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need new springs and shocks

S

svtd00d

CEG'er
Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
157
Location
Gurnee, IL
so lemme tell you how much i hate chicago. lets pour tons of salt on the road, :censored::censored::censored::censored: it up real bad, and then never fill in the pot holes.

long story short, i have a broken frontL spring and a blown out RearL shock. yes the roads are that brutal.

anyway, this svt has about 150k on it with original suspension and this is the stick that broke the camels back. wheres a good place to buy all new springs and shocks?


'98 2.5L svt duratec 150k silver

(and how do you find out what number svt you have?) i know ive seen some people who write what number theirs is.
 
Your first step would be to take some time and read through the suspension threads. There are several options including stock height vs. lowered, struts vs. coil-overs, etc. You need to decide what look and ride you want, what your budget is, and what look you want.

Narrow that down and come back to the table...
 
svtd00d said:
(and how do you find out what number svt you have?) i know ive seen some people who write what number theirs is.
Click to expand...

Call 1-800-FORD-SVT, Have the last 6 of your VIN handy, A certificate is 40 bucks, mine came in like 6 days. When I bought my Lightning in 04 I got one for free, damned economy
 
well i want the most basic cheap suspension there is. since im beyond 150k the car only needs to get me from A to B.
 
I'll trade you my wifes 99 zetec for your SVT, its well under 150k miles and has good suspension. Runs great too, and you wont spend as much money on gas going from point A to point B.
 
haha, id love to take you up on that offer, but this car holds too much sentimental value at this point. if there weren't such a thing, id have torched the car long ago xD. but since ive been through so much with it, i just put up with it and keep repairing it.

it surprisingly does really good on gas still through all the abuse and the consistent CEL (which is think is just O2 sensors). i get about 300 miles to a tank which is pretty much in range of anywhere i travel to usually.
 
anyways, if you are just looking for stock stuff, I think the prices on thetirerack.com are probably about the best for OE replacement, and summitracing has pretty good prices for springs, but I havent shopped around on those. I just priced those out when I was trying to show my wife why buying a BAT handling kit wasnt that expensive.
 
and i know it may sound dumb. but what is the difference between a shock and a strut? and if a strut is a spring why not just call it that?

and a coilover is just a spring...attached to a shock.. right? so many names for the same thing
 
Shocks and struts perform the same basic function: they act as a damper for the up-and-down movement of the springs. The difference is that a strut is a structural component of the suspension while a shock is not.
 
The only reason im being kind of technical is because i need to figure out what to buy, and if i buy only a shock and not a strut, a spring and not a coil over, i want to prevent myself from wasting money/time. i just want to get it right.

if i were to go to a store what would i need to buy if im replacing my suspension?
 
The Contour uses struts. If you go to the store and give them the make/model/year they'll tell you what options you have, or you can look in the FAQ thread sticked at the top of this forum for all of that info.
 
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So you think going to autozone/advance auto to replace my struts is a safe bet? (more along the lines of price... im not looking for performance at all).

thanks for the tip LilCe98 :), i realized i probably should check my auto parts places around me before i start driving or shipping things places. when you lack a job, you find that you have to be so stingy just to get by! its terrible.

its $60 strut and $100 for a pair of springs. im not sure how good of a deal it is.
 
i changed out all of the struts and also the left front spring with autozone parts last year on my 96 GL. they all seem to be holding up fine so far. no problems.

i also just put lowering springs on my svt. so i have all the old svt springs. not sure how many miles are on them cuz i just bought the car, but i can give you the one you need for $5+shipping or all 4 of them for $10+shipping if you'd like :shrug:
 
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