SVE Caster Camber Plates
If you’ve lowered or have considered lowering your Fox Mustang, then a set of SVE caster camber plates is an absolute must-have! These caster camber plates offer maximum adjustments to get your suspension geometry properly corrected when lowering your car. Right out of the gate, the most common question when purchasing caster camber plates for a Fox Mustang is, why are there offerings for 79-89 and 90-93 cars? The bolt spacing between the years was slightly different, requiring two separate caster camber plate offerings. That said, be sure you pick up the correct caster camber plate kit when ordering yours.
Required Tools
- Socket Set
- Socket Wrench
- Torque Wrench
- Jack and Jack Stands
Installation
- To begin the installation, support the car via a lift or jack stands and remove the wheel. We had already removed the strut from the car during the caster and camber plate installation. If you need to learn how to remove the strut, check out the full removal article!
- Start by placing the main plates on a workbench and determine which side is which. If you're still unsure, refer to the diagram and the instructions (comes with SVE Caster Camber Plate Kit).
Position a bearing plate underneath the side that you're working on.
Since we want maximum caster with our stock K-Member, the screw holes that will be occupied are the center hole and the hole that is closest to the front of the car. We're starting with the driver's side. The orientation for the bearing plate will be so that the larger radius side faces toward the front of the car.
- Place a washer over one of the socket head bolts and thread it into one of the holes. Do the same for the other bolts.
- Run these down with a 1/4" hex socket but leave them loose so that the bearing plate can still move. Do the same for the other main plate and bearing plate.
- Place the strut on a workbench and remove the dust boot. Install one thin spacer and one medium spacer, followed by the spherical bearing insert. Ensure the insert's flange side is positioned down towards the strut body.
- Take one of the stud plates and feed it through the openings in the strut tower from underneath.
- While holding the plate, install three main plate spacers over each stud.
- Install the main plate and install three washers over the studs followed by three nuts.
- Run these down by hand until they stop.
- Make sure the bearing plate can move freely. You'll want to slide the stud plate towards the fender until it stops. Use a 19-millimeter socket and run down the nuts to hold this in place. Center the slots on the main plate with the three studs. Snug down the (3) nuts with a 19-millimeter socket.
- Slide the bearing plate as far back as it will go towards the rear and snug down the (4) socket head bolts.
- Install the strut through the bearing plate and hold it in place with your hand. Position the other bearing insert over the strut shaft with the flange side up towards the top. Followed by either the large or medium spacers.
- These spacers will take up the remaining space on the strut shaft. Make sure the nut engages all the threads. If it doesn't, remove one of the spacers and then reinstall the nut.
- Run the nut down until it's snug. You want to take some play-doh and roll it into a ball smaller than a ping-pong ball. Place this on top of the strut shaft and gently push it down so that the play dough doesn't roll off.
- You want to lower the hood by hand carefully. Whatever you do, don't slam it. Whenever it makes contact with the latch, gently push it closed, reopen the hood, and inspect the play-doh. How much play-doh was squished will determine if spacers need to be removed or added.
We were on the money with the small and medium spacers. The reason that this is important is to ensure you are maximizing the travel of the strut shaft. You want the top of the strut shaft as close to the underside of the hood as possible. If there aren't enough spacers underneath the bearing plate, the strut shaft will contact the underside of the hood. Which is what you don't want. Keep in mind the small variances in oem hoods and aftermarket hoods.
- Whenever the strut shaft to hood clearance checks out, you can repeat these same steps for the other side.
- Reposition the spindle back into the strut and reinstall the hardware. The torque spec for this hardware is 148 lb-ft. Reposition the brake caliper over the rotor. If needed, clean the bolts and apply fresh brake parts grease. Reinstall those bolts and torque them to 50 lb-ft.
- Reinstall the wheels and run down the lug nuts. Get the car on the ground and you want to torque these lug nuts to the factory spec of 100 lb-ft.
- Now, to torque all of the caster/camber plate componets, you'll start with the nylock nuts. The nylock nuts have a torque spec of 65 lb-ft.
- For the socket head bolts, you want to torque in a crisscross pattern to 27 lb-ft.
- Because of the strut shaft retaining nuts, it isn't easy to torque these. You'll want to do your best and ensure they are near 74 lb-ft.
- At this time, you can take the car to the alignment shop and have them align the car to your preference or the factory specifications. After that you're good to go.