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:

    Assembly
    All steering gears 1. Install the steering gear in the special tools. Steering gears equipped with travel restrictors 2. Install the travel restrictors. Install new travel restrictors as necessary. All steering gears 3. CAUTION: Place the steering gear at t ...

    Engine
    WARNING: Do not operate the engine with the hood open until the fan blade has been first examined for possible cracks and separation. The 4.6L (4V) (281 CID) is a V-8 engine with the following features: dual overhead camshafts four valves per cylinder s ...

    Plenum Chamber
    Removal 1. Remove the instrument panel. For additional information, refer to Section. 2. Remove the audio unit. For additional information, refer to Section. 3. If equipped, remove the CD player. For additional information, refer to Section. 4. Remove the ...