2003 Mustang Cobra convertible getting e-level setup!

[Melendez]

The stock suspension setup on the pony is nice for daily drivers with no modifications, however it will S550 Mustangs specifically can have bother obtaining off the road and launching because of thus some homeowners could notice themselves merely desirous to level the automobile rather than lowering it.
nuco

[Fastphil]

Have you tried to see if your presets still work? Those sensors are really finicky and don't tend to hold up that well to abuse hence why AccuAir redesigned them. Interested to see if you got it working again!

Hmm I drove it in to work this morning, but I didn't notice if the presets were set or if I had it adjusted manually (car was up when I got in it). I'll have to check it out when I get back home next weekend. Thanks for the heads-up though!

[Alex@BagRiders]

Have you tried to see if your presets still work? Those sensors are really finicky and don't tend to hold up that well to abuse hence why AccuAir redesigned them. Interested to see if you got it working again!

[ryanjblajda]

Seeing this laid out on air would complete me.

lol you obviously didnt read the rest of this thread.

[Fastphil]

Seeing this laid out on air would complete me.

Feel free to read the rest of the thread and then let us all know how you like it.

[Fastphil]

Today I disassembled the ride height sensor on the left rear corner. As shown previously, it was somehow damaged and became disconnected from the upper A-arm. So I removed it and took a stab at getting the arm straight. Here's what I started with:


Disassembled. If you look very closely on the top of the sensor's shaft, there's a small dot molded in to it. This dot must be aligned with the arm when you reassemble the sensor. The square shaft reduces the chance of getting it wrong, but I wouldn't want to do it over and over to get it right.


Took the first bend nearest the shaft out easily enough with a couple pairs of pliers. You can also see a convenient hole in the surface of my workbench that came in handy to remove the second bend.


The ball on the end of the arm is metal and pretty sturdy, but I was worried about snapping it off if I grabbed it wrong with the pliers while trying to straighten the arm. If that happened, I'd have been S.O.L. and would have had to buy and wait for a new sensor. As I mentioned, my workbench had a perfectly-sized hole in it that the ball fit into. I then whacked it a few times with a hammer until it was pretty much straight. I also removed a bit of a twist that was in the arm.



This is as good as it's gonna get.


I also lengthened the pushrod about 1/4 inch when I put it back on the car. I haven't driven it yet since I fixed it, but I don't see why it won't work properly. All this took maybe 40 minutes, including jacking the car and setting it on a jackstand, and removing and reinstalling the wheel. If this happens to you, don't spend $100 or more on a new sensor before trying this.

[Fastphil]

you, yes you sir... I like you, I like you and your amazingly supercalafrigiousexpialadocious mustang. thank you and your piece of art for my eyegasim

LOL thanks man, I'm glad you like it!

I really love this cobra. how's the handling?

Handling limits are still well beyond what I could ever use on public roads. The ass hangs out nicely on big smooth corners though!

only mustang ive ever liked

That's pretty high praise considering the millions of Mustangs that are out there, and I thank you for that!

[Dwob]

only mustang ive ever liked

[244Brick]

I really love this cobra. how's the handling?

[Belvader]

you, yes you sir... I like you, I like you and your amazingly supercalafrigiousexpialadocious mustang. thank you and your piece of art for my eyegasim

[Fastphil]

It's been a while since the last major update. Mainly because the Cobra has been working well, so there just hasn't been much to report on. I also bought a house over the winter, so now I have my own garage in which I can work on and park the car!



One issue I was having last summer was an error for the left rear ride height sensor on the eLevel system. I just didn't have time to check it out, but the air system was still working well. Just when one of the sensors bug, the preset heights don't work, but the height adjustability is still fully functional.

This weekend I finally brought my toolbox home from my friend's garage, so I was able to pull the left rear wheel off the car to check out the sensor problem. I don't know how it happened, but the sensor's swingarm got bent in two places, and the mounting tab on the upper upper A-arm was also bent. The pushrod had become disconnected from the upper A-arm, so the sensor wasn't reading the actual height of the left rear corner. Instead, the sensor was just flopping around and giving erroneous data to the ECU, so the ECU would adjust the air pressure randomly based on those false readings.


Right now I'm in the process of contacting Accuair about what I can do to fix this. They've suggested that I could just bend the swingarm straight again and I should be OK. It's a free fix, so I'll give that a shot next weekend when I get back home.


In other news, since I got the car back on the road this spring, I've been driving it lower than I did in the past. Strangely, I didn't bottom out nearly as much as I was expecting. I have noticed, though, that the rear shocks are on their last legs. The to-do list never ends...

[Fastphil]

Well, it seems someone beat me to putting bags on a Mustang but even better yet, on a termi. Love the looks man!

Thanks, glad you like it!

Edit: Just to specify, I'm not the first to bag a Mustang, I had inspiration of my own, but I was indeed the first to bag a Terminator, as far as I know.

[Solar]

Well, it seems someone beat me to putting bags on a Mustang but even better yet, on a termi. Love the looks man!

[BigRuss]

i absolutely ** this gen mustang (thanks for that goes to my wife for buying a car that doesnt fit me) but shit man im in love with the bastard child of my car list

Free taco.... tomorrow

[Fastphil]

I can only imagine how aggravating that is rolling too fast in traffic. Well the 3.73 gearing is probably the best for street/race anyways. So once you upgrade you'll fell a lot of that just from the gearing alone. I'm excited to see the updates Phil

-Gene

Thanks Gene, it's especially annoying because the clutch pedal in these Cobras is so damn heavy. I'm not a wuss, but everybody has a limit.