The Ford Capri Laser Page

Hi all,

I've just taken the front suspension to bits because I'm fed up of the springs going "PWANG" every time I do slow manoeuvring. I've read that the trick to stop this is to put garden hose on the spring. Do you put the hose on the top and bottom? I'm surprised nowhere sells replacements? Does this mean every Capri on the road has garden hose within it's suspension setup?

Thanks!
Nic

Cant believe youve posted this.ive had a twang on one side since i rebuilt my car.ive just spent a few hours on the car .retorqued everything etc.and ive found that its the spring twanging.so ive borrowed some spring clamps and going to sort it.mine have plastic/rubber sleeves on but worn out on that side.

Haha, spooky! I'm thinking heat shrink on the top and bottom for the spring would be a nicer solution. I guess all you need is to create enough friction to stop the spring moving. Shouldn't need much once it's sandwiched in the strut...

Sounds good to me.but il wait for someone who knows to let us kno.as im not sure to be honest.
My offending spring is 10mm off locating into the top as well .so il take it off and move it to locate it.and hopefully it will solve my clunk.cheers mel

The coil springs should have a length of sleeving slipped over each end . They're about 6 inches long. If the springs were original they'd be on there but usually when people change the springs they're sometimes not put back on.

Any suggestions for a suitable replacement?

My spring used to twang, but it had actually snapped. So I replaced both and it hasn't happened since.

Mine had the sleeving on, as Martin (CapriGear) mentions, but it was pretty wrecked, and I did look at alternatives to this, actually bought some automotive tubing from the motor factors, but it seemed to stop the springs sitting correctly in the cups so I didn't use it. As said, the new springs (make by Kilen) do not twang though.

Have you noticed that on the cups the springs sit in, there is a small hole. I have heard that some people cable tie the springs on, using this hole. Is this what it's there for, who knows?! Might be an option for you. Also have you tried greasing them up, I've heard people doing this too.

The springs are slightly lower than the originals so with no load they are able to twist slightly when you move the steering. Only happens at low speeds and tight steering locks. Can you remember whether the springs had sleeves on the top or the bottom? Or both?

I’m going to step in here and ask who made your springs?

Some years ago I had to change a pair on a 2.8.

The original diameter of the wire used to make the springs by Ford by my measurements was 13mm. I did this with a set of vernier calipers on a 2.8 my friend was breaking.
Unbeknown to me when I fitted them the Kilen ones are only 10mm dia.
They also don’t kick out at the ends into the notches of the top and bottom cups.

As your turn the steering the springs effectively wind up slightly in one direction and relax in the other. This isn’t an issue if both ends of the spring are sitting in the notches correctly and are linked out straight at the leading edges. With the leg in a vice , no compressors fitted grab the top mount and try turning it and you’ll see what I mean. You should also feel resistance one way as you are efficiently trying to “uncoil” the spring, and little resistance the other way.
This is assuming your springs are correct.
However because the kilen springs are built how they are, as they come under any pressure the ends will slip past the notch due to the fact that they don’t engage with it properly (also not helped by the smaller wire diameter ) so it causes the bang or knocking.

The club ones I’ve had no problems nor caprisport ones (is he still going?! ) as they are the right size and have the ends kinked outwards to fit in the notches properly.

Yes you’ll need the sleeves. Afraid I’ve reused mine which happened to be ford stamped (lucky!), that was a giveaway factor as they were bigger in diameter than the kilen springs themselves yet slipped perfectly onto the ends of the club springs.

I’ll happily demonstrate this problem to anyone who has doubts. It took me 2 sets of springs to realise.

I hope this helps those who have banging and knocking on turning going slow or doing 3 point turns etc. Afraid I can’t speak for lasers or 3 litres but I’d imagine if the springs don’t kink outwards that will be a good starting point.

Olly W

Cheers Oily! Great explanation! The springs are from RallySport and appear to be identical to the originals but -1".

Did the Ford seats fit at the top and the bottom of the spring?

Hi

Yes they did. There are best described as a cock sock of plastic (!) about 2-3” long. The plastic thickness is about 2mm.

Pretty primitive. It’s quite tough stuff though. I suspect heatshrink (good idea) might be damaged quickly as it’s not dense enough. However something along those lines with a reasonably good degree of density would work in my opinion. Pointless if you have badly made springs as detailed above