1998 Ford Windstar - Suspension Suddenly Dropped on Right Side

I'm hoping someone out there who is familiar with suspensions, or someone
who has experienced this problem with a Windstar, can give me some idea what
might have happened to my van.

The vehicle is a 1998 Windstar with 125,000 miles on it. It has the 3.8 L
engine in it. The van was parked in the drive, and had no problems. However
the next time I go to use it, I discover that the right front tire is
rubbing on the wheel well whenever the steering wheel is turned to the
right. I took a closer look and see that the right front tire is closer to
the upper portion of the wheel well than the left front tire. When I turn
right, the tire hits the wheel well.

Any ideas on what could have caused the suspension to drop? I didn't hit
anything, and hadn't noticed anything unusual. I'm going to have it towed to
the mechanic, but would appreciate a heads up if you've got an idea or
experience with this.

KC wrote:

> I'm hoping someone out there who is familiar with suspensions, or someone
> who has experienced this problem with a Windstar, can give me some idea what
> might have happened to my van.
>
> The vehicle is a 1998 Windstar with 125,000 miles on it. It has the 3.8 L
> engine in it. The van was parked in the drive, and had no problems. However
> the next time I go to use it, I discover that the right front tire is
> rubbing on the wheel well whenever the steering wheel is turned to the
> right. I took a closer look and see that the right front tire is closer to
> the upper portion of the wheel well than the left front tire. When I turn
> right, the tire hits the wheel well.
>
> Any ideas on what could have caused the suspension to drop? I didn't hit
> anything, and hadn't noticed anything unusual. I'm going to have it towed to
> the mechanic, but would appreciate a heads up if you've got an idea or
> experience with this.
>
>

Was this one of the vehicles that had the recall on the coil springs? I
don't really recall (heh) the specifics, just that it was some Ford model.

nate


--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
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On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 03:26:55 GMT, "KC" > wrote:

>I'm hoping someone out there who is familiar with suspensions, or someone
>who has experienced this problem with a Windstar, can give me some idea what
>might have happened to my van.
>
>The vehicle is a 1998 Windstar with 125,000 miles on it. It has the 3.8 L
>engine in it. The van was parked in the drive, and had no problems. However
>the next time I go to use it, I discover that the right front tire is
>rubbing on the wheel well whenever the steering wheel is turned to the
>right. I took a closer look and see that the right front tire is closer to
>the upper portion of the wheel well than the left front tire. When I turn
>right, the tire hits the wheel well.
>
>Any ideas on what could have caused the suspension to drop? I didn't hit
>anything, and hadn't noticed anything unusual. I'm going to have it towed to
>the mechanic, but would appreciate a heads up if you've got an idea or
>experience with this.
>
>

If you take a good flashlight out to the vehicle and look up into the
wheel well, you will see that your coil spring has broken. This is a
1998 vehicle with 125K miles on it, I do not believe it is going to be
covered by warranty.

Lg

Lawrence and Nate

Thanks for your advice. I went out and took a look. The coil spring is
broken. I consider myself fortunate because it broke in my driveway about 10
minutes after I got back from a 450 mile road trip. I can't imagine that
having it break at about 70 miles an hour would have been a good thing.

Another question. Would the wisest (and safest) thing to do is to replace
the left coil spring now as well, even though the left side has not yet
failed?

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 04:21:58 GMT, "KC" > wrote:

>Lawrence and Nate
>
>Thanks for your advice. I went out and took a look. The coil spring is
>broken. I consider myself fortunate because it broke in my driveway about 10
>minutes after I got back from a 450 mile road trip. I can't imagine that
>having it break at about 70 miles an hour would have been a good thing.
>
>Another question. Would the wisest (and safest) thing to do is to replace
>the left coil spring now as well, even though the left side has not yet
>failed?

In my personal opinion, it is time to replace both your left and right
front suspension system/struts and springs, otherwise you could have
control/steering issues since the harmonic dampening characteristics
of the suspension system will be modified with a new strut on one
side, and a 125K strut on the other.

You don't HAVE to do this, there is no LAW. It is something I would
do to maintain balanced control of the steering and handling
characteristics of the vehicle.

Lg

"Lawrence Glickman" wrote

> >Another question. Would the wisest (and safest) thing to do is to replace
> >the left coil spring now as well, even though the left side has not yet
> >failed?
>
> In my personal opinion, it is time to replace both your left and right
> front suspension system/struts and springs, otherwise you could have
> control/steering issues since the harmonic dampening characteristics
> of the suspension system will be modified with a new strut on one
> side, and a 125K strut on the other.

Who said anything about replacing one (or any) strut?

Or did you mean to type "Yes, replace both springs, and since the
suspension will be apart anyway to change the springs, you might as
well have the struts replaced. With 125k on them, they'll both be worn
to some degree and not fully doing their jobs. Replace them now, and
you'll save money by not having to pay for all that labor a second time,
and your van will ride like (almost) new."

On Mon, 03 Jan 2005 10:55:35 GMT, "MasterBlaster"
> wrote:

>
>"Lawrence Glickman" wrote
>
>> >Another question. Would the wisest (and safest) thing to do is to replace
>> >the left coil spring now as well, even though the left side has not yet
>> >failed?
>>
>> In my personal opinion, it is time to replace both your left and right
>> front suspension system/struts and springs, otherwise you could have
>> control/steering issues since the harmonic dampening characteristics
>> of the suspension system will be modified with a new strut on one
>> side, and a 125K strut on the other.
>
>Who said anything about replacing one (or any) strut?
>
>Or did you mean to type "Yes, replace both springs, and since the
>suspension will be apart anyway to change the springs, you might as
>well have the struts replaced.

yah, that there

> With 125k on them, they'll both be worn
>to some degree and not fully doing their jobs. Replace them now, and
>you'll save money by not having to pay for all that labor a second time,
>and your van will ride like (almost) new."

what cha said

Lg

KC wrote:

> Lawrence and Nate
>
> Thanks for your advice. I went out and took a look. The coil spring is
> broken. I consider myself fortunate because it broke in my driveway about 10
> minutes after I got back from a 450 mile road trip. I can't imagine that
> having it break at about 70 miles an hour would have been a good thing.
>
> Another question. Would the wisest (and safest) thing to do is to replace
> the left coil spring now as well, even though the left side has not yet
> failed?
>

I would replace the springs in pairs as the old one will have sagged a
little over the years.

Also consider replacing the struts and strut bearings as they are
getting old now and the labor to replace them while replacing the
springs is minimal (but significant if you decide to do them later) if
you haven't noticed a floaty loose ride yet and you're on a budget you
might be OK not replacing them.

nate

--
replace "fly" with "com" to reply.
http://home.comcast.net/~njnagel

I've since learned that there were a couple of recalls on the 1998
Windstar regarding the front coils springs. I found the info by doing a
search of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site at
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...callSearch.cfm

One is NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 01V199000. That one is for having
protective shields put on the front coil springs to prevent a broken
spring from rupturing a tire. The other is NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number :
01I007000. That one deals with replacing the springs. I called Ford,
and they said that the Ford Program Campaign number that corresponds to
the NHTSA number is 01M03.

The details on the spring replacement campaign are quoted from the
NHTSA bulletin below:

"Remedy:
FORD IS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY FOR FRONT COIL SPRING REPLACEMENT TO A
TOTAL OF 10 YEARS OF SERVICE FROM THE WARRANTY START DATE, WITH
UNLIMITED MILEAGE. THIS COVERAGE IS AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERRED TO
SUBSEQUENT OWNERS AT NO CHARGE. IF EITHER FRONT COIL SPRING FRACTURES
DURING THE COVERAGE PERIOD NOTED ABOVE, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE BOTH
SPRINGS AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER."

If replacing the struts and strut bearings now is the prudent thing to
do, I'm all for it. What is the (average) cost to replace them?

On 3 Jan 2005 08:17:48 -0800, "KC" > wrote:

>I've since learned that there were a couple of recalls on the 1998
>Windstar regarding the front coils springs. I found the info by doing a
>search of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration site at
>http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/pr...callSearch.cfm
>
>One is NHTSA Campaign ID Number : 01V199000. That one is for having
>protective shields put on the front coil springs to prevent a broken
>spring from rupturing a tire. The other is NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID Number :
>01I007000. That one deals with replacing the springs. I called Ford,
>and they said that the Ford Program Campaign number that corresponds to
>the NHTSA number is 01M03.
>
>The details on the spring replacement campaign are quoted from the
>NHTSA bulletin below:
>
>"Remedy:
>FORD IS EXTENDING THE WARRANTY FOR FRONT COIL SPRING REPLACEMENT TO A
>TOTAL OF 10 YEARS OF SERVICE FROM THE WARRANTY START DATE, WITH
>UNLIMITED MILEAGE. THIS COVERAGE IS AUTOMATICALLY TRANSFERRED TO
>SUBSEQUENT OWNERS AT NO CHARGE. IF EITHER FRONT COIL SPRING FRACTURES
>DURING THE COVERAGE PERIOD NOTED ABOVE, THE DEALER WILL REPLACE BOTH
>SPRINGS AT NO CHARGE TO THE OWNER."
>
>If replacing the struts and strut bearings now is the prudent thing to
>do, I'm all for it. What is the (average) cost to replace them?

Enough to make you wince.