Questions and Answers

New Escort Suspension? Q. Hi Vincent. I have a 1995 Ford Escort with 98,000 miles on it. Manual transmission 1.9 liter. I was wondering if it's time for me to replace the shocks and struts on my vehicle. To my knowledge, I have never had them replaced. I think that the car has a bit of vehicle sway on turning and some brake dive, but the problem is that I'm a bit of an aggressive driver so I'm not sure what's normal or not.

I recently had my car in to a shop to get the timing belt replaced and the mentioned that my rear coil springs needed to be replaced. They made no mention of the struts, front or back. I really enjoy working on my car, and I think that this would be a fun project with some nice benefits in handling and ride quality.

Do you think that I should go ahead and do it? If so, do you recommend Ford replacement parts or some aftermarket kits? I have no delusions that my little escort is a sports car in need of performance parts, but I figure that if I'm replacing something, I might as well put in quality parts without going nuts.

Thanks for all your help,
Rich

A. Well, with 98,000 miles the chances of the struts being bad or leaking are good. A visual inspection of the struts will reveal any leakage. Go to each corner of the car and give it a good bounce. It should stop bouncing within 1 and 1½ bounces. If it does, the struts are good.

Replacing the front and rear struts can be a potentially dangerous job since you have to remove the springs. You need a good spring compressor and be very sure you have it set up correctly and using it correctly. I had a co-worker get a broken nose and five teeth knocked out because a spring popped out of the spring compressor and hit him in the face.

Go to the library and look up the procedure in the Chiltons manual. It will detail what you have to do and the tools you'll need.

If you think you can handle it, go for it. You can rent a spring compressor from a tool rental place. Just be sure you are familiar with how it works. A good tip is to crack loose the top strut nut before you take it out of the car. That will make it easier to take off when it's out. Take note of the position the springs and strut tops are in. It does make a difference going back together. There are marks stamped on the parts indicating which way they go.

If you get stuck, you can always take the struts to a shop and they can do the springs for you. Most of the labor is getting them in and out so you'll save a bunch right there.

You can figure about 1½ hours per corner and when you're done you will need to get a four wheel alignment.

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