Confused About My Rear End

I

IceMans Revenge

Registered
Well not my ACTUAL rear end, but my Mark's...=)

First off...my ride as of late is awful. My air compressor is on it's way, so I'll be putting in a new one with spider valve very soon. The front air struts in my car are only about a year and a half old, so I'm all set there.

The clunking and banging in the rear end is awful. I know now I need new shock mounts. But is it the upper or the lower that is worse? Just replace both? And while I'm at it, should I replace the front upper and lower mounts? Can the car actually "squat" more in the rear with the shock mounts being shot?

Now my next question is about the rear struts. Marcus (aka Noddy) and I have talked alot about this on his car. He's replacing the struts in the back when he does the shock mounts, because the struts are only $20. or $40. respectively. So I was going to do the same. However, I just read somewhere that the rear struts will last a long time...so is this even necessary(IE- I am not totally convinced the clunking and banging can JUST be from bad mounts)?

I had considered doing the cobra shocks in the rear, however, I am leaning towards NOT firming up the ride. I think I would give up a little performance to have my nice smooth, soft ride back. So do people have suggestions for replacement rears? Marcus was told by his mechanic he had two choices..the Monroe SensaTracs or the MonroMatic. He had told me the MonroMatic was the better of the two. I did some research and the MonroMatic is listed as their economy line. So which is better...a fluid or gas filled shock? Also, all the sites I tried to look up the direct replacement for the struts said it was a MANUFACTURER ONLY DIRECT REPLACEMENT for my 1995..so what gives? This has left me even more confused.

I've also been told that 93 and 94 Marks all had some funky electronic control suspension that kept the car from nose diving, and supposedly, they discontinued this on the 95+ Marks. Ford Parts network DOES list 3 different part numbers for rear Mark struts...so can someone give me better details on the difference between years.
IE- does putting an aftermarket strut, such as Monroe, mess up these electronic functions?

Also, Monroe lists the SensaTracs as their premium struts, but their new Reflex models have some technology that is the biggest innovation in 20 years...according to their lovely rhetoric...=)...supposedly they actually sense road bumps and adjust the shock within 12 milliseconds to smooth out the ride. So which ones are better...the SensaTracs or the Reflexes? Joe said his family has always used the SensaTracs on their Vettes and love them. Any more info would be GREATLY appreciated.

I apologize for the length, but I am going to be doing the suspension as soon as I return from Carlisle; so I'll be ordering stuff, or just setting an appointment very soon.
http://pstr-m03.ygpweb.aol.com/data2/009/59/10/42/FB/PRAxPHzEF-+j+RPpsyyR+ZTwuaaMzk3l0060.jpg
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I don't think you can replace the lower shock mounts seperately from the shock. It's just a bolt that goes through a hole on the end of the shock and into the lower control arm, IIRC. And the upper shock mounts can make a lot of noise.

There are no struts in the rear end. There are shocks, and there are airbags. The bags usually don't go bad. My '94 had 154k on it when i sold it, with the original rear bags. Then again, i have a reciept for my '97 that shows the original owner replaced the rear bags. So who knows. I wouldn't fix what isn't broken, myself.

I'm not sure what shocks you want to use. I do know that on a rear wheel drive car, a shock that is softer in jounce may help weight transfer and allow it to hook better. I had the Monroe Sensatrac in the back on my thunderturd, and they were fine. On my '94, the shocks were not worn out when i sold the car, and as far as i know, they were original. I did have to change the mounts once.

Your clunking is most likely just from bad mounts, but of course i can't say for sure since i've never seen your car. I'd start with the mounts, and go from there. The mounts are simple, like $20 a side, and you don't even have to jack the car up. Three bolts, all in the trunk. Peel back the carpet, undo the center bolt for the shock, undo the two side bolts for the mount, reach in the wheelwell, push the top of the shock downward, and remove the shock mount. Reverse procedure to install.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I have so many things to say, but I'm fairly certain all of them would lead to post deletion, so: Thanks, John. :p
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Trixie,

I thought he was in real trouble there. When I saw this post listed with you as the last postee ( poster ? ), I was curious what I was going to find when I actually read the post.

(evil grin , nudge nudge ) :)
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I'm trying to behave... (for now... mwahahahaha) }>
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Hey John!

I just did the same research you did, and you are right, the MonroeMatic are really listed as their economy model...have to ask my guy at the shop again about that.

The SensaTracs are definitely a great shock, because I used them as a replacement in all my "normal" cars over in Germany when it was time to change them and had only good experiences with them.

So far I was not able to find out if they make a Reflex model which fits our cars, but I emailed Monroe to find out and wait for a response now.

What I would love, but dont think is available for our cars, and try to find out for sure at the moment are the Koni Red. I use those in my racecar and love that they are adjustable over such a wide range that you can really go from very comfortable to rock hard track ride.

Soooo, as soon as I know more, I will post here again ;-)

Talk to you soon,
Marcus.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I thought Koni shocks were available. You use the ones for a Mustang Cobra. I may be wrong, I just used the Ford shocks since the car has so much body flex anyway a good pair of shocks would be wasted.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Well, I got a response from Koni, and they said that they have nothing for our cars. There might be a possibility that something for a cobra would fit, but I dont want to buy one just to find out they dont fit, as they are quite pricey.

So, waiting for Monroe now...

Marcus.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Marcus, definately keep me posted. Ray had mentioned something about Bilsteins, but he wasn't entirely sure. I'll have to do a little more research myself. I may go with the stock replacements now anyways just because they come with the shock mounts...there's food for thought.

Sharon, after everything we've been through recently, you still want to talk about my Tooshie? ;)
http://pstr-m02.ygpweb.aol.com/data/00A/1A/04/3D/18/l9k57+ruATVfgrS2L26YtFyTvnur2dNK0060.jpg
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I'm sure they have something for our cars, they just don't know it. Take an old shock off, and measure it, without the mount. You're going to need to use the stock upper mounts or get new ones from a ford dealer, but if you find a shock of the same length that is designed for a car that weighs about the same, it should fit.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Hmmmm...thats a good idea!

Anyone have the measurements, or anyone a shock laying around who could measure it??? I dont want to be without my beloved Mark too long if I dont have to be, and this way I could get the shock while still having mine in ;-)

Thanks,
Marcus.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I don't have measurements but I'm pretty sure if you want a shock that fits with no modifications you need to get OEM replacements or the Cobras. Most others (if not all) would require a mount modification at least. I recently researced this for some time and could not find a direct replacement.
In my case the shocks were good so I just changed the mounts and for goodness sakes no more banging! Those worn out suckers sure can be loud!
BTW,with the shock actually attached to the car(the pass.side mount was totally shot) it handles much better, feels tighter.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Well I too just did extensive research on replacing the rear shocks. What I found was that the T-Birds use a slightly different set-up, and this is the same set-up you get when ordering shocks through the aftermarket. The hole where the lower mounting bolt goes through was too small on all of the aftermarket shocks that were supposed to fit our Marks.

On the T-Bird, the top of the shock goes directly through the body of the car and mounts between two rubber bushings. The hole in the vehicle where the shock goes through is smaller on the T-Birds than on the Marks. The Marks also use a separate "insulator" which provides the mount and the bushing for the shock. If you tried to use a T-Bird shock on our cars, the rubber bushing would not fit the larger hole where the shock mounts, meaning you would have to either fabricate a bracket from scratch, or modify the old "insulator" plate to fit the smaller bushings.

The best option IMHO is to go with the OEM units. Less hassle, less rigging, and a nice smooth ride.

Kale
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

I just ordered 2 shocks with mounts from our friends at fordpartsnetork (OEM).

Figure if I am going to bother fixing the mount (right rear is clunking), pulling out the seat and reaching for those bolts, Ill do both sides and the mounts while I am there.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Chris - you don't need to pull the rear seat to do the mounts or the shocks. Just pull back the carpeting from inside the trunk, (over the mounts), loosen the two bolts holding each shock mount in, remove the bottom shock mount bolt, and just drop the shocks straight down. Then remove/replace the shock mounts on the shocks when they're out of the car. It's MUCH easier than trying to get the shocks loose from the upper mounts while still in the car, since you'll be removing the mounts anyway.

John
http://mark8.org/users/johnaec/Mark_VIII_s.jpg
'97 Mark VIII LSC
'96 T-Bird 4.6L
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Understood. Are they easier to get to than the 94. I took that back seats out when I did my 94.

Should be some amusement for the neighbors, "fat guy laying in his trunk" :)
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

From the center of the bottom bolt hole to the top of the shock where it mounts to the vehicle I gathered these measurements:

Extended: 18 7/8"
Compressed: 14 1/4"

Kale
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Ok, update on my shock story...

After countless phonecalls to manufacturers of shocks and parts places and so on I came up with...ZILCH! LOL!

Monroe is a no go...nothing as an unmodified fit. The same for anything else I tried, and I definitely did not want to modify the shock mount.

So I just ordered the stock motorcraft shocks for $84.99 ea. LOD member price at FPN including the mounts, which is cheaper than the COST to my shop!

Man, now I cant wait until they come in and no more clunking in the rear...and front for that matter, because I have them change four bushings (forgot exactly which ones) at the same time...oh, and drop the thing a lil too ;-)

Marcus.
 
RE: Confused About My Rear End

Just got my OEM's from FPN today .. looking forward to no more clunking noise myself ! Now if the weather would just cooperate.

Living near Columbus and being the weekend of the Memoral Golf Tournament, it is going to rain (always does), just a fact of life here in Ohio.

:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top