Long time guys: Still have a mark. Needs new front struts... what the new hotness?

[Myco]

Hey guys. Hope everyone is doing well.

My mark has tokico front struts. Have no idea what type of springs are on it but they are regular ride height sprints (black). I got them from Greg (in Houston) if anyone remembers him.

In the last week the car has suddenly started oscillating drastically on the front end. Funny thing though. It seems like it started "all of a sudden" and not gradually. I figure it's time for some new struts but it's been several years since I have looked into the struts/suspension scene for these cars.

Anyone have suggestions? I was thinking strutmasters or arnott. Just need the fronts though.

Thanks.

 

[chargerxr]

Make sure you don't have a bad tire. A slipped belt will cause a lot of front end shake.

 

[BILLBOATS]

Hi, that is a beauty of a Mark . I like the blue color too. The belt would have to be very worn and then I still can't see how it would cause the steering and wheels to shake . Can you?

 

[luccianoduckman]

I just recently put StrutMasters on all 4 wheels of my 97 Mark. I've got about 11k on them now and so far so good. They are soft in the front - certainly much softer than the original air suspension. But they are quiet - no creaking or squeaking noises. I got the StrutMasters because of the completeness of the kit - comes with all the fixin's you need.

 

[nightfly]

FWIW; I'm going on 10 months, had the coil conversion kit sent from American Air Suspension done last year. I specified the sensortrack Monroe shocks. Everything is working fine. However; the car is and has been 'floaty'. It's purely a luxury car ride, not sporty at all, and if you go over a bump of any sort while in a turn, you're going to feel like the car's not 'planted' as it will continue to float up and down a couple of times as if you're going over waves. Which I guess was the intention of those who chose the settings of the replacement shocks. Having owned mostly sports cars much of my life, I would have preferred something firmer. I believe Koni still makes shocks (they are the ones for mustangs, I researched them last year before just going for this kid) for the rear, but I don't know where firmer shocks & spring setups are available for the fronts.
However, bear in mind that I'm comparing the mark 8 to a Porsche 928 with it's standard Boge shocks. Despite what I'd been told by a Lincoln mechanic many years ago, the mark 8 is definitely NOT a sports car. Steering isn't as precise, seats are definitely couch like that you'll slide off of during any spirited cornering, the list just goes on and on. Maybe it seemed sporty compared to older Lincoln marks. But compared to real sports cars? It's a luxury car. And rides like one.

 

[93mark8rules]

I went with Westar factory replacement Bags all the way around, and used KYB GR2's from a Cobra out back, when I rebuilt the front end I got poly sway bar bushings, new sway bar end links in the front, and poly bushings on the rear sway bars, and sensor lowered it so the tires are even with the top of the wheel wells. It tightened the car up a lot (it had 172k on it and was worn) I don't get a lot of float its more taught then a regular Mark 8, but going through a turn it still does lean like a big luxury car, but its prone to oversteer which is nice. But its still comfortable in a straight line. Id say its comparable to my girlfriends 2013 Lexus is250 Convertible. Not amazing but a good driver.

I was talking to the guy over at Super Coupe Performance and he recommended the upsized rear sway bar. He said it takes a lot of the boat out of the car, more so than just upgrading the front, and its around $200 so thats probably my next step.

 

[Lownslowlsc]

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