Need Some Advice On Shock Absorbers, Car Not Drivable And Need Up Running Asap

[simpledan]

Hi there, need some advice... heres some background on the car

ford Mondeo 2000 auto

Was driving the car and seemed to loose control of the steering wheel, parked up straight away and called the recovery company

The front driver side wheel is bent.

The wheel turns both ways and I can drive at low speed (drivable onto the recovery truck speed)

Recovery man said it was most likely a cv joint or wheel bearing gone.

today i had a mobile mechanic come around, he said it is a shock absorber and wishbone (nothing to do with the cv joint). He showed me a crack in the shock absorber.

He said tomorrow morning phone around and find driver side shock absorber and wishbone and he will fit it in the afternoon for £100 on the driveway (so no towing charges)

The problem is this now...

I cant exactly go to Ford or Euro Car Parts to buy a standard shock absorber as the car i bought came as lowered, with sports suspension (i looked at the old receipts from the previous owner and all it says is £300 for performance suspension) I am now stuck with no idea what exactly to buy

As far as i know these lowered cars come in 400mm or 300mm lowered etc

My question is what exactly do i buy. The mechanic doesnt seem to know either what size exactly the shock absorber should be.

My main question is

Will a standard Ford mondeo 2000 shock absorber fit fine? The reason i ask this is becuase i am not too sure if the spring coils are used to lower the car and maybe (hopefully) the shock absorbers are always the same size?

I hope what i have said makes sense and someone can give me advice please. Many thanks in advance

[Peange]

It is possible that you can fit regular shocks on there, it just depends on how low the car is. I believe (happy to be corrected!) that anywhere up to 40mm on standard shocks is fine. As you go lower than this, there's too much strain on the shocks, which is when you would need performance ones.

Springs alone are usually about £150-£200, so if you include fitting then that could possibly make up your £300 receipt. Full kits (springs and shocks) are usually well above £300 anyway.

I'd say you're fine with standard shocks, but obviously the decision is yours. Just remember to get both shocks (L+R) changed or your handling will be horrendous!