How can you tell if the front or rear struts are bad on a Ford Windstar?

Answer 1

MacPherson struts are a variant of the traditional shock absorber - and performs the same role.

In that respect, you can use the same criteria for assessing condition:

• When pushing the front/back end of the vehicle down, how long does it take for the bouncing back to stop. The more the number of bounces the more worn the strut is.
  
  
• Inspect for leaks - evidence of physical damage
  
  
• Mileage - not surprisingly, strut manufacturers advise for a routine replacement at some mileage interval. Not exactly sure, but seems I've heard 50/60,000 miles or os.

Replacing struts is not for the faint-of-heart, or novice backyard mechanic. I've seen some that were 'relatively easy' such as the Escort / Tracer, and others like the Taurus / Sable that jump up to the 8 score on a 1-10 hardness / difficulty rating scale (that I made up).

There'll be specialized tools and removing / disconnecting some of the fundamental components of the front steering & suspension. And there is danger if you're compressing the coil springs yourself.

Some really smart person said once or twice: Fore-warned is Fore-armed

Do your homework, have a manual or lots of printouts on-hand before getting started.

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