1997 Ford Crown Vic - H/Duty Rear Springs

[liljoe]

I have a customer (WWII vet) that has had to get him a power chair and the chair carrier that goes on the rear of the car. The place the VA sent him to for the chair/lift combo installed the lift on the rear of his car and then told him that he was gonna need to have some extra heavy special springs installed at a cost of around $600.00 parts and $200.00 labor. The car with out the chair on the lift is siting about three inches lower then another one I have on my lot ( measured at the bumper) he said with the chair in it it was dragging the ground. My plan is to use rear coils out of a country squire wagon and install a set of air lift helpers in the center of the coils. My question is: has any of ya'll been in a simular situation? Does anyone have a better idea for this problem? If so, I am all ears ( or eyes in this case). Help me help a vet...

[wbuxton]

Sounds like you are on the right track. All ford springs have a paper tag with a code. It is quite common for them to use different springs from right to left. I always veered away from the air shocks but helper springs (air bags) I approve of.

[liljoe]

He wanted to use air shocksbut I don't really like to use them cause they put too much stress on the mounting points for the shocks. I have used several sets of the air lift springs and like them very well. The springs I intend to use are speced at a load of 780lbs with a spring rate of of 200lbs and a wire diameter of .656" vs a load of 340lbs a spring rate of 160 lbs and a wire diameter of .625". I just don not want to over compensate for the weight and make it a skyjacker from the seventies....

[brianp87]

Im with you I would be scared of it being to high. If it were me i would installe rear air shocks from monroe. Part #MA815 from oreiley.

[wbuxton]

A little bit of heat from a torch will cure ride height!

[steven kiser]

i'd try installing a timbrin.

[liljoe]

A little bit of heat from a torch will cure ride height!

I remember in the late 80s ( yeah, surprising, I know) it got to be popular to have low riders and around here people were torching the springs and lowering the cars, only to find they keep droping after you stop torching. Can't tell you how many "dudes" paid me to torch their springs only to turn around and pay me to replace them.... I am all for lowering cars and trucks the correct way ( just did a 4/4 drop on a tahoe over the weekend) but this was getting crazy around here.... Step son bought him a mazda b2200 and wanted to lower it.I told him if he saved and bought the correct parts, Iwould help him lower it, he decided to listen to his cousin who talked him into cranking the torsion bars all the way down and adding 3" blocks to the rear. The truck had NO susprnsion travel and the fist timehe drove it, he got stuck on a set of RR tracks. In less then two weeks both torsion bars had FELL off the truck and the entire bottom of the frame was a solid scrape. I never had to touch another car for him cause I told his mother if he does it the shade tree way I was done helping him. !2 years later it still stands, if he calls me for advice on a car I tell him call his cousin./......

[liljoe]

i'd try installing a timbrin.

Lost me on that one Steve.

[brianp87]

Wheni was young and nieve I lowered alot of cars the hack way maybe 50. I would cut coils or remove them completely on hondas. I would drop torsion bars on nissans and remove leafs and or add blocks. I still own a civic with cut coils Iv had it for a lonnnnnngggg time. I used to do alot of stuff to hondas way back in the mid 90's in my teens. Id lower anything. lol.

[wbuxton]

Income and standars are next on my list!

[brianp87]

Whats a timbrin?

[liljoe]

Whats a timbrin?

I googled it and they are a suspension kit company, sadly, they do not make a kit for the crown vic. I have decided to go with what I was thinking of. I will photo it before and after for referance as to what is needed to do this. I am sure that this is something that is going to be come more common, esp the way the chair companies are hawking the chairs. I am thinking of getting with the local medical supply stores in town that sell the chairs and let them know I am willing to find and impliment solutions to problems like this.

[brianp87]

good thoughts. I did a camry and I just put the rubber spacers in the back coils. I couldnt find anything else

[steven kiser]

great idea about dealing through the local supply company. i would make sure that your covered for any liability issues. i do a lot of fabrication and modifications. i make modifications to install timbrin bushings in vehicles that they don't make them fore. basically it's just a plating issue. in retrospect i think that since this is a single usage vehicle the air bag is probably the way to go. if i were in your shoes i would install the air bag before i did anything else and with the car loaded take it for a test drive and see how it handles. i'm thinking that there may be a huge weight distribution issue here and there are more issues than just ride height. i would also install the police package option for the brakes and make sure the wind direction shields are intact behind the rotors. the tire rating would also be an issue. i would throw out the p rating and go to a light truck. if this was a multi use i would lean towards the timbrin but it really doesn't matter if the rear sticks up when empty because it's only going to be driven with the chair in it. i confused myself reading my response so good luck. if you're going to start modifying, and there is good money to be made, try to get a good 220 mig, tig combo, plasma cutter, bending press, and drill press. i made a bending wedge and block for my 20 ton press and man what a great addition for fabrication. again way to much information here but it's just me being me...........

[liljoe]

I think I should have all basses covered except a plasma cutter, it is on my short list of things I want. I sure could of saved a bunch of time doing the rear axle flip on the tahoe with a plasma. The car will be driven with and with out the chair. He has already gottten a set of wranglers on the rear cause his drive way is muddy sometimes. I am going to install the onboard compressor/controller kit from air lift as well as the air springs so he can control it from the drivers seat. The total weight of the chair/lift combo is still less then 600 lbs, so total weight should not be too big an issue. I agree on the heavy duty brakes and will try to selll him on them as well. As for liability, we have 1mil in coverage, so I should be good on that as well.

[liljoe]

before and after springs.jpg (168.62 KiB) Viewed 10808 times

Here is the car with just the coils changed, the air springs are held up some where on FedEx and he needed to go get his chair tomorrow from the place he got it from, so I stuck the coils in and he will come back for the rest of the job. I think I will look for a spring that is just a little softer then this set and swap them out as well. It sits just a little high for me with no load on the chair lift.

[brianp87]

looks good I think it will prolly be just fine as is.

[steven kiser]

if he's the primary driver does it really matter how high it sits empty. wouldn't it be the ride height loaded?

[liljoe]

if he's the primary driver does it really matter how high it sits empty. wouldn't it be the ride height loaded?

I guess I just the best of both worlds. He would have the cart with him all the time I guess. He is supposed to ride up to the place and get it this afternoon and if he has time he will stop by and let me see it loaded with the suspension as is. He really did like the idea of it being adjustable so it would ride good either way. When I was under the car sitcking the coils in, I noticed that they had put almost 1/2" of spacers at the rear mounting point for the receiver hitch when they installled it, I removed all but 1/8" and it raised the back of the receiver up and changed the angle for the platform that the chair rides on and now it is not pointing at a downward angle. When the guy that drives him around came and picked up the car, he told me that he drives for around a dozen elder people that all need someone they can trust to look after thier cars. The car owner is writing a letter to the VA telling them what kind of situation that the place had put him in and copies of the estimate form them and the invoice from me.

[fortknoxx]

could not find a timbren for you but here are 2 pn's
airlift air bag 60769
firestone coilrite 4108
they go into the rear coils and will assist with 1k lbs
here are the destructions
http://www.airliftcompany.com/manuals/MN-126_60769.pdf
I prefer airlift. Replacement parts are readily avail to me. If you cant get em down there lemme know. I get em for ya.