Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Coil Springs

I have an 95 Contour SE with 53,000 miles. I just came back from Midas and they told me 3 out of 4 coil springs are broken. He couldn't believe 1 broke let alone 3. Never has he heard of anything like this before. Has anyone else experienced problems with their coils? Do anyone know if Ford has done anything about this.

The springs on the Contours (especially the 1995 models) are absolute garbage. I had the front ones break and 1 rear spring. The mechanic that replaced them, said he orders more replacement springs for Contours than any other car.
Mine broke at 88,000km (55,000 Miles) so it appears that your springs have expired right on schedule.

I wonder how dangerous it is to drive with "bad" (broken?) springs. Thoughts?

I've got 105,000 miles on my '95 and have never had them looked at. I know they and my struts need replacing soon, but since I'm probably going to trade the car in on something newer in the coming weeks - I figure I'll just let the dealer do it.

How can you tell if your springs ARE busted? My car's beginning to squeak like a cornered mouse, but I think that's just a sign of expired struts.

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-Tim, '95 GL 2.5L, 5-speed.

My rear springs were replaced last week..broken in three places.Even found a piece on the garage floor.
Visual inspection is not good enough.The mechanics where I brought my car could hear the noise..but, could not see what it was. finger probing along the coil spring resulted in a broken piece being dislodged.
The antisway bar links were also shot to hell.
KEEP your receipts! I have reported the defect to Transport Canada.The individual whom I talked to there told me that the issue is currently under investigation.The NHTSA guys in the good ol' USA are involved also.
Note that the springs are not available (as far as I know) aftermarket...only through a ford parts counter.

is this a problem with 95 SE's or just every 95? i have a 95 GL 2.5 with like 59,000miles on it and have not experienced any problems with my coil springs. should i be expecting it soon?

Here's a Canadian article about some of the coil spring issues. It is not limited to Contours alone or 95 Contours. This corrosion problem affects several of Ford's products. Ford claims no faulty Contour springs have punctured a tire yet, therefore no need for a recall. If you ask me, it's only a matter of time before something serious happens because of these breaking coils.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/wheels/recalls/990226/2316182.html

I had a terrible clunking sound coming from the left front wheel area when that spring broke. Every time I hit a bump of some sort it would clatter. I couldn't feel or see anything. The mechanic raised the car off the ground and then pulled an entire coil out from under the spring, it had just broken off. Just like that.

When the left rear spring broke, I found a piece of it lying on the driveway one day. About a 3 inch section, the front spring broke off a 7 inch piece. One whole revolution up the coil.

Yep. That's Ford Quality!

Judging from the "sound" of your past problems Mongoose, I don't THINK I have a broken spring(s). So I guess my noise problem is probably just worn-out shocks. Excuse me.....struts.

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-Tim, '95 GL 2.5L, 5-speed.

last month I had both rear springs replaced as they were both broken. I now have a clunky/clatter noise in the front...might be those springs as well...the springs are a ford only part..
does anyone have the transport canada number to call to lodge my complaint?

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RWheels
95LX 2.5MTX
Modless

Are ya'll sure the springs are a Ford part only? I recall seeing springs listed on the BAT catalog, but I honestly don't know who they were made by. Who knows, maybe they were manufactured by Ford of Europe and have the same specs as ours. Lovely.

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-Tim, '95 GL 2.5L, 5-speed.