Suspension El Sapphire 1998 - Ford Forums - Mustang Forum, Ford Trucks, Ford Focus and Ford Cars

tuesday · 07-17-2004, 01:28

I'm looking at a 1998 El Sapphire Wagon through a dealer. The suspension is very floaty. It needs new rackends, which the dealer will replace, but I don't think they will stop the bounce. Would this just be shockies or should I be looking at struts or a full steering upgrade? Is this a problem for EL's?
Also - its got 197000ks but is very clean and well looked after, $8990. What do you think about the price.? It's a private owner not fleet.

Any info would be great - a later model ford is a bit different to a 67 Valiant!
Thanks
Tuesday

fairmont1998 · 07-17-2004, 05:46

The EL range, bar the XRs, were definately set up for comfort, not handling. Swap the springs and shocks for some stiffer units and you should be impressed with how well the EL can handle.

galaxy xr8 · 07-17-2004, 21:07

With that many klm's it probably just need's a new set of shocker's.

Futura97 · 07-19-2004, 05:43

my EL's a shocker!!! So floaty you feel like your in a boat! But it's going in next monday to get a nice little upgrade... looking forward to it!

3Toed · 07-19-2004, 20:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by fairmont1998

The EL range, bar the XRs, were definately set up for comfort, not handling. Swap the springs and shocks for some stiffer units and you should be impressed with how well the EL can handle.

Amen.

I got the Tickford suspension kit (brings it to XR firmness and ride height) a few years ago and it made a huge improvement. The harsher bumps took a little while to get used to but the more stable ride more than made up for it.

Now I wish I had even firmer suspension...

tuesday · 07-25-2004, 18:49

Thanks guys, great to have this forum for questions that a dealer will not give a straight answer over! I'm getting the car after all, and will put heavier shock and springs in if I need to!
Thanks again!