Front damper differences

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ISG

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May 30, 2013
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Lithuania
Hi, maybe someone knows is there some kind of differences between front damper from zetec and duratec? Or maybe between cougar and mondeo? The difference i look for is the height of the car. My fried fitted new monroe front dampers from 2,5 mondeo, they fitted perfectly into the hub, etc, but now the front of the car looks like its jacked up, the gap between tire and fender is a lot bigger than before.. We are wondering maybe we got the wrong dampers? Old ones are thrown away so we can not compare :(((( any ideas?
 
What is the weight difference between them I wonder?

Remember if they are 'brand-new' they do take a while to settle down and bed in.
 
Yes, thats obvious, i forgot to mention that friend has a v6 so if we would fit a zetec struts, in theory they should be even lower, but thats only theory... I need ti know in reality, are the struts different in height, thanks
regarding bed in, i dont think so, springs could bed in, but struts? I doubt that, the gap is noticebaly bigger
 
ISG said:
Yes, thats obvious, i forgot to mention that friend has a v6 so if we would fit a zetec struts, in theory they should be even lower, but thats only theory... I need ti know in reality, ade the struts different in height, thanks
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I doubt they're different in height, the springs are more concerned with vehicle ride-hight than the shock absorbers.

A vehicle with under spec'd shocks and comparatively over-spec'd springs with bang, wobble, bounce and tramp its way down the road.
 
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The part nos. for the front shocks are the same for the V6 and Zetec.
The front springs have different part nos. because the V6 ones have a higher rating to compensate for the heavier engine. Diesel Mondeos also have the higher rated springs.
 
Approximately? Assuming a complete engine, the V6 is 140kg or 308lbs dry. The Zetec is 125kg or 275lbs dry.

These figures will depend on how well you've drained them. And at the risk of wimping out, these are figures averaged from various sources. Don't use them as absolute limits if you're lifting one, or ordering springs to suit. This is only a guide.
 
Pid_16V said:
Damper length and fittings are exactly the same, and interchangable but with undisirable effects. Springs carry the weight so get the ones for your engine.
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benham said:
A vehicle with under spec'd shocks and comparatively over-spec'd springs with bang, wobble, bounce and tramp its way down the road.
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These! Damper selection does not affect ride height unless the strut itself is physically shorter - which they are not.

Fitting softer dampers looking for a lower ride height will give you an underdamped car. That will suit your fibreglass sills quite well.

It's fascinating to see that function is waaaaaaaaaaaay down the list of priorities with you and your friend.
 
jamie_duff...
First of all my cougar has its original sills, its my past car that I fiber glassed the sills, and it holds till now (6years) so bitch please ... i don't want to talk about them with you people, because You have all the equipment, and done all the experiments with side impacts involving rusted sills with holes vs same rusted sills but repaired with fiberglass, and have all the evidence of what is better.
Secondly, I wrote that those struts fitted perfectly, so what kind of function are you talking about? Anyway I find out that those struts that we got are the Mondeo V6 struts. So, maybe it will be helpful for some of You:
Mondeo V6 struts fit perfectly but the front of the car sits way too high after putting the car on the ground. We will return those struts, and i will try to check what is different about them (they are longer, or what).
 
They have a different part number. The rears have the same part number (mondeo and cougar). We changed the rears also, ant the car stands the same as with an old struts. So Im almost 100% sure that the problem is in the mondeo vs cougar struts. Or You have some more ideas?
 
Front and rear Mondeo v cougar definitely have different part numbers. That said Mondeo struts do fit the cougar. They are not bigger as you have already been told they have different compression ratios or whatever the correct technical waffle is


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Rear's part numbers are the same, as far as Monroe catalog says. So thats what im trying to find out. What else, if not the size, can make a car stand taller. Because i can easily fully compress the struts with my bare hands, that means that the weight totally depends on the spring...
 
Maybe You can check somewhere? Because i see that both mondeo and cougar has a part number E4943 in the rear. And in front: cougar - E4942, mondeo - E4585.
 
Mondeo and Cougar rears are different OE parts. The Cougar ones have flats in the tubes to help clear the wheels whereas the Mondeo rears don't - however they fit anyway.
 
ISG said:
Rear's part numbers are the same, as far as Monroe catalog says. So thats what im trying to find out. What else, if not the size, can make a car stand taller. Because i can easily fully compress the struts with my bare hands, that means that the weight totally depends on the spring...
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Dude, you have the car, we cannot see it.

Dampers can not take the weight of the car, if they do the springs will be loose on their seats, as you say they are easily compressed.

Have you checked the springs to see if they are loose?

If they are not then assuming you have fitted the correct length of damper all is good

Have you driven the car since they were changed?
 
ISG said:
jamie_duff...
First of all my cougar has its original sills, its my past car that I fiber glassed the sills, and it holds till now (6years) so bitch please ... i don't want to talk about them with you people, because You have all the equipment, and done all the experiments with side impacts involving rusted sills with holes vs same rusted sills but repaired with fiberglass, and have all the evidence of what is better.
Secondly, I wrote that those struts fitted perfectly, so what kind of function are you talking about? Anyway I find out that those struts that we got are the Mondeo V6 struts. So, maybe it will be helpful for some of You:
Mondeo V6 struts fit perfectly but the front of the car sits way too high after putting the car on the ground. We will return those struts, and i will try to check what is different about them (they are longer, or what).
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As I've said before, I think it's partially a cultural thing.

If I swapped with an American electrican for a week and I wired an American house to the BSEN 17th Edition and he wired a UK house to a given state standard I know that;
My method would be seen as "lethal", and under spec'd, with stupidly cautious levels of earthing.
The US method would be seen by a UK Sparkie as uneconomical with an hilariously dangerous earthing system.

Neither is viewed by their own standards as "wrong" and are both considered highly safe.

We all do things the way we know how - that said I DO NOT in any way encourage the method you've suggested. You'll just have to accept it is not acceptable in the UK, and it doesn't give you carte Blanche to level insults at anybody.
 
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