Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Coil Springs

If you look at the sheer number of problems with coil springs listed here and elsewhere, you would never make that statement.

Additionally, it is nearly impossible to tell that these springs have broken unless you actually remove the strut assembly from the vehicle or you find a piece in the remaining coils. How can you be sure that your springs never broke? Did you remove the strut assemblies (all 4) and inspect them prior to sale?

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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles

I CAN and WILL make that statement over & over again ... because it's true !

And for your second part - anyone that knows me , knows that I am very meticulous with my vehicles and I know every inch of them . I was under my '95 a million times and I know that the springs were in good shape . I do all my own work on my cars (& my family's) . I'm an auto mechanic , I know my way around a car . My car made no squeaks , handled superbly and gave no indication of ever doing anything but that . We have a safety inspection here in PA that requires that you look very closely at things like that too ... do YOU have such a thing in Illinois ??? The answer to that question is NO ! So all things are not equal in your little quest to discredit me .

And I stand behind my statement about the early SE's having THE BEST non-SVT suspension . If you had half a clue , you'd agree too .

just my 2¢ ... again

~~~~~~~~~~~~Allen

OK- Stop all your huffing and puffing. No one is impressed.

Read this very carefully: These springs break in such a way that it is often all but impossible to detect the break unless you remove the spring/strut assembly from the vehicle and/or find a broken piece of spring.

Did you understand that time? If not, go back to the top and read it again. Repeat until you get it.

On the driver's side rear spring on my 95 SE, the break was near the top of the spring. If I had not found the broken piece

(see: http://home.att.net/~owstuck/Piece_from_D_Rear.JPG )

I would never have known my springs were broken. I put the car on jackstands, removed the rear wheels, and CAREFULLY inspeced the coils. I already KNEW the coil was broken, because I found the piece above inside the remaining coils still attached to the strut. I still could not see the break in the coil, even with a strong shop light and daylight outside. The spring was slightly loose with the strut fully extended, but seemed to be firmly attached at the top. I just saw the old springs after they were removed from the car today. The break on that side was at the top of the spring. The passenger side spring was also very rusty in the same area, and would most likely have broken there very soon. These breaks/rust CANNOT be seen with the strut/spring installed on the vehicle. It doesn't matter what kind of background you have. It doesn't matter how careful or meticulous you are with your car. This is not your fault. I also worked as a mechanic for a number of years before taking my current job. I am far from inexperienced in automotive repair.

Now, I have a few questions for you: Again, did you remove the strut/spring assembly before the sale of the cars you mentioned to verify the springs were not broken?

Does the PA inspection include the removal of the rear spring/strut assembly to verify that the springs are not broken?

My guess is that the answer to both questions is no, in which case your statements mean exactly jack.

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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles

OK - Whatever

You're right ... how's that make you feel ??? Better ???

I'm not gonna argue with you any further ... you tire me . Have a nice day

Y2KMondeoSVT,
I don't think that Sandman333 was trying to insult you. I just think that he was saying that it is hard to tell the springs are broke. I am sure he did not know you were a mechanic, and did not know your expertise. He was saying that the average shade tree mechanic would have a hard time diagnosing these broken springs.
I didn't know mine were broke till I read all these posts and decided to check mine. They were broken at the bottom of my spring and it was still a little hard to see. Even with mine being broken at the bottom, I wouldn't have seen them it I wasn't looking for them to be broke.
I am not taking sides here, I just think there was some misunderstanding. So lets all try and get along. ok? :-)

Obviously you think that you are some type of super-human mechanic and can spot any and all problems, even if impossible to see. All I am saying is that it is not your fault if you did not spot the broken springs, if they were indeed broken.

The point is that there is an extra-ordinarily high number of cars (especially 95's) that have suffered broken springs. This leads to the conclusion that Ford used defective springs (poor material), or the design was faulty. Either way, there is a problem. My car had 36,000 miles when I noticed both rear coils broken. They had likely been broken since before I bought it at 24,200. Are you going to tell me that ANY car should break it's coil springs at 24,000 miles and not be questioned as defective, especially given the number of complaints that are listed here and at the NHTSA site? Please!

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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles

OOPS! Looks like I was a little slow in trying to make the peace! LOL

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Ted
Garfield Hts.,OH
'95 SE,Champagne,Duratec,MTX,fogs w/parks,Ray's THF,rear dome,lighted moonroof switch(thanx Dom!),tranny cocktail,minor stereo mods.

[This message has been edited by tdavidk (edited April 21, 2001).]

David-

You're right, i wasn't trying to insult him, just trying to show him how difficult it can be to find this problem. Know-it-alls just piss me off.

One thing- I was trying to say that it is extremely difficult for even professional mechanics to spot this problem in many (probably most) cases. On my car, it appears that the passenger side coil has been broken since before I bought the car at 24,200 miles. That is what I call a defect.

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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles

Calm down slick , don't get your panties in a bunch . I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person .
I was looking at the threads on this problem , and was finding that almost ALL people that had this broken spring problem SAW the problem at one point . VERY FEW people that have posted in these 2 threads that are going right now , had the springs replaced just in case . I'm no superhuman mechanic , but I know what I'm reading here . Maybe YOU should go & look at the shear numbers of people that SAW broke springs ... OR found pieces lying around . After all , EVEN YOU said that you SAW the pieces ...
You're right at the top of my list of people that said they saw pieces . Along with Mongoose , mgbdriver , Joel_Blanchette , tdavidk , CIP , Roger C , mcastrosiouani and I'm sure there's some I missed . That's better than 95% of all people that responded with the problem . The problem exitsts not only on '95 cars , but others as well . Maybe the problem is just the age , the 95's are 6 yrs. old now . I realise that at 6 yrs. the springs should not be breaking , but maybe next year we'll see a lot of 96's breaking , then the next year we'll see the 97's having troubles . Just wait & see . Maybe the 2000's will have trouble someday also .
I'm sure that some have found the problem after removing the springs for an upgrade like H&R's or Eibachs , but a bit of VISUAL inspection will go a long way . That's what's nice about a state inspection . It makes people do preventative maintenance . I've seen first hand what drives on the roads when a state has no inspection (like Illinois) . People refuse to do a visual safety inspection of their own stuff unless forced to do so (by the state) . I have caught some broken springs while doing inspections , and the owners were glad that we caught it . Maybe some have been missed ... who knows ??? But if you look for it & feel around a bit , sometimes you'll find it .
I may have come across a bit gruff with my posts , and for that I apologize . But while reading just these 2 threads , you had a bit of a chip on your shoulder right away too . Before yelling at me & telling me that there's no way to SEE the problem ... READ THE POSTS .

That is all from me ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Allen

But if you look for it & feel around a bit , sometimes you'll find it .


Really, I like that. SOMETIMES. Well, Mr. Genius, my left rear only broke recently. At least, the latest break was within the last few weeks. When I get the pictures back and post them, you will see that there was a previous break all the way at the top of the spring, and that piece is nowhere to be found. It is most likely that this piece that broke off fell along the highway somewhere. It's lucky that it did not cut a tire and cause an accident. At least one complaint on the NHTSA site reported a roll-over due to a broken spring destroying a tire.

Now, had the piece that I found fallen out on the highway somewhere, I would never have know that my spring had broken a second time, much less the first time.

Also, as for your remark about future problems with other years, please! I have a 1995 Windstar also. It currently has 112,000 miles, and the original springs. These springs are nearly rust-free, and show absolutely no signs of breakage or defects. These springs are MUCH easier to inspect due to the design of the vehicle. I can be sure that they are ok, whereas no one can be sure that the Contour springs are ok without removing the spring/strut assembly. Why can't you get that through your thick skull? I can't currently do a search of the NHTSA site for complaints of coil spring breakage on 1995 Windstars due to NHTSA updating their site. However, I would be willing to wager a bet that there are very few to no complaints of this problem on the Windstar.

Additionaly, my vehicle only has 37,000 miles. There is no way that the coil springs should break at that mileage unless the car was repeatedly dropped on its wheels. I seriously doubt that is the case.

Last, according to your way of thinking, we would never get the manufacturer to recall anything (ie, it is just the luck of the draw). Well, that is total bullsh!t! We need an investigation started before even one more person is killed/injured by this. There is a preponderance of evidence here that suggests there is a problem. All you have to do is open your eyes and look.

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95 Contour SE automatic, 37,000 miles

[This message has been edited by Sandman333 (edited April 22, 2001).]