Right then, as advised i've started my own thread.
PLEASE NOTE, THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE IN LOWERING MY 2004 TRANSIT CONNECT.Firstly i did the axle flip method on the rear and just had new plates welded to the bottom of the axle using the same method as
HERE in van mann's threadI have standard leaf spring hangers and the leaf spring has the assister spring fitted IT IS NOT A SINGLE SPRING SET UP ON
MY VAN.
The rear of
my van now sits 4" lower than standard- it used to be 30" from floor to the arch, it is now 26" - The axle DOES NOT foul on the exhaust or the fuel filler pipe and the bump stops would prevent this from happenning anyhow
Here is
my van as it sits at the rear....
The FRONT is a different matter,
SO PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.I read a few posts about lowering the front using the Focus RS front springs as this would lower the front by 40mm so i decided to buy a set off ebay.
I was going to follow the same procedure as shown
HERE in van mann's thread BUT to cut a long story short it turned out that i actually purchased a set of
MK2 Focus RS springs instead of a set of
Mk1 Focus RS springs as suggested in the threads i read previously.....
So, i decided to fit the
MK2 springs anyhow to see what was needed to fit them to the Transit Connect front strut, it turns out that ALL FOCUS MK2 FRONT SPRINGS
INCLUDING THE MK2 RS SPRINGS will fit directly on to the Transit Connect front strut WITHOUT any modification at all, there is no need for any different top mount or top cup spring (IF YOU WERE TO FIT FOCUS
MK1 SPRINGS TO THE CONNECT THEN YOU WOULD NEED THE FOCUS
MK1 TOP SPRING CUP).
The only problem i found is that the FOCUS
MK2 RS front spring only lowered
MY van by a total of 15mm, originally the front height was 687mm from floor to wheel arch, with the MK2 RS front spring fitted the height is now 672mm - this is disappointing as i was expecting at least -40mm which you get from the
MK1 RS front spring.
So, the next thing on my list to do is to buy a set of FOCUS
MK2 lowering front springs -45mm will do.
(NOT RS LOWERING SPRINGS - JUST NORMAL LOWERING SPRINGS)
SO YOU HAVE AT LEAST 3 OPTIONS WHEN LOWERING THE FRONT OF YOUR CONNECT :
1) USE THE METHOD AS SUGGESTED IN VAN MANN's THREAD (
CLICK HERE) - GET SOME
FOCUS MK1 RS FRONT SPRINGS AND THE TOP SPRING CUP - this will lower your van by approx -40mm- PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE METHOD TO USE.
2)USE THE METHOD SUGGESTED IN VALTECH's THREAD (
CLICK HERE 1st POST ) - GET SOME
STANDARD MK1 FOCUS LOWERING SPRINGS ASWELL AS THE TOP SPRING CUP - you can lower your can then by however much you want - PERFECTLY ACCEPTABLE METHOD TO USE.
3) USE MY METHOD WHICH IS TO JUST BUY SOME
STANDARD FOCUS MK2 LOWERING SPRINGS TO LOWER THE VAN BY HOWEVER MUCH YOU WANT -
NO NEED TO GET ANY DIFFERENT TOP SPRING CUPS AS THE TRANSIT CONNECT ONES FIT THE FOCUS MK2 SPRINGS EXACTLY.I WILL BE TRYING SOME -45mm LOWERING SPRINGS.
It's up to you, i'm just listing the options for lowering the FRONT.
Hope this clears up any confusion - IF NOT THEN I GIVE UP.......