One of the front springs on my Focus broke yesterday and I had my dad get it checked out while I used his car for work. I was under the impression springs got replaced in pairs however the mechanic said he'd do that if I wanted although it wasn't necessary. It's not expensive so cost isn't a problem, so is it worth getting both done at once or will the car be fine with getting one side done?
Replace springs in pairs?
- Thread starter Tachyon
- Start date
Yup, I had a snapped spring a while ago and did both to be sure. I also did both shocks too as there was no extra labour charge, may be worth considering if your car's knocking on a bit (mine was 10years old so made a good improvement).
Car is 9 year old but I know very little about cars and generally wait until something breaks or the guy at the MOT centre fails the car & I have to get it fixed. I'll have a look into shocks as the car is going great other than a broken spring, so it might be worth doing as I'll unlikely change it his year.
Yer it might be fine, but if they're seeping and leaking slightly now then when you eventually have to change them it'll cost a fair bit in labour as they'll have to strip down the suspension which is a good few hours. Whereas now it's just an extra 30mins to swap as it's already stripped.
Saying that your shocks could last years
Its one of those things.
Do you have to replace both springs?
No, Is it a good idea to replace both springs ? yes.
Its like replacing the slave cylinder when changing the clutch. You don't have to, but people always do as its a good idea while the gearbox is out.
Do you have to replace both springs?
No, Is it a good idea to replace both springs ? yes.
Its like replacing the slave cylinder when changing the clutch. You don't have to, but people always do as its a good idea while the gearbox is out.
It depends on why you are replacing them. If, as in this case, it is because one has snapped but the other is fine, then replacing one should be ok. If it is because they are tired and saggy then you'd want both done.
Personally I'd always do both though, and would do the shock absorbers at the same time.
Personally I'd always do both though, and would do the shock absorbers at the same time.
Spring constants in an ideal world would mean that a spring never changes its properties (but obviously would only break when taken outside of it's mechanical limits). The ageing of the materials will adversly effect the ability of the metal to perform to the same parameters it was originally designed to so whilst a spring may be acceptable whilst its opposing number is broken you would very likely end up with two different spring profiles between the two sides; which wouldn't do much good for ride quality and may well force the unreplaced spring to die at an increased rate due to the inbalance between the two sides causing oscillations through the chassis.
I personally have everything suspension wise (including tyres) changed in pairs; the only time I have deviated from this was when I had a flat tyre a day before I traded the last car in!