Ford Tempo Front Springs

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Brad - While replacing my CV axle I noticed that there is a rubber spacer like above already on the top side of the springs of my Scorpio.
They look factory.

Yes, the stepped rubber insulator on top is factory. While I was looking around for solutions I found that the Camaro uses a similar insulator and someone opted to put the same one I'm getting on top of that rather than at the bottom. I suppose if the bottom of the springs aren't ground flat than maybe doubling up top might be a better way to go. I'm not sure offhand what the bottom of the Scorpio spring looks like.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

But I do plan to also raise the rear a bit and yesterday ordered a pair of these...
https://www.amazon.com/Energy-Suspensio ... B000CNB56S


The plan would be to jack the rear corner up from the STA, clamp and compress down a bit more on the spring, disconnect the lower shock mount, drop the car and re-lift from the body and then slide the isolator in there. I'll report back once I do, but there's a couple higher priority project ahead of this.

Well this ^^^ didn't really work out. The O.D. of the Energy Suspension isolator is a little larger than the spring bucket on the STA. I tried to get it in there while I had the spring resting on the back edge of the STA, but when I tried to position the spring back into place it just pushed the isolator out. I tried a couple times before giving up.

In the mean time, I had a couple sets of spring rubbers that I inserted between the coils (two on each side). At the most they raised the ride 1/4", but that'll do for now. Now with the benefit of hindsight, I should have gone with those spacers from Summit. Maybe another day I'll try those, but for now things are "good enough".

[Fresh Air Inspector]

Hello Brad,

Once again, nice to see someone exploring other avenues. BTW, interesting paint job (wrap)?

As with my comment on the rear shock absorbers (dampers to our English colleagues), I'm curious about the spring rate for the Tempo front springs? According to the RockAuto site the same part number is specified for the 2.3L I4 as well as the 3.0L V6 (I used 1994 - last production year). I find that strange in itself as the weight difference would be 50kg (110 lb), or more. The Tempo being a lighter vehicle would lead one to surmise a lower spring rate compared to the Scorpio. In theory this along with the shorter overall spring height would mean a lower ride height, yet you ended up with a higher ride height.

Maybe my logic is missing a piece. Looking forward to your feedback.

[my8950]

I am also looking at Scorpio springs and struts.
It seems to me that the Scorpio front springs are much longer than the XR springs.

Can anyone confirm the rears are the same or different then the XR? I haven't removed the rear suspension yet from the Scorpio I have. My plan is to drop the entire beam with arms & all attached.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

BTW, interesting paint job (wrap)?

Definitely NOT a wrap. I think it's documented in here somewhere, but SPI Epoxy Primer topped with Epifanes 2-part Polyurethane. I think it was 5 coats total. All rolled on.

The Tempo being a lighter vehicle would lead one to surmise a lower spring rate compared to the Scorpio. In theory this along with the shorter overall spring height would mean a lower ride height, yet you ended up with a higher ride height.

You're perhaps forgetting that the Tempo is FWD so both the engine and transmission are supported by the front suspension. I never bothered to do the math, but the spring coil diameter is thicker than stock Scorpio as well as being wound in a tighter loop - both things result in a higher spring rate.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

I am also looking at Scorpio springs and struts.
It seems to me that the Scorpio front springs are much longer than the XR springs.

Can anyone confirm the rears are the same or different then the XR? I haven't removed the rear suspension yet from the Scorpio I have. My plan is to drop the entire beam with arms & all attached.

The "at rest" height measurement doesn't mean much when it comes to springs. I haven't compared front XR vs. Scorpio but I imagine that the Scorpio is a little higher rate than the XR.

For the rears, there's a big difference between XR and Scorpio. XR is a progressive spring that is just too soft. Scorpio is a constant spring rate and generally much stiffer than XR. Several people (myself included) have put Scorpio rear springs in a XR, cutting either one or two complete loops off. I cut one loop off and have a ride height a little higher than stock.

[Fresh Air Inspector]

Hello Brad,

Appreciate the reply. I applaud the accuracy of your testing as the details below will highlight. Nice piece of 'backyard' engineering. The part I find most interesting is although both front end weight values are similar and the Tempo spring shorter in overall length, the ride height increased when installed in the Scorpio. Amazing!

Did a bit of digging and found a Road and Track road test of the Scorpio, plus a Car and Driver road test of a 1987 Tempo (2.3L, AWD).

Scorpio weight; 3300 lb / 1500 kg with a 52 / 48 (F / R) weight distribution; Front = 1716 lb / 780 kg.

Tempo weight; 2864 lb / 1290 kg with a 60 / 40 (F / R) weight distribution; Front = 1700 lb / 774 kg.

Many thanks for digging into this.

[brokencase]

Brad - Presumably at this point you have the original Scorpio springs out of the car and in front of you.

Could you give us the wire diameter and the uncompressed length of the Scorpio original springs? Also number of turns.

The reason I ask is I would prefer to do some arm chair searching for other potential alternatives

For example here is the spec of the Husky brand front Tempo springs from Rockauto...

tempofronthusky.jpg (68.42 KiB) Viewed 3487 times

[brokencase]

Interesting...

https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/u ... prings.asp

[brokencase]

If you go to https://www.onlinecarparts.co.uk/ you will find many springs described for the Scorpio.

They have very few in stock but they do list some parameters of the Scorpio coil springs.

For the fronts.
A free length of 425 to 436mm (16.73- 17.16")
A diameter of 150 to 151 mm (5.90-5.94")
a wire diameter of 12.5mm (0.5")
Number of coils 7

Now if I go look at Moog's website the closest seems to be the Moog moog-cc848 - Tempo springs! What I did is Googled the Moog spring number and then check the fitment at Summitracing.com

But clearly, and as Brad has shown, the Tempo Springs sit a little too high. Which is surprising.
So maybe the best bet is to cut the Tempo's down.

I need too crunch some more numbers..

Sure would be nice to know what the lbs/in rate was for the original Scorpio springs. My wild guess is around low 500's or high 400's lb/inch

[brokencase]

Ah-hah!

Let us assume a gross vehicle weigh of about 3700lbs (two 200lb passengers) and knowing the weight distribution of 52/48 front to rear that gives us about 962 lbs on each front wheel. Lets round that up to 1000 lbs on each front wheel to make the math easy.
So if we have a 500lb/in spring rate then it means that the spring collapses 2 inches from it's free length.

We know the free length of the Scorpio springs from the Euro website.

So all we have to do is measure the loaded length of the original Scorpio springs and we can work backwards and figure out what the spring rate is on the original springs. Now from the free lengths listed on the Moog site we can select a stiffer rate (if a stiffer rate is desired) and calculate the free length we need to get the loaded length we desire.

I knew there was a way to do this..

So we should work out two cases... The first case is to find a domestic spring that is close to stock and the other would be a performance spring.

[brokencase]

We should also be able to select a suitable spring to resolve the ride height discrepancy when attempting to substitute the Jetta strut.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Brad - Presumably at this point you have the original Scorpio springs out of the car and in front of you.

Could you give us the wire diameter and the uncompressed length of the Scorpio original springs? Also number of turns.

Stock Scorpio Front Spring:
Outside diameter ~6"
Inside diameter ~4.5"
Wire diameter .520" (non-variable)
Freelength ~15"
End type Tangential (both ends)
# turns ~6 7/8

[brokencase]

Interesting - So the Scorpio springs don't have the pigtail end like the Tempo spring does?
I think that may open up more options at the Moog website because I specified pigtail on one end.

[DPDISXR4Ti]

Interesting - So the Scorpio springs don't have the pigtail end like the Tempo spring does?

Take a look about mid-way through the first page of this thread and you'll see neither of them have pigtail ends. As you can also see, the Tempo spring was ground flat on one end, but that didn't seem to be of any consequence one way or the other.