Hello peeps, i found out that when you have lowering suspension on the mk6 escorts (which i have) the wishbones mess up constantly.

I like my car alot and what to know if this problem can get sorted otherwise i got to get rid of the car.

Does anyone know how this problem can be rectified or have i invested in a worthless cause?!?!

 

When you say Mess up:
The bushes fail?
The ball joints fail?
The welds fail?

What exactly messes up?

.

 

you need the ones ford did for the royal mail vans Ł170 from ford when i had my rs2000.
or go for rose jointed ones, but they are a little harsh for road use if like me you prefer handling to comfort this wont be a problem.

 

genuine Ford ones will last longer than pattern ones BUT they will cost you more!

 

get some polybushes !

 

As above, if you are using cheap Ł16 pattern ones, then that's the reason!

 

they mess up as in they just f*ck up and break, they knock the tracking out and the stearing wheel just decideds on it's own if it wants to sit right then goes left etc.

i used OE wishbones recently and they last a month or two longer but in total last upto 3months.

i herd from burton power no matter what i chose as my next test it will not matter as they all f*ck up as the wishbones are a design flaw with the mk6's.

it's hard to know what to do cos i have asked a few motorsport companies and they all say the same as you lot but also say they last 6monts max.

should i try royal mail van wishbones next then if that fials go for polybush next? I also heard that if you place the wishbones in don't bolt them up yet, jack the wheels up like it is sitting flat on the road then bolt them up, the they won't be set in a 'as high tension position'?

 

they are a shit design on them mk5-6
exactly how far have you lowered it?? if its so low the whole car is scraping the floor,
then thats probably half the problem!

 

I have the same trouble on my mk5, bought it already lowered 60mm and it drives all over the fooking place. Thinking about raising it up to about -30 then putting the Ford wishbones on and poly bushing it as well, shame as I love the look of it slammed on the floor
Oh yeah and the wheel camber is shocking as well

 

-60mm is a bit extreme!

I lowered my mk5 by this much, and put it back up by 30mm after a week as it was just too low.

I have found poly bushes to be no better, and way more expensive!

Raise the car and fit royal mail van arms and you should be ok.

I have a set on my track car and have not had any issue's.

 

had the same trouble with my missus Ł20 per side wishbones fucked a new pair of tyres in 600 miles. ended up having to fit Ł80 per side genuine ford ones. cured the problem

 

its not a good idea to fit polybushes into standard arms on the escort.
they just dont last. usualy rip out within a week or show.
i had polybushes fitted in mine and many others have tried and all have failed.

genuine ford arms or royalmail van arms are the only solution

 

also you have to fit the arms properly, the lower arms bolts should be tightend with the wheels on the ground so that the bush sits flat in the subframe, or raise the wish bone slightly with a jack so the bushes sit flat
if you do it with the wheels raised, once you lower the car on the ground the bush moves and leaves the wishbones loose to knock about and would sound like they are fucked

 

The powerflex pollys are great. Done loads of miles when I had them

 

How low have you gone? We lowered my brothers better half ST170 powered GTi 35mm on new OEM wishbones and have never had a problem.

 

when i bought the car off the last owner i think he said the whole car was 30 or it was the front that was 30 and rear was a bit lower but i was to interested in just getting in the car and enjoying my new ride lol.

but from what i have heard, post van wishbones are my best bet at the moment is to try them and set the wishbones up as if the car was sitting on the ground?

 

Everybody says to get royalmail van wishbones but noone is giving the correct FINIS or part number.
Or even the correct (again) FINIS of the smaller bushing.

 

Just ask for them @ Ford if you cant find the right FInis. I have them somewhere but they're listed on MicroCat under "special" or something like that in the wishbone list so not difficult to find

 

thats if ford still sell them otherwise just buy some poly bushed ones as mk6 escorts eat wishbones

 

Bought some about 4 months ago so should still be about. But its a gamble with Ford

 

when i had my mk6 escort it would kill the inside edge of the tyres, down to the cords in about a month...

in the end i drilled out the ball joint, cut the arm down, had some plates welded on and drilled so that the ball joint was about 20mm further in. (from the pics it looks like there was another hole that i used and redrilled the outermost hole)
They were also polybushed and seemed to sort it out.

 

I might have a look at doing this with my lower arms

 

Fudgy, was your Escort (very) lowered? Or did you just tend to corner at high speeds? Can't imagine why else your tyres would only last a month

 

-40Mmm iirc. the problem when you lower an Escort is the massive negative camber it creates.

it was literally the innermost inch or so that would wear through to the canvas on 205/17 tyres.

 

Both mk6 I had were 60mm lowered and they used to be pretty decent with the lower arms to be fair around 18 months to 2 years with standard bushes, considering everyone else's moaning about a few months, i did similar to fudgey to sort my camber