I've used the Arnott remanufactered front air struts...
Arnott air
SHOCKS are not remaufactured. They are (were) brand new units. I think you may be thinking of another brand. I can't remember it off the top of my head.
before on my 1993 and they rode like crap.
I have to admit, they're not the best in the world
The ones I have on my car are a bit soft. But they still ride quite well. They are a lot better than the old style before they upgraded.
At the time I think it was determined that they only remanufactured the bag and not the shock (this was many years ago). They may have improved them now, but I'm not risking that.
Apparently they did improve them quite a bit. Unfortunately, Arnott doesn't make their front air
SHOCKS for the Mark anymore and they don't forsee ever producing them again according to an e-mail I got from them a few weeks ago.
The only air struts I'd use now are the new OEM ones for $900.
Ouch! Check with Nolimit95. I think he knows where to get a pair of OEM air
SHOCKS for substantially less than that.
Then add and new compressor $200 then some new rear bags for another $200 and it might work for a while.
Actually, it'll probably work like a charm for the life of the car if everything is new OEM Motorcraft. You'll never have to touch it again.
That still leaves me with some 14-year old rust belt suspension sensors and suspension relays that are bound to go also.
I just haven't heard of sensors or relays going bad that often. I have never had any problems at all with any of the electronics. YMMV.
I've started down the air suspension money pit road before, not doing it again. I know the southern cars will have some of these parts last the life of the car.
If it's all OEM Motorcraft, it won't matter if it's southern, northern, eastern, western, or martian. It'll go on for years and years without major issues.
If I had a prettier, lower mileage Mark in better condition all around I'd dump the right money into the suspension, but my car is maybe worth $2k, maybe.
Ken
My car probably isn't worth that much. It has 210k miles on it. The clearcoat is peeling. The dash is cracked. The neon doesn't work. The blend door is broken. The leather is starting to crack. I could go on and on. But I'm still on air and other than replacing the front air
SHOCKS, rear springs, and rear shocks, I've had no other issues with the air ride. And all that was done for about $400 with brand new front
SHOCKS, rear shocks, and good used rear springs.
But like I said, to each his own. Everybody's experience is different. I've had pretty good luck with the air ride on the two Marks I've owned over the last 12 years. I'm staying on air for as long as I can. I'm hoping to get a couple of new OEM Motorcraft front air
SHOCKS with my tax return if they're still around. If not, I'll make the Arnotts last as long as I can. I love my air ride and that's what makes our cars Lincolns. If they had plain old coils, they would be nothing more than a Thunderbird in a tuxedo.
And these cars are Mark VIII's, not Mark VII's. We have upper and lower control arms in front, not struts. The Mark VII, built on the Fox chassis, had McPherson struts. Our cars have a proper front suspension design. Mark VIII's don't have struts. Sorry, had to harp a little
