Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Crash! Wallop! Sproing! - my suspension

For you folks with the "spring catchers" in place as per the recall, are you experiencing a lot of extra noise on even the smallest bump ??

I have front end links ready to go on the car (if I can ever get the old ones off) but I'm wondering how much of the clunks is due to the spring catchers.

Thanks...Mark

ps - second q, I see on the BAT catalog that they recommend the Motorcraft spark plugs as being best for the V6. True ??

Thanks again...

I had a boatload of clunks with the spring catchers. Especially under high suspension travel, like a speed bump or going over a little hill (clunked when the car settled on the springs on the way down).

I went in for the blower switch recall and the dealer "did me a favor" and installed the catchers. Took it back the next working day (Monday) to complain about the noise. Couldn't find anything. I drove the SA to a local parking lot with speed bumps to demonstrate. The next day they called back and said they couldn't find anything (again). I called the Service Manager and told him the situation. I asked that if they couldn't get rid of the clunk themselves, I wanted the catchers removed. Later that day I got a call telling me that the catchers were removed. Problem solved.

As far as the Motorcraft plugs from BAT: What they are saying is that Double Plat Fine Wire is what is recommended by Ford. Double Plat is important (unless you want to replace the plugs often). The Motorcraft are the same as Autolite, and both are good plugs. However, be warned that the plugs that BAT sells are the colder heat range for the 2000 SVT (AWSF22PP), not the "32" heat range that all other Duratecs should be running.

Thos stupid spring catchers ...screw em, I took mine off. Its unlikely to happen to begin with but If you plan on modifing your springs with aftermarket then I probably wouldnt give it the time of day. I would rather settle for the rare blown tire than the annoying pink ponk crunch bang from the front of my car ..I felt like I was driving a sentra