Ford Mustang (1999-2004) Service Manual: Component Tests

Ball Joint Inspection

1. Raise and support the vehicle.

2. Prior to performing any inspection of the ball joints, inspect the wheel bearings.

3. Position a safety stand beneath the front suspension lower arm (3079) to be tested.

Ball Joint Inspection

4. While an assistant pulls and pushes the bottom of the tire, observe the relative movement between the lower spindle arm and the front suspension lower arm ball joint. Any movement at or exceeding the specification indicates a worn or damaged lower ball joint. Install a new front suspension lower arm.

Wheel Bearing Inspection

1. Raise the vehicle until the tire is off the floor.

2. NOTE: Make sure the wheel rotates freely and the brake pads are retracted sufficiently to allow movement of the tire and wheel assembly.

Grasp each tire at the top and bottom and move the wheel inward and outward while lifting the weight of the tire off the wheel bearing.

3. If the tire and wheel (hub) is loose on the wheel spindle or does not rotate freely, install a new front wheel hub (1104) as necessary.

    Symptom Chart
    Condition Possible Sources Action Dogtracking Excessive rear thrust angle. Front or rear suspension components. Drive axle damaged. ...

    Camber and Caster Adjustment - Front
    All vehicles 1. Remove the rivet. Loosen the nuts and bolt. Vehicles requiring camber adjustment 2. Move the front suspension camber adjusting plate (3B391) to the required camber setting. Vehicl ...

    Other materials:

    Engine - 3.8L
    General Specifications a - 20-200 seconds to leakdown 3.18 mm (0.125 in) with 225 Newtons (50 pounds) load and tappet filled with leak-down fluid. Torque Specifications a - Refer to the procedure in this section b - Advance one-half turn aft ...

    Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) (Description and Operation)
    Noise is any undesirable sound, usually unpleasant in nature. Vibration is any motion, shaking or trembling, that can be felt or seen when an object moves back and forth or up and down. Harshness is a ride quality issue where the vehicle's response to the ro ...

    Fluid Pan, Gasket and Filter
    Material Item Specification MERCON V Automatic Transmission Fluid XT-5-QM, XT-5-DM MERCON V 1. Normal maintenance requires periodic automatic transmission fluid changes. If a major repair, such as a clutch, band, bearing, etc., is requir ...