After I passed my inspection yesterday, I took the highway home and noticed that she drives really sloppy (slushy, mushy, loose?). The seller told me that I probably needed to replace the shocks. Would that do it or should I consider replacing the coils? I've also seen a lot of talk about sway bars, etc. Just curious as to where to go from here?
Are you manual or power steering? I would do a full check out of all the bushings, tie rods, idler arm, etc. Probably due for shocks if they haven't been changed in awhile. It takes a while to get used to the steering, if you aren't old enough to remember how they used to handle, some of us are old enough
Could be a problem. Could be an almost 40 year old car (As in....that is just the way they WERE). Need to determine which it is.
Just get your head under the front end and have somebody move the steering wheel back and forth. See what connections is all floppy and start there, i.e. tie rod ends, ball joints, end links. all that stuff. 40 year old bushings tend to be bad.
After you make any necessary repairs, look for someone who knows how to align 70s cars. Have him set it up for radial tires and to favor stability over easy steering. Did that with mine and it made a HUGE difference. I posted the specs the guy used somewhere on here but didn't find it with a quick search.
Manual steering. I'll bet that this poor thing has never had the bushing replaced and has original shocks. I'll climb under it and check out everything.
The coils should be fine. KYB makes a good shock. Summit sells them, also Motorcraft (A.K.A. FORD) they still list front shocks, since they are the same as Mustangs from 68-73. There is also an adjustment on the steering box, but make sure the rest of the stuff is good, before you worry about that.
