Hard (very hard) ride - yet shocks are fine.

Aug 24, 2003 6 Replies

I have a (fast approaching) 90,000 mile Mondeo ST200 Estate (apparently has self adjusting shocks on the rear). The ride on the car is *rock* hard - and I mean **rock** hard. Going over even the slightest iffyness in the road causes wobbling. Going over cables that lie over the road (ala temp traffic lights - speed testing devices etc) can cause the car to "jump", occasionally resulting in what I describe as a 'bang' as the wheels come back to earth.



I've looked at the shocks myself following a garage's recomendation that they are fine - by bouncing the car. Whilst its very difficult to do this (presumably because of the uprated springs), the car does go down, then immeadiately return to its normal position - to me describing a relatively good shock. This is the same for all four corners.



What else given this (fairly limited) info could be the cause ?


Andy Jenkins wrote: Snips

The shocks dont cause a harsh ride,unless they are locked up. It is your springs.You say you have uprated springs, that is your problem.If it has been used to carry heavy stuff around, that will make the springs feel harder as well, when they wear they start sagging a little, thus giving even less suspension travel. Alan.

And your definition of 'uprated' is?

This was deemed to be a possible cause, and amazingly it took Ford 3 weeks to find out the correct tyre pressure for the ST200 Estate (despite them having access to the Ford TIS.

Pressure has since been removed as a possible cause.

A good point. The shocks are standard has what is supplied for that car. I've seen other instances of this car (but admitedly limited) and the ride is nowhere near as harsh (from the outside anyway).

Ford class the shocks as ...

"Some revisions and modifications have been made to the chassis on the Mondeo ST200 to satisfy the demands of increased performance and sports handling. The chassis has been lowered by 2 mm at the front and

5 mm at the rear, and the settings of the gas struts have been revised. In addition, the subframe and lower suspension arms used in the ST200 are the same as for the Cougar.

The 4 and 5-door versions feature a 19 mm reinforced stabiliser bar on the rear axle. The estate is fitted with an automatic self-levelling system as standard."

I'm fast realising this.

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