Focus Front Suspension, Broken Coil

[DaveC]

The delights of driving along this country's road this morning when suddently I heard a loud bang from the front wheel and when I got home and had taken off the wheel I found the coil/ spring had broken.

A trip to the garage on monday for this to be repaired hoping it will not cost too much??

[artscot79]

you should replace both springs or youll end up with unbalanced steering and a car that just wont handle correctly

[DaveC]

Thanks for the tip, heard the coils should be about £20- £40 each + fitting, which I guess will be a couple of hours labour?

[artscot79]

usualy its £100 quid a side plus fitting depends on the garage really

[DaveC]

Thanks for the info.

[Morgie]

did you get it fixed yet? if not i would just do the one side iv had 2 go on my focus Zetec and both the left on the front never replaced driver side springs both times and there is No difference in handling does Arthur work for ford on commission. Once you get it done keep an eye on the spring placement as before mine broke it was not seating in the bottom cup correctly and had to be reseated on mine it was roughly the same point it broke, thank our lucky stars it stayed inplace and never punched a whole somewhere.

[DaveC]

Spoke to the mechanic and was advised thay only one needed replacing and it would not affect the cars set up. Was repaired yesterday and car drives ok for now. Thanks for the advice will report back after I have driven it some more..

[artscot79]

no i dont get commission thankyou as any of the older members on here will tell you springs should always be replaced in pairs depending on the mileage over 60k you should do both as one spring is worn the other new giving different damping rates effecting cornering stability i had a mk1 and due to cash only replaced one and the handling was terrible once the second was done all was okay it was noticeable when cornering also when one spring goes the second usually isnt far behind

[stef123]

Just to confirm what Arthur has said although it is each to their own here. Springs should be replaced in axle pairs, as should any suspension components as new parts are likely to upset the suspension geometry in some way - although you might never notice or feel any difference.

When I replace springs, I refuse to replace just the one spring for the above reason and also that the other spring is never usually far behind.

I have just done 2 front springs on a 1.6 mk2 focus, £40 each for Sachs plus a maximum of an hour fitting either side. At a garage you are looking at £80-£100 a side.

[DaveC]

Thanks for the further updates, the other spring will be replaced after I get paid next week so I will have a pair of new coils on the front axle.

[wase16ll]

although i would recommend changing in pairs, i dont think its strictly necessary, especially on the later designs with the larger coils..

springs weakening over age is much less of a problem, the main reason for breakages is a munufacturing fault [within the metal not the design) which no one has yet been able to guarantee against.

i would be happy to change a single spring, but yes, a geometry check is worthwhile, fo;;owed by a test drive then a comparison in height by measuring from bottom of arch to centre of hub..if all ok then shouldnt be a problem

as said, would always recommend a pair, but money is tight out there, so unless i can prove to a customer that for safety/handling reasons a pair is necessary, then if they opt for the single, i'll do it without issue