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General overview of suspension components

M

MadDog

Veteran CEG'er
Joined
Jul 27, 2012
Messages
624
Location
Augusta, GA
Is there a good overview that describes the different part of the entire suspension system ? My CSVT has 221K miles, and while I dont have any noticeable failures, I am sure the time draws near.

A local shop estimated $2700 for a full replacement, but I was curious just as to what this entails in terms of what the different parts are. Shocks, sway bars, toe arms (?), and so forth.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
Control arms, knuckle, strut, boot for the strut, spring, top mount spring plate, strut mounts (with steering bearing), and donut bushing (can be seen in engine bay at the very top). That's pretty much the front.

The rear entails all of that (minus the top plate), but has the trailing arms, too.

And of course the steering components (rear toe arms, inner and outter tie rod)
 
+ sway bars, sway bar links, and toe arms. Rear subframe is also a Common fail point on these cars with rust and broken swaybar mounts.

$2700 for a full replacement is very vague. What type of struts/springs they using, low end replacement bushings or aftermarket custom? All is a factor. I've replaced or rebuilt ALL of my suspension in both of my svt's and haven't spent near $2k either time. But that's me doing the work and building my own parts and sourcing my own parts. Find local ceg ers and get help. Shops charge $65+ an hour, guys like me more like $10 and have a special interest in your car and not just the money were getting from you.
 
Thanks for the info. When they quoted me $2700, my first thought was, "where are you getting the parts for a 13 year old car ?". I am writing this all down so I can find further threads in this forum.

I would like to renovate the car, but I also want to learn to do a lot of this myself. Unfortunately, I dont think there are any CEG near me.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
You're probably looking to want to replace the following:

Struts
Strut mounts
Maybe sway bar end links and bushings
Control arms
I'd replace the springs too as they're probably worn and bouncy
Inner and outer tie rods

Also inspect the rear trailing arms, toe arms and control arms too for any unnecessary play in the bushings
 
[Mad Dog takes more notes]....

thanks Rexxdoggy.

Is lowering the car a function of just the spring, or the entire strut+spring ?

thanks,

Tom
 
The actual physical part of lowering is the spring. The quality and longevity of the ride is also the spring, but mostly the strut. After market struts that are made for lowering springs will take kindly to the drop as opposed to OEM replacements that were never meant for a shorter suspension travel via more compressed shock tube.
 
I am slowly beginning to understand. If I read correctly, a coilover is a combination strut/spring that allows for an adjustable drop ?

Is there a good exploded parts diagram for the suspension ? I am trying to visualize some of the parts.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
Totally understand the need to "visualize". Here is a shot at it, let me know if you need more pics. The colored one is Ground COntrols "coil overs" and the drawing is stock rear Contour/Mystique strut; upper spring perch is NOT shown - Bill

0wxh.jpg
w9qo.jpg
 
rexxdoggy said:
Ground Controls are sleeves
Click to expand...
Not according to Ground Control - Coilover Conversion kit, 95- Ford Contour/99-00 Cougar
Product SKU #4015

From wikipedia: Coilovers should not be confused with struts or independently mounted shock absorbers.
Coilover suspension systems have become a popular staple in the automotive aftermarket. Once limited to racing teams with the research and development budget to create performance parts, these suspension systems are now widely available from most online and retail aftermarket auto part merchants. There are 2 different types of coilovers, full coilovers and slip on coilovers. The full coilovers are matched up with a shock from the factory, while slip on coilovers are mostly just adjustible springs.
 
Thanks guys. I actually remember to hit wikipedia yesterday, and what do you know..... there it was.

It would appear that a set of adjustable coilovers is what I am looking for (in my ultimate plan).

Is there a good exploded diagram for the other suspension parts as well ? I am trying to get an idea about what I am capable to doing on my own without killing myself (such as making careful notes about the energy in a compressed spring.....).

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
I don't know where that diagram is from, but it's very strange. It mixes the top cup from the front strut with the mount from the rear.
 
MadDog said:
Thanks guys. I actually remember to hit wikipedia yesterday, and what do you know..... there it was.

It would appear that a set of adjustable coilovers is what I am looking for (in my ultimate plan).

Is there a good exploded diagram for the other suspension parts as well ? I am trying to get an idea about what I am capable to doing on my own without killing myself (such as making careful notes about the energy in a compressed spring.....).

thanks,

Mad Dog
Click to expand...

Check the following: http://www.4113pittsburg.com/Garage/2000SVTContourSilver/SuspensionInstall.asp http://www.contour.org/ceg-vb/showthread.php?42823-rear-strut-help http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=susp&Number=1125789&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1 http://www.silverstatefordparts.com/partlocator/index.cfm?siteid=214290 http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=susp&Number=1276651&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1 http://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php?title=Front_poly_anti_roll_bar_bushes http://www.fordwiki.co.uk/index.php?title=Lower_Arm_Wishbone_Replacement
 
THanks contour-r-us.... those diagrams were just what I was looking for.

From a durability point of view, is there any advantage to coilovers vs. strut+spring combo ? Right now the BAT kit looks to have the drop I am looking for (~1"), but I want to build for durability.

thanks,

Mad Dog
 
Depending on who makes them and your climate, coilover pieces-parts can be subject to rapid corrosion, it depends primarily on how well the threaded sleeves and lower spring collars are anodized. I think some folks with D2 coilovers have been surprised at how rapidly they've corroded in the salt belt states, but if you're in Georgia, road salt probably isn't a problem.

I built my own 2.5" 'race spring conversions' :rolleyes: from Koni struts, pieces-parts from Coleman Racing, Hyperco springs and some custom parts I had machined. You need some fab skills for a project like this, it isn't turn-key, but I'm very pleased with the results.
http://s301.photobucket.com/user/gmorrell_1959/library/SVT Contour Front Coilovers?sort=9&page=1
http://s301.photobucket.com/user/gm...T Contour Rear Coilover Project?sort=9&page=1

I think you'll be very pleased with the BAT sport springs, but I would opt for the Koni struts. I've had the BAT sport struts with stock SVT springs and I thought them to be a little light on compression damping. The rebound damping was good, but I wonder if there would be enough in reserve for the higher rates found in the BAT sport springs.
 
contour_r_us said:
There are 2 different types of coilovers, full coilovers and slip on coilovers. The full coilovers are matched up with a shock from the factory, while slip on coilovers are mostly just adjustible springs.
Click to expand...

Your entire statement contradicted itself. Like I said, Ground Controls are sleeves, not a full traditional "coilover kit", and as this quote ^^^ points out. (And the picture you posted were of sleeves as well)

They label theirs as a "coilover conversion kit" as a market strategy. They're not full coilovers, but rather sleeves. Still the same concept, but they're universal and operate the same (in terms of height adjustment aspect only) as a "traditional coilover system". A full coilover system is built for pieces that are designed to have pieces that all correspond to each other in a system.

A coilover system is literally the meaning of its name. A coil over the shock. But throw that out the window because 99.9999% of people out there refer to coilovers as the traditional sense of aftermarket suspension. These systems offer a huge adjustability range in height, dampening, caster, and camber. And once again, Ground Controls are only "sleeves", as they replace a stock spring (coil) with a threaded "sleeve" to give you height adjustment (which is only one part of what a coilover system offers).
 
Not to split hairs or start a shooting war or anything, but (and as Rexx pointed out...) any suspension where the spring is coaxial to the strut or shock axis is considered a 'coilover'. The Contour factory suspension is "coilover-strut".

There are plenty of suspensions out there where the spring and strut or shock don't share the same axis, much less location, so if we were to convert one of those to a coaxial spring and strut, we'd be doing a "coilover conversion". I did this to my Fox Mustang chassis: Springs and struts/shocks were widely separated from the factory, now they're coaxial on custom built double adjustable Konis. There are tremendous advantages to doing this on some cars, as it allows one to achieve much higher "wheel rates" with smaller, lighter and surprisingly lower rate springs because the spring is now very near to where the wheel and spring perch motion ratios are 1:1.

The suspension performance aftermarket has, in my opinion, co-opted the term 'coilover' to loosely define a conversion from large diameter factory springs to 2.5" I.D. race springs and adjustable spring perches, Hell, even I use this terminology. :rolleyes:

Semantics aside, the advantage to a "race spring conversion" is a far greater assortment of spring rates and free lengths, usually 25 or 50 pound/inch rate increments and 1 or 2" free-length increments. This allows one to tune the suspension and ride height to do what one wants, instead of having to settle for what Ford, Eibach, H&R, or someone else thinks is "right".
 
rexxdoggy said:
Your entire statement contradicted itself. Like I said, Ground Controls are sleeves, not a full traditional "coilover kit", and as this quote ^^^ points out. (And the picture you posted were of sleeves as well)

They label theirs as a "coilover conversion kit" as a market strategy. They're not full coilovers, but rather sleeves. Still the same concept, but they're universal and operate the same (in terms of height adjustment aspect only) as a "traditional coilover system". A full coilover system is built for pieces that are designed to have pieces that all correspond to each other in a system.

A coilover system is literally the meaning of its name. A coil over the shock. But throw that out the window because 99.9999% of people out there refer to coilovers as the traditional sense of aftermarket suspension. These systems offer a huge adjustability range in height, dampening, caster, and camber. And once again, Ground Controls are only "sleeves", as they replace a stock spring (coil) with a threaded "sleeve" to give you height adjustment (which is only one part of what a coilover system offers).
Click to expand...

Mikey - no contradiction. Please read carefully as this was a quote from wikipedia. The quote AND picture from Ground Control does NOT sate otherwise. Wikipedia states what you say in paragraph #2 of yours (above), w/o the use of the word "sleeve". Ground Controls states "coil over", not sleeves, in my quoted response. Do your searches on CEG for "coil over" and you find Ground Control hits; not so much on "sleeves". Maybe you contact Ground Control and convince them there picture and product description are in error?

Additionally we have a poster who admittedly states he desires a "basic primer" in all things suspension. I stuck to this "by the book". Please assit in this and not get hung up on symantics. Let's keep the focus here. If you have a beef with my use fo words, take it directly to me (PM). Thank you.
 
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