1999 Cobra
PAUL'S HIGH PERFORMANCE IRS BRACE UPGRADE.

The 99 Cobra came for the first time with an independent rear suspension from Ford, verses a live rear axle. The stock IRS system has insufficient support during hard launches and acceleration, causing rear wheel hop and possible half shaft sheering. The PHP brace and  polyurethane bushings, replaces the stock cross member brace and rubber bushings, thus eliminating wheel hop and other damage.

This documentation has been compiled and streamlined from several acquired sets of instructions to best suite my needs. These instructions are provided as a reference only, and I will not be held liable for any damage done to your car if you so choose to utilize this documentation.

PARTS USED

(1 Kit)
Paul's High Performance
IRS Pinion Brace and bushings.

TOOLS USED

TOOL

USED FOR

SIZE

TORQUE

Large floor jack

Lift car

2 1/2  ton minimum

N/A

Small bottle jack

Support front nose of rear differential.

2 ton minimum

N/A

Jack stands

Support car

2 1/2  ton minimum

N/A

Ratchet/Socket

(2 ea),
IRS bushings

18mm

52 ft.-lbs.

Ratchet/Socket/Impact Wrench

(2 ea),
IRS brace

24 mm

184 ft.-lbs.

REMOVAL STEPS

Read all instructions carefully before attempting installation.

1. Place vehicle in a location where the floor is solid and flat, with adequate lighting. Set the emergency brake. Raise the front of the vehicle to obtain adequate access to the rear of the car.

CAUTION:
Do not rely on the jack alone, use large-base jack stands to support the vehicle.
Block all tires to prevent the vehicle from rolling while jacking.

2. Place small bottle jack under front nose of the rear differential. Just enough pressure to make contact so it doesn't fall when bushing bolts are removed.

3. Remove the two bolts from the two stock rubber bushings and remove the four bushing halves.

NOTE:
You may have to apply slight downward pressure to the differential housing to slide the top bushing halves out.

4. Remove the two nuts on the stock IRS brace, and remove the brace.

NOTE:
Do not remove the bolts or unscrew the bolts any further than what is required to remove the nuts and brace. These bolts are also used to support the front of the lower control arms and you don't want to mess with them.
NOTE:
You may need a good size breaker bar to crack these two bolts free as they are normally torqued to 184 ft.-lbs. I used an impact wrench and breaker bar successfully.

INSTALLATION STEPS

1. Install the new PHP polyurethane bushings and washers but do not tighten at this time.
NOTE:
You may need to apply a small amount of lubricant to the bushings to seat properly in the holes.

2. Install the new PHP IRS brace and thread the two large nuts on hand tight.

3. Tighten the IRS bushings to the proper torque value.

4. Tighten the IRS brace bolts to the proper torque value.

NOTE:
It is very important to tighten these two large bolts properly because they support the front of the lower control arms also.

Front passenger side shot of the stock IRS cross member brace (Ford refers to this as the "pinion nose cross member")

Front direct shot of the stock IRS cross member brace. It bolts only to the two front lower control arm points. here you can see the stock rubber bushing halves.

Stock IRS cross member brace with rubber bushings. Notice there are only two mounting points.

Paul's High Performance IRS pinion support brace with polyurethane bushings.
Here you can see the four mounting points, verses the stock two mounting points.

This is the 2000 Cobra R brace which also incorporates four mounting points. It doesn't have quite the sturdy structure as Paul's, but I'm sure it works.

Front passenger side shot of the PHP pinion support brace.

Front direct shot of the PHP pinion support brace. It bolts to the two front lower control arm points and the upper bushing points. Here you can see the new PHP polyurethane bushing halves.