Help With Shocks

superbird92

Registered User
I and working on my car and trying to get the ride control working and i have found out that the front shocks are bad. I'm looking for places to get them from besides ford if somebody makes them. Let me know if anybody has had this problem and how they fixed it and if they got the shocks from another company. I would need to know how to contact them and get those ordered.

Thanks
Josh
 
Try www.shox.com , they have various options available for SC shocks, depending on whether or not you wish to keep the automatic ride control feature.


cheers
Ed Nicholson
SCCoO
 
Questions about shocks

Is it even worth the money that it could cost me to get the ride control fixed or should i put diffrent shocks in my car? It is a 1992 super coupe all stock for now.

Thanks
Josh
 
I would say that most guys who've had these cars for awhile end up bypassing the ARC, and going with Konis or Bilsteins. I had originally put the Tokico Illumina 2s in mine with the Eibachs about 3 years ago, but after about 90,000 km (approx. 55,000 miles) the rear shocks were pretty dead, and the fronts are on the way. I've put a pair of Konis just in the rear for now, and will do the fronts over the winter. Originally I wanted to be able to retain the soft / firm feature, but usually I'd be driving with the firm setting on about 95% of the time anyway.

So the short version is, yes, if you like good handling out of the SC, step up now for some Konis or Bilsteins, then your done with it, no messing around later. If I had known better before I just would have gone Koni originally. I was afraid they would ride too stiffly, but I should have remembered how they were in my 87 5.0 Mustang -- fantastic in that car too.


cheers
Ed N.
 
what are some website where i can go and get those types of shocks?? What are the costs of them and what are the rough costs.

Josh
 
whats wrong with the tokicos? do they just wear out fast or something? i was planning on getting those in the future, when i lower my car, because i like having the option. i probably drive with the "auto" setting about 65-70% of the time. please let me know what problems you guys have had with these.
 
tondog, please re-read my second post in this thread for an explanation !! My Tokico Illumina 2 rears were dead after about 55,000 miles, and the fronts are on their way out as well. The Konis are manually adjustable, with a knob that fits to the top of the shocks ... and they give an excellent ride, and great handling. Steve Pathay (tbirdsc357) experienced the same trouble as me.

superbird92, did you try www.shox.com as I suggested in my first response ? They have lots of different brands available, with good pricing.


cheers
Ed N.
 
KONI - Thunderbird (Disarms Elect. Susp.) 89-97 8641-1209 Sport 8041-1202 Sport

BILSTEIN - 89-97 FORD Thunderbird HD B46-1505 17 B46-1506 17

Is this the type of shocks i need ??? i don't know what the disarms elect. susp means. Sorry i sound so stupid but i have not owned a super coupe long.

Thanks
Josh
 
Guys I would love to keep on reading on this!
I have the same problem, my front shocks are shut but I ca not find replacements for the rear they are discontinued.
Ford does not have them and the only place that sells the fronts is Auto Zone for $120.00 each.

I have my car set on soft most of the time since i commute a lot and set to firm when I have the feel for speed.
How does the Koni's adjust??:confused:
 
Don't worry ... the only stupid question is the one you don't ask !!

Those are the shocks we're talking about ... what Ford calls ARC, Automatic Ride Control, the aftemarket just refers to as "Electric Shocks". So your regular / firm ride feature would not work any more. The Konis are manually adjustable by a knob at the top, and the Bilsteins are non-adjustable.

Thumper SC, I would check with another dealer if you want stock replacement shocks ... Ford does still sell them. Up here in Canada, they are about $150 each wholesale price for the fronts, and $125 each for the rears. Unfortunately, part of the dealer agreement with Ford of Canada is that we cannot export any parts across the border, otherwise I would offer to start selling to the club members in the U.S.

cheers
Ed N.
 
Well i called that www.shox.com and told them what kinda car i had and they said they had shocks for the front of my car they were 112.00 per shock. They said they would still work with my ride control and that TOKICO had some. I've heard bad things about t he TOKICO'S i don't want to buy something and then it shits out on me after a short time. Should I go with the other brand and be done with it. I will still be able to adjust the shocks right? Is there a step by step way on converting the system over that anybody knows of???? Otherwise i'm gonna mess something up i can bet on that.

Thank You So Much For All Your Help fast Ed N
Josh
 
Josh, if you call back to shox.com, ask them if the Tokicos they are selling are the stock Ford replacements, or if they are the aftermarket Illumina 2 shocks. The Illumina 2s are the ones that seem to go soft too quickly. If they have the stock replacements, those aren't bad ... or you could try Dan Newman at Five Star Ford, he gives wholesale pricing to SCCoA members. You could get a quote from him on the stock replacements. If you do a search on the forums, a thread should come up with his contact info, or maybe somebody else can post it. If you decide to go with one of the other brands, it's just a matter of leaving off the electric actuators that sit on top of the stock shocks, and setting your ride control button to the firm setting all the time so that you don't get a blinking firm ride light.


cheers
Ed N.
 
This is for fast Ed N

fast Ed N

I just wanted to say that I really liked your style of helping out people that have questions. We all don't know as much as the next person.

I liked your tact so much that I signed up for the fourms, I too will be someday a Super Coupe owner. I am currently looking at a 1989 Mercury Cougar XR7 has 115,000 miles on it, all stock. But sometimes I have questions as well.. before I may buy. It is just nice to know that there are great people like yourself..

Have a great day and stay good..

Karl
Buffalo, Minnesota
 
Karl, you're making me blush !! :p

I've had my SC for about 3-1/2 years now, and have received lots of help from this forum in that time. Now that I've learned a bit, and tried some different stuff on my own car, just trying to pass some of that info along to the newcomers.


cheers
Ed N.
 
Hey, Ed...
You live in Canada? I think you wanted to buy my black 89 5 sp back in 2000---- I was living in nashville and sent you a video.... is that you?

I am disappointed about your advice on the Tokico's. I just got mine in the mail yesterday, and will have them as well upper control arms and links put on this sunday..... I will go ahead with it and report my findings......

Mike
 
Hi Mike

Must have been the other guy up here named Ed ... people get us mixed up all the time !! :p

Seriously though, in 2000 I was already the proud owner of my 95 SC 5-speed, and my 68 Cougar, so I wasn't shopping for anything else ... especially south of the border with that nasty dollar exchange !

Hopefully the Tokicos do the job for you. I should add that my shocks get worked pretty hard ... since they've been in the car, I've always had Z-rated performance tires (Bridgestone RE-71, then S-02, now Goodyear F1 GS-D2), and as a former amateur road race driver, I like to "get the most" out of the car while negotiating the on- and off-ramps of the local highways :D


cheers
Ed N.
 
Hello, guys. And hi, Ed. May I add my .02 here? I'm like Fast ED in that I like to "get the most" out of my car on the highways. When you have past experience on road courses, you can have a lot of fun safely. I have always loved the Koni's and the Tokicos are a new one to me. I have also thought about replacing my ARC shocks and this thread is right on target for me too. May I ask if there is any problem when you replace with Konis? I was wondering can you unplug the ARC actuators and store them with the original shocks or do you have to leave them connected and just put out of the way. I don't assume anything with all of the computerized technology in these cars although it is getting less and less intimidating by the month. It's people like ED who have been there and are willing to help that make owning an SC way more enjoyable. Much appreciated.

Have a great weekend all.
 
Hey Lance ...

As far as I know, the ARC actuators could be unplugged completely, and you just set your switch to the Firm position all the time to avoid a blinking Firm Ride light. I just have the Konis in the back of my car right now, as the Tokicos back there were pretty much dead, and the rears are very easy to change. The actuators are just tie-wrapped out of the way for now, once I replace the fronts with Konis as well this winter, I'll probably remove the actuators altogether.

BTW I forgot to mention about 4 days of lapping at Watkins Glen when instructing there (2 of them on Hoosier race radials), and a few days at a small local track called Shannonville, as further abuse I heaped on my poor suspension -- I should have just put Konis in the car the first time around !!

cheers
Ed N.
 
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Don't mean to change the subject, but my abs motor is cycling a lot.... replaced the abc accum. 2 months ago... still doing it.... any ideas?


Mike
 
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