Sport shocks and springs on a SC?

3.8

Registered User
Short story: The front shocks on my '90 SC are trash. Oil is coming out of the top of them. They have over 154,000 miles on them. I can't afford new ones right now.

I have a '92 Sport for parts.

Can I use the '92 Sport front shocks and springs and the rear shocks on my '90 SC? Would the front sit at the same height it currently sits at? How would the ride change?



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I believe I read somewhere that the suspension components are the same for the Sport and the SC... Have you taken a good look at both setups for comparison? I'm guessing there should be some sort of part #'s or markings on the springs and shocks (I never looked when I changed mine). New shocks/springs for the SC aren't all that expensive. Check out www.shox.com for some options...
 
Interchangable

I believe I read somewhere that the suspension components are the same for the Sport and the SC... Have you taken a good look at both setups for comparison? I'm guessing there should be some sort of part #'s or markings on the springs and shocks (I never looked when I changed mine). New shocks/springs for the SC aren't all that expensive. Check out www.shox.com for some options...


The springs on an SC and a '96 - '97 LX with the sports suspension option are the same. The shocks on an LX sport do not have the ARC adjustment, but they will fit on an SC.

'96 - '97 LX front sport shocks are no longer available from Ford.

eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport
 
Thanks for the info.

Would it be ok to swap the front springs from the '92 Sport 5.0 to my '90 SC? I don't want the front to sit any higher than it does now...

This is just a temporary "fix" until after I fix some other stuff... like new control arms, new tires, and fix the A/C... then I can buy some new SC shocks



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I test drove a 92 Sport and 92 SC 5-speed back when they were new. I felt that the Sport had a firmer ride.

Is a SC engine heavier that a 5.0? If the 5.0 is heavier I would have to believe the SC would sit higher.
 
Not sure

Thanks for the info.

Would it be ok to swap the front springs from the '92 Sport 5.0 to my '90 SC? I don't want the front to sit any higher than it does now...

This is just a temporary "fix" until after I fix some other stuff... like new control arms, new tires, and fix the A/C... then I can buy some new SC shocks.

I'm not sure how you'll like the ride with the V-8 springs in the SC. But the swap will work.

There's a lowering spring suspension chart over on the
www.mn12performance.com Website. The chart is at
http://www.mn12performance.com/mn12-techinfo/springs/springs.htm

That chart will give you all the spring ratings, front and rear, for '89 - '97 Thunderbirds. You'll see that the V-8's had a stiffer spring rating than the n/a 3.8's. But they are not as stiff as the Super Coupe springs.

eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport
 
Thanks for the link to the chart. The Sport springs seem kind of soft after comparing the numbers.
 
That's correct

I do not believe the 92 sport has SC springs..Its the later model ones...I THINK


The '92 V-8 5.0 sport springs are not rated the same as the '97 4.7 Sport option springs, which are the same as SC springs. The MN12performance chart shows the rating differences.

Eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport
 
The '92 V-8 5.0 sport springs are not rated the same as the '97 4.7 Sport option springs, which are the same as SC springs. The MN12performance chart shows the rating differences.

Eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport

The mn12performance chart doesn't show the 1992 Sport spring rates it only shows V8. I actually test drove a new 1992 LX V8, 1992 Sport V8 and a SuperCoupe. I guarantee that the sports had different rates that the standard V8.

If you look up the spring rates on the door panels the 97 sports had the same shock codes as the 1992. I won't say that they are the same though. There is a long drawn out thread on tccoa about the 1991-1992 sports and the later sports.
 
Jjjj

The mn12performance chart doesn't show the 1992 Sport spring rates it only shows V8. I actually test drove a new 1992 LX V8, 1992 Sport V8 and a SuperCoupe. I guarantee that the sports had different rates that the standard V8.

If you look up the spring rates on the door panels the 97 sports had the same shock codes as the 1992. I won't say that they are the same though. There is a long drawn out thread on tccoa about the 1991-1992 sports and the later sports.

I just went outside and looked at the spring code on my '97 with the sports suspension option. The spring code is JJJJ.

Hope that helps.

eddie
'90 5-speed SC
'97 LX sport
 
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