They serve two functions. Providing a means to adjust castor, which you described, and the other more basic function, preventing the lower control arms from folding backwards as you drive down the road.

Best street alignment. +3 caster, 0 camber, 1/8 toe, 1" Shelby drop.

another good one Jeff, thanks for sharing your knowledge....

Thanks for the info. I'm going to be working on a mustang. You got the 👍

Great info!

Thank you so much for describing the ‘feel’ of what it’s like to drive with broken or cracked strut rod bushings! I’m a new 65 Mustang owner. Never owned a classic car in my life, so the learning curve is huge right now! I’ve noticed that the car is not only full of squeaks when driving, but the front end feels very vague, like it’s ‘floating’ on ice. Sure enough, my strut rod bushings are beyond cracked and broken, so I’m hoping that replacing them will get her feeling better and give at least a little bit better feeling of the road. Appreciate all of your videos - I’ve learned SO MUCH! Thanks again!

Thank you for video

Just installed Global West upper and lower control arms, along with strut rods. Also running the roller spring perches and QA1 hydraulic shocks. Should be quite the improvement over stock.

in Australia we always called them strut bars or radius rods

Great info. I could not find rubber strut rod bushings for my 68 Continental.I installed poly.I did research.I was told to flip cupped washers backward. So far so good. Now I'm freaked out about my strut rods breaking.I think I will look for some rubber bushings.

Energy Suspension makes a bushing using "HYPERFLEX" performance polyurethane with a durometer rating that is compatible with strut rod design requirements. Their bushings have a different durometer rating for each application. Just sayin.

i keep watching this, cause im trying to consider going with a CPP mini subframe kit but no one seems to have made a video on it. i wondering if this bar is actually vital if CPP subframe kit is installed.

I have a deep seated dislike nearing on hatred for strut rod suspensions. Which is why I will almost always get rid of them and go with a full lower control arm suspension. I am just not a fan of how they *work*.

this video didn't mention adjustable strut rods...unless Ford is adjustable. is adjustable strut rods a good way to add some positive castor? my car has a raked stance and i am out of adjustability on the upper control arms (mopar a-body). I am going to install qa1 strut rods and i'm not sure how much adjustability i should count on with these. (i think even 1 extra degree would make me happy)

Great episode. Restoring our '70 Mustang now and will be increasing the HP by quite a bit not to mention upgrading the suspension, brakes, wheels, etc. Would you recommend going to urethane, replacing the OEM rubber bushings or doing something different for improved ride/handling? Thanks in advance!

GM called them Brake Reaction Rod.

Who sells castor oil? Thanks for the video Jeff.....was ready to replace my bamboo rods, but the video sadly ended.....still,.....keep em coming!

My 1971 Marquis has a bad rattle in the front end. Could it be strut rod bushing?

Please do a review on open tracker racing products. They're the guys using bearings instead of bushings.

All said n done i would go rrs mcpherson conversion with bigger brakes and power rack n pinion will improve ye old falcon, mustang about 100% on stock set up.. thats if u can afford it.. 😂😂

Had my 66 rustang on I95 in CT (back in th day late 98) snap off the whole strut rod mount and bend the AArm back. Used self tapping screws and a crowbar (on the highway) to get it back and home no doubt replaced the full Monty but building the new car definitely going with new mustang2 suspension. Will restomod be doing a weld in suspension soon?

mustangs must have wimpy strut rods. i put poly bushings on my 63 Tbird and there's no freaking way that stock strut rod is going to fail before that poly bushing. They greatly improved braking stability. Shit was scary during hard braking with the stock rubber bushings.

Jeff, do you have a link to the RRS strut rod you mentioned?

I've fitted new stock style adjustable rods with Global West heavy duty rubber bushes on my 63 Falcon Sprint. Trouble is that the front nut keeps coming undone. No lock nuts were provided. Any suggestions how to stop this happening?

Some good info here, but how do you talk about front suspension and not mention "Opentracker Racing Products" and/or "Street or Track"? 😧

I don't know that it can be said enough, poly strut rod bushings can be problematic or even dangerous.

I'm surprised you don't know that the main reason for the change in caster from the classic car period.to now is the physics of nylon tires vs modern radials. Look into it.

Logan isn’t gonna finish the car. You should and just drive it yourself or let me. I got room in the garage for another.

Shopping cart casters have ZERO caster (don't ask me why they are called casters). I don't know how many times I have seen "experts" talk about the caster in shopping cart "casters". The rotational ("steering") axis of the shopping cart caster is perpendicular to the ground. That is the definition of zero caster. What shopping cart casters have is trail. If you extend the "steering" axis straight down to the ground on a shopping cart, the contact point of caster wheel with the ground is behind that extended steering axis point relative to the direction of travel - it "trails" the steering axis. When you shim the front of the upper arm to move the upper ball joint back (or pull the lower ball joint forward on cars with adjustable length strut rods like my 63 Falcon) you are adding caster and trail. The added trail is what makes your car want to travel in a straight line. The added caster mostly makes itself known when you turn the wheels. The added caster adds camber when you turn the wheels (negative camber to the outside wheel, positive camber to the inside wheel).