The struts would make a difference if the spring perch was higher. If that is the case the car would sit higher because the springs would already be compressed a bit and wouldn't compress when the weight of the car was put on it. As far as I can tell the strut goes into the hub like normal and the pinch bolt goes through. The hub looks like a stock hub.

I'm just going to pull the entire strut, spring, hub, a-arm, and axle out and replace it with one from my other car to see if that fixes it, which it should. Then I will compare each part to figure it out.

1999 3.0L Cougar: 220fwhp and 200tq 2003 VW Passat W8 with 4 Motion AWD http://www.cardomain.com/ride/300644 PM for intrest in 3L SVT Contours, 3L swaps into your current car, Prepped 3L engines, or anything 3L related.