Front Spring replacement ?'s

[Zap]

Greetings... I don't know a whole lot of suspension related info, but I am curious if anyone can give me a suggestion here. One of the front springs is broken on the '94 (@ 89k). It is slated to have the front springs replaced sometime in the near future, but I want to make sure of a few things before a disaster happens. FWIW, this is my girlfriend's car and I think I'm too deep into my clutch job to do this myself, so it may be going to her family's trusted mechanic. He does good work, so I am not worried about the procedure, but rather the parts.

1. Are the springs a SHO specific part?
2. How do whatever springs that NAPA carries compare to stock? What part number should they be?
3. Is there another brand that I should consider having the shop use instead?
4. They should be replaced together, correct?

Additionally, I posted this originally in the wrong place, and PAracer said that the Moog Cargo Coils are a great stock replacement, and that NAPA should be able to get them. He also mentioned to check strut mounts and bearings, and the suspension bushings. I'm not familiar with this stuff, so I would appreciate info on how/what to look for, and also how hard it would be to do this job by myself instead.

Thanks a bunch!

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

Zap:

1. Are the springs a SHO specific part?
2. How do whatever springs that NAPA carries compare to stock? What part number should they be?
3. Is there another brand that I should consider having the shop use instead?
4. They should be replaced together, correct?

1. Yes, and no. Standard Taurus springs/struts are interchangeable with SHO springs struts. The SHO was supposed to have a tighter spring strut setup than a standard taurus. Most did, but later models (94-95) did leave the assembly line with standard taurus springs/struts.

With that being said, it is hard to tell what will be a direct swap (in ride and performance) for the '94. I went with a MOOG setup, but the ride is stiffer than even my '89s stock setup.

I have a stock set of front coils BTW. They are in excellent condition if you are interested. Send me a PM if need be.

2. Napa carries the Moog CCs. The fronts will ride sky high unless you cut coils. And if you are looking for comfort, no go.

3. Are you looking for a near stock setup?

4. Yes.

 

[Zap]

Well, here is my dilemma. I think it would be best to keep a close to stock feel on the '94. As far as the roads are concerned, Cincinnati is ******, so feeling even more of the horridly bad roads would probably suck. What is interesting, as far as the springs go, is that the '95 appears to ride higher than the '94. The '94 does have different tires, but I believe before they were replaced, it still rode lower than the '95. Does this mean anything? The '95 also seems to have a fairly firm suspension @ 148k. I'm wondering if parts were replaced on it at some point or not. What a mess, I thought this would be easy to fix! LOL

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

I figured with the car being your girlfriends that you would like to keep the ride near-stock.

Also, about your '95 rideing higher than the '94... it sounds like your '95 got stuck with SLO parts Maybe not, but I wouldnt place any bets.

PM me about my stock springs if you are interested. They came off of my '89, and MAY ride a bit stiffer than the '94s. They are boxed and ready to go.

And they are cheap wink