neema
forum member
2011 Mustang Coilover/suspension install guide (ST Coilovers)
In case anyone needs another perspective on how to install suspension, I hope this can help. This particular install was for ST Coilovers, but should work for pretty much all spring+shock/strut combos as well as other coilover brands that reuse the stock strut mount. It's really not that difficult if you have basic car-oriented tools.
Here's how the box came:
First things first. run to the store and buy a 21mm and 22mm deep offset wrench for the nut on the strut mount. If you have coilovers that come with their own strut mount attached, then you don’t need this. Also, go rent/buy some spring compressors. If you need to reuse your stock strut mount (which the ST’s do), these tools will make life easier. They’re needed so you’re able to undo the nut while holding the shaft in place. You’ll also need large a large torx bit (T-30 I believe… I may be wrong) to remove the rear bump stop. It’s also a good idea to grab some 2x4 wood blocks and drive your car up on them so when you lower your car down after the suspension is installed, your floor jack won’t get stuck under the car (doh).
Here's what came for the rear:
Starting with the rear, lift up the car and place jack stands under the pinch seams. Remove the rear wheels and place a floor jack just under the rear differential. Lift the rear axle with the floor jack just enough so you can remove the bottom bolt from the shock. You should be able to pull out the rear springs at this point. Go inside your trunk and undo the top of the rear shock and have a friend grab the shock as it comes out. Get some big pliers and muscle out the bump stop. Use the torx bit to pull off the bump stop mount and then squeeze enough of the new ST bump stop through so you can pinch it with your pliers and pull it back through. It’ll fit, just be persistent. Install the new bump stops back in place. Remove the rubber isolator where the bottom of the springs contact the axle and pull out the little plastic plug from the axle. Before you mount any new hardware, set both rear spring perches to the same height. A good baseline is in the middle of the threaded adjustment range. Mount the top of shocks and use your floor jack to bring the axle up. Slide in the springs and spring perches and use the floor jack again to bring the axle where it needs to be in order to line up the bottom eye of the shocks and bolt them on.
Voila:
notice the preload adjuster sitting in between the spring and the axle
side angle shot (ST sway bars installed as well)
In the front, I drove the car on two 2x4’s (each side) so the floor jack would have clearance when pulling it out. I lifted the car from the k-member with a transverse mounted 2x4 on the floor jack and put jackstands under the pinch seams behind both front wheels. Some are averse to the idea of jacking from the k-member, but I’ve seen no contorting of bending in the metal and this seems to be a quick way to get both sides up off the ground. It’s also good to have both sides of the front end lifted up at the same time so the swaybar is sitting in a neutral position. This will make reattaching the endlinks a piece of cake rather than mission impossible. Remove the wheels and unscrew the brake line (10mm) and pop out the wheel speed sensor clip from the strut (use a set of pliers for this). Using an 18mm deep socket for the nut and a 17mm wrench to hold the bolt in place, undo the swaybar endlink. Undo the two 18mm bolts on the bottom of the strut. Grab a small bucket, cardboard box, or anything you can find to hold the a-arm and hub/brake assembly in place. Don’t let the hub and brake droop and hang by the brake line! The last thing you want is a brake leak to develop. Use a 13mm socket and remove the four nuts holding the strut in place on the strut tower. Carefully remove the strut assembly and get your spring compressors and compress the spring. With the spring compressed, use your awesome offset wrench and a standard wrench or socket to hold the stud in the middle in place. Remove the strut mount and transfer it onto the new strut. The ST coilovers come with awesome little adapters that let you use the 2011 strut mount (which is great, since you don’t have to spend more money on buying 05-10 strut mounts). Set the coilovers to the same height on both sides so you have an even baseline. Slide your new strut back in place and mount it to the strut tower (mount the top of the coilover first). Take the hub and bolt everything back together on the bottom end of the strut. Pop the wheel-speed sensor back in, screw the brake line mount on and throw your wheel back on.
Some pics of the front:
Front strut assembly
spacers to use the coilovers with the 2011 strut mount
how the spacers are installed on the coilover
front strut installed
awesome slotted top bolt (allowed as much as 2.7º of camber!)
Rinse and repeat for the strut on the other side and lower the car down. Drive the car around the block to check for any clunking. Measure the height from center of the wheel to the top most point of the fender on all four corners. For the front end, I don’t recommend going less than 14-14.25” with the stock Brembo wheel. I had mine at 13.5, which is really low and looks good, but the extra .5-.75” of travel will make the car that much more manageable on the street. The rear end is set to 14.5” on my car and rides pretty well. So well that it seems these ST coilovers were made to be hammered. To adjust the height, adjust the spring collars by taking some of the load off of whatever corner you’re working on. For the rear end, the instructions say to completely remove the spring, but I think you can get away with some adjustments without popping the spring out.
here's a picture of the finished result. sadly these are coming off this weekend, but it's okay since it's for something better
I’m no pro, but if anyone has questions or anything to add, I'll answer what I can
In case anyone needs another perspective on how to install suspension, I hope this can help. This particular install was for ST Coilovers, but should work for pretty much all spring+shock/strut combos as well as other coilover brands that reuse the stock strut mount. It's really not that difficult if you have basic car-oriented tools.
Here's how the box came:
First things first. run to the store and buy a 21mm and 22mm deep offset wrench for the nut on the strut mount. If you have coilovers that come with their own strut mount attached, then you don’t need this. Also, go rent/buy some spring compressors. If you need to reuse your stock strut mount (which the ST’s do), these tools will make life easier. They’re needed so you’re able to undo the nut while holding the shaft in place. You’ll also need large a large torx bit (T-30 I believe… I may be wrong) to remove the rear bump stop. It’s also a good idea to grab some 2x4 wood blocks and drive your car up on them so when you lower your car down after the suspension is installed, your floor jack won’t get stuck under the car (doh).
Here's what came for the rear:
Starting with the rear, lift up the car and place jack stands under the pinch seams. Remove the rear wheels and place a floor jack just under the rear differential. Lift the rear axle with the floor jack just enough so you can remove the bottom bolt from the shock. You should be able to pull out the rear springs at this point. Go inside your trunk and undo the top of the rear shock and have a friend grab the shock as it comes out. Get some big pliers and muscle out the bump stop. Use the torx bit to pull off the bump stop mount and then squeeze enough of the new ST bump stop through so you can pinch it with your pliers and pull it back through. It’ll fit, just be persistent. Install the new bump stops back in place. Remove the rubber isolator where the bottom of the springs contact the axle and pull out the little plastic plug from the axle. Before you mount any new hardware, set both rear spring perches to the same height. A good baseline is in the middle of the threaded adjustment range. Mount the top of shocks and use your floor jack to bring the axle up. Slide in the springs and spring perches and use the floor jack again to bring the axle where it needs to be in order to line up the bottom eye of the shocks and bolt them on.
Voila:
notice the preload adjuster sitting in between the spring and the axle
side angle shot (ST sway bars installed as well)
In the front, I drove the car on two 2x4’s (each side) so the floor jack would have clearance when pulling it out. I lifted the car from the k-member with a transverse mounted 2x4 on the floor jack and put jackstands under the pinch seams behind both front wheels. Some are averse to the idea of jacking from the k-member, but I’ve seen no contorting of bending in the metal and this seems to be a quick way to get both sides up off the ground. It’s also good to have both sides of the front end lifted up at the same time so the swaybar is sitting in a neutral position. This will make reattaching the endlinks a piece of cake rather than mission impossible. Remove the wheels and unscrew the brake line (10mm) and pop out the wheel speed sensor clip from the strut (use a set of pliers for this). Using an 18mm deep socket for the nut and a 17mm wrench to hold the bolt in place, undo the swaybar endlink. Undo the two 18mm bolts on the bottom of the strut. Grab a small bucket, cardboard box, or anything you can find to hold the a-arm and hub/brake assembly in place. Don’t let the hub and brake droop and hang by the brake line! The last thing you want is a brake leak to develop. Use a 13mm socket and remove the four nuts holding the strut in place on the strut tower. Carefully remove the strut assembly and get your spring compressors and compress the spring. With the spring compressed, use your awesome offset wrench and a standard wrench or socket to hold the stud in the middle in place. Remove the strut mount and transfer it onto the new strut. The ST coilovers come with awesome little adapters that let you use the 2011 strut mount (which is great, since you don’t have to spend more money on buying 05-10 strut mounts). Set the coilovers to the same height on both sides so you have an even baseline. Slide your new strut back in place and mount it to the strut tower (mount the top of the coilover first). Take the hub and bolt everything back together on the bottom end of the strut. Pop the wheel-speed sensor back in, screw the brake line mount on and throw your wheel back on.
Some pics of the front:
Front strut assembly
spacers to use the coilovers with the 2011 strut mount
how the spacers are installed on the coilover
front strut installed
awesome slotted top bolt (allowed as much as 2.7º of camber!)
Rinse and repeat for the strut on the other side and lower the car down. Drive the car around the block to check for any clunking. Measure the height from center of the wheel to the top most point of the fender on all four corners. For the front end, I don’t recommend going less than 14-14.25” with the stock Brembo wheel. I had mine at 13.5, which is really low and looks good, but the extra .5-.75” of travel will make the car that much more manageable on the street. The rear end is set to 14.5” on my car and rides pretty well. So well that it seems these ST coilovers were made to be hammered. To adjust the height, adjust the spring collars by taking some of the load off of whatever corner you’re working on. For the rear end, the instructions say to completely remove the spring, but I think you can get away with some adjustments without popping the spring out.
here's a picture of the finished result. sadly these are coming off this weekend, but it's okay since it's for something better
I’m no pro, but if anyone has questions or anything to add, I'll answer what I can
Last edited:
