Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Suspension back end sag.....bad springs????

Ever since I got the 'Tour back in 04 with 33,000 miles on it, the back end has been sagging. It has since gotten worse and with any kind of a load no matter how light it is, it will be weighted down like theres a Giraffe in the back. With one person in the back seat, it will go down on the spring bout .5-1 inch or so, with 2 people the wheel is easily in the wheelwell. heres the scary part-when braking hard from high speeds (I've only done this once and won't do it agin til i fix it) the back end will go up to the piont where it scares me and I have to fight with the steering wheel to keep it from stepping out!! Taht was empty, from 85-90mph with the pedal bout 3/4 way down, and a almost wet seat! There seems to be decent body roll too, but it could jsut be the way these cars are although I drove a Stratus coupe that didn't roll quite as bad. Anyway, I searched and am guessing I need to replace the rear springs. Is this the struts and springs that are bad, or just the springs that are bad? I can sit on the front and it won't go down at all, like it should be. When I push the back of the car down it will go down quite a bit then up and stop, instead of bouncing up and down like something with bad struts would (like my Explorer with bad shocks used to do). So is this the springs in the back? Or the whole strut/spring setup? 50,000 miles, 95 LX V6 suspension hasn't been touched (except by WD-40). Let me know if you need more info. thanks.

It Sounds To Me Like Springs Are The Culprit...There's No Clunking Noises? Does The Back End Feel Like It Bottoms Out Over Bumps? Around Corners?

WEll, with the Potenza 225's it will rub with 2 people in hte back with a significant bump, and I believe I have heard the wheel hit the fender before empty beofre, but I'm not sure. it can't take any kind of load at all. with anything in the trunk it looks like I'm smuggling people from Mexico it sags so much. Any idea how much I'm looking at for new sprrings? I'm gonna install them my self. I have a spring compressor, anything else besids basic tools I need? But I think its the springs too. Intresting why they havn't lasted very many miles. oh well, as ong as I fix it.

Sometimes rear tire rubbing on the rear area of the fender liner can be helped by pulling the fender closer to the car, creating more arch in the fender liner.

I solved my ocassional rubbing problem by using a large nylon wire tie on each side. A bracket could be fabricated as well. The tie attaches to the frame at one end and to a hole I drilled in the fender liner slightly below the lower rear attaching screw. Actually I used three ties on each side, one short one on each end, and a very long one in the middle. The short ones to make the attachment and the long one to make the adjustment. I sucked the fender in about an inch.

If you want to see how much difference this will make, stick you head under the rear of the wheel well and look at the fender liner while you have a friend push the fender in from the back lower corner.

Struts won't cause sag but springs will. Just grab a tape measure and check the differences in height from each wheel arch to the garage floor. If the rears are lower than the fronts, sag.. If 1 rear is even lower, reach in there and feel for a broken spring. An old CEG'er showed me this trick.

Special tools..18mm 1/2" drive 6 point socket, 1/2" drive breaker bar and a long pipe to crack the lower strut pinch bolt. Also an 18mm box end wrench and a 6mm allen wrench for the spring perch. You have the spring compressors so the rest is just standard stuff.

Well, I'm going to replace the springs then. I;m thinking
JC Whitney is cheapest, and I want to keep the car stock height (easier to bog through snow and ground clearence is a plus where I take this car), but I am open to any suggestions as far as where to buy and what kind. Yes, I'm gonna do a search too. as far as your suggestion, Jim, I dind't clarify that its not rubbing on the liner, rather the actual metal part of the fender, but on the inside of it because the tires are too wide and thats what hits first. I don't really know how to expalin it, but basically if I roll my fenders more than I have already it should take care of it. The sag is bad enough that you can see the car is lower in the back without a tape measure from any distance, but I will do it anyway just to be sure tonight. Thanks for the help guys, I'll let ya know how it goes. Oh btw, I'm guessing afternoon project? or is it more like all day? I am mechanically enclined enough to be able to do it as I have done much more than this, but I take my time when doing stuff like this.

Be careful when you roll your fenders more. Ive gotten to the point on rolling the fenders that its beginning to pusht he edge of the bumper out too far and looks like more ass then it did when it was just bumper sag :-p.