Well everyone, I'm sorry this took so long but I forgot to get all the pictures and additional notes in this forum. I know many here read both but for those that don't or prefer this one, here you go. No disrespect intended...
I completed assembling the struts and have been thoroughly enjoying the HUGE upgrade in ride quality and handling provided by these shocks. In general, I'd say that this project is worth the money provided that you do all the work right the first time around to avoid running into problems. I have been fortunate enough so far to have none.
Here are some pictures with accompanying comments.
The mocked-up assembly next to the factory shock bottom. These are aligned to show the similarities in dimensions. Considering all of the other common parts shared between the MN-12 and FN-10 platforms, I'm not surprised that these Koni cartridges intended for use in the FN10 shocks fit perfectly into the FN10 air strut assembly. Once you remove the top nut from the shock absorber shaft, you can disassemble the entire assembly; you will likely have to use quite a bit of muscle to remove the air spring from the shock bottom, especially if you're working with older struts. I clamped one of the "ears" on the shock bottom in a vice and pulled on the plastic portion of the air spring until the pieces separated.
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A major part of this project was making sure everything that was going to be sealed inside the assembly was immaculate before final assembly. I recommend Simple Green and Scott paper towels for any heavy-duty cleaning job - even showering! The most important surfaces to clean are the inside of the shock bottom shown in this picture and the rubber seals on the air spring shown in the next picture. Since these surfaces rely on friction alone to maintain the air-tight seal, it is important to clean any contaminants that can damage the rubber upon reinsertion.
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The bottoms of a clean and dirty air spring. As I mentioned in the above comment, cleaning this surface is very important to ensure a secure and airtight seal between the shock bottom and air spring.
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Be sure to use dielectric grease or some other seal lubricant on the rubber seals to ensure they slide into the shock bottom without causing damage and are not damaged after installation by excessive heat, moisture, chemical exposure etc.
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Permatex makes a lot of great products, and here are three of the four I used for this project. The high-temperature thread sealant was used in the threads at the bottom of the Koni shock cartridge; the cartridge screws into the bolt you must weld into the drilled hole in the shock bottom. This sealant is made especially for applications where high pressure and vibration are prominent - I can't think of a better place to use it. The gray RTV was used on the bottom of the Koni cartridge to seal it against the inside of the shock bottom near the weld to protect against leakage if the weld is porous and corrosion inside the assembly. The black RTV was used around the rubber seal where it meets the Koni cartridge at the top of the shock bottom. This also provides some extra insurance against leakage if the weld is or becomes porous.
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This picture shows the threaded opening in the bottom of the Koni cartridge. The white substance inside the threads is the above mentioned thread sealant; the gray substance is the above mentioned gray RTV.
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This picture shows the black RTV being applied to the rubber collar around the top of the shock bottom. I applied the RTV liberally to the inside and outside of the collar to ensure no pressurized air could leak past this point. The collar is pulled back in this image to illustrate where RTV should be applied.
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This image illustrates what the assembled cartridge should look like after application of black RTV to the rubber collar around the top of the shock bottom.
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Here we have one of the two original large washers from the top of the factory air strut assembly. You will only need to use the one pictured here, and using another bead of black RTV around the outer ring where it meets the rubber seal on the top of the air spring is more insurance against leaks.
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The finished assemblies. Notice the stock appearance save for the yellow shafts with adjustment knob atop the airbag assembly. To secure everything together, I used one of the two large washers from the factory air strut coupled with the Koni-supplied lock washer and nut. You may wish to use additional hardware or another type of lock washer, but this has been sufficient thus far.
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The results of this project have been overwhelmingly positive. As I mentioned above, the ride quality and handling of my '97 LSC have improved immensely. These shocks eliminate the tendency of the car's front end to bounce over long gradual dips and bumps at highway speed. Although I am using these at their firmest settings, I do not feel as though they are harsh by any means - the car does NOT feel like a Mustang with racing suspension; rather, I believe strongly that the car rides and handles as it should have from the factory. My Mark is equipped with Cobra Bilstein shocks and an Addco 1-1/8 bar out back, and there is almost no evidence of body roll around most turns under 50MPH. When there is body roll, it is by far less severe than with the factory shocks and is much better controlled.
Anyone who has some mechanical competence and has access to a welder (or someone who owns one and is proficient with it) can complete this project. I chose to purchase an additional set of struts to use for this project rather than pulling the ones on my car, which are original with 94000 miles on them and needless to say have seen better days. This set came from Jamie and his business partner Peter who were kind and gracious enough to remove them from an eBay auction for my purchase (thanks again guys!).
Be aware that this project can become expensive very VERY quickly, especially if you plan to use a newer set of struts for the assemblies. Here is what I paid for everything:
RTV & Thread Sealer - $14
Modified shock bottoms from Jeremi - $50
Koni shock cartridges from Tirerack.com - $314
Two MINT front air struts from Jamie and Peter in FL - $324
'97 Mark VIII with air ride and adjustable shocks - Priceless
Total: $705.00
Bear in mind that anyone could easily acquire a brand new set of Motorcraft assemblies for about this price. Despite this, I feel as though the price is well worth the result since I came out of the project with nearly new air bags, new shock cartridges, and (so far) OEM or better reliability. Hope you call enjoy - please feel free to ask for additional pictures and information. I can do a formal tech article at some point if enough people show interest.
Much thanks to Jeremi for supplying me with pictures and information about the project when he completed it a few years back. He also cut and drilled an extra set of shock bottoms, which saved me a great deal of time; so much, in fact, that I drove to Michigan to get them Thanks also to Bill who delivered them with some other parts when Eric (95BLKLSC) and I came out to pick up PULLIED v1. Thanks to Jamie and Pete for the opportunity to purchase the air struts shown above - definitely a great deal and awesome guys to do business with. Thanks all!
-Domenic
