfect world where the alignment would be "nominal"(perfect), lowering almost an inch would probably be fine.....but in the real world where the majority of the cars are "in specs", but maybe on the outside edges of it, but by the time you add the change when lowered(more negative camber)...your riding around "out of specs".
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

No members online now.
Total: 515 (members: 0, guests: 515)
Back
Top