Also were can I find a repair manual? I have been to all the local auto shops but haven't found one.

Thanks in advance!!!

jkmaxwell
98 LSC

First off, if you need new struts in the front, you will be replacing the bags as well....they are one unit. So once you order new struts you will get new bags as well. There are no other parts that I can think of.

Secondly, they do not make any manuals, as of yet, for our cars. The only ones available are the Ford factory manuals....if you look on ebay you may find one there for your car.

Good Luck....

For your suspension, everything is exactly the same as the '94 thunderbird except for two things. For one, obviously, there's an air bag instead of a coil spring. This is a good thing. if you remove the clip from the solenoid, and turn the solenoid and pull it out, the bag will vent (it'll probably scare you, it vents fast). You'll have to turn and pull farther to get the solenoid out. The other difference is that there is also a height sensor that mounts to the upper control arm.

Wear items in the front suspension:
Air struts
lower and upper ball joints
lower control arm bushings
upper control arm bushings
inner and outer tie rod ends
inner and outer strut rod bushings
brakes

and thats about it. I'm sure you won't have to replace all of those things, but inspect each for play/excessive wear and replace as needed. Air struts need to be replaced if your car slams itself after a few days of sitting. Ball joints, upper control arm bushings, strut rod bushings, and tie rod ends start to show some play when they start to go bad. Lower control arm bushings will cause the car to want to change lanes when you hit the brakes when they go bad. And then there's all kinds of problems that you can have with brakes.

Good luck.

Ron

1993
140,000 miles

I have replaced everything,

Items I definately would do.

1. Upper A-Arms - complete with new bushings and ball joints
2. Lower A-arms - complete with new bushings and ball joints
3. Sway bar links- Use the Moog units not factory
4. Inner and outer tie rod ends
5. Struts if they are blown
6. MOOG polyurethane Strut Rod to frame bushings
7. MOOG polyurethane Strut Rod to Lower A-Arm bushings

Do all this and the car should, with proper alignment and good tires be tighter than new.

At least my 98 LSC feels and tracks better than it did when I bought it with only 1200 miles on it.

you are not talking about if the bag is blown, but if the struts have gone bad; right.

The bag is just a replacement for the spring that is placed around a convensional strut; right!
Everyone talks about the bag going out but no one talks about needing struts!

Just making sure.

thanks in advance

I have run over 90k on original struts as long as the bags do not go bad and the struts were still tight, moving freely,charged with gas etc..

if they are blown the car will bounce and porpus, or it will be rock hard if they are binding and frozen,

All I am saying is when the knocks rattle, clunks loose steering bad alignment etc started on both my Marks, I had 3 dealerships try to tell me my struts were worn out.

They were obviously wrong and full of BS.

Just dont want you disappointed if your trying to solve loose,wandering,rattling,thudd dddd dunk type noises coming from the front end. ON a 98 your struts should still be in good shape unless damaged or seals are blown, Not talking about the bag.

My 98 LSC has almost 90k on the original front struts, but I have replaced every other part down to the rack!

Where should I get these parts? Roughly how much are they?

Are there any diagrams or instructions on installing them?