Look what I just found
 

I think the picture is self explanitory. Its the right rear spring.

I was washing the car when I bent down to clean the crap out the crap that collects in the wheel well behind the door and I see this. I think it happened when that girl backed into my rear end a few months back. Lots of lateral forces trying to pull the wheel inward.

OUCH that is a possiblilty though....

looks like a good excuse to get air ride to me :thumb:

Yea....no. No way I could justify that expence to my wife...and with the condition of the rear quarters, its probably not worth putting a ton of work into the car. I considered finding drop springs, but I have to drive this in the winter and we get a metric shit-ton of snow. So ground clearence is a concern.

Now if a set of factory rear springs is more expensive or on par with a full set of mild (1") drop springs, I could probably justify that.

that made me lmfao

drop springs are probably cheaper compared to OEM springs, not sure if you can just buy rear aftermarket springs though or if you have to buy the set of 4, its something to look into.

My front right spring broke like that while I was driving, in the cold cold dead of winter, did yours make any creaking noises?

Get a pair from oreilly or autzone they usally run about 100 bucks.

Ah see i don't take that into account, i'm single yet, and i'm lucky to have an alero that's in great shape, best of luck with the repair

Is that $100 for a pair or per spring? Am I right in assuming that springs should be replaced in pairs (or all at once) to deal with settling?

Honestly, I haven't noticed any symptoms. The only noises I get are the clicking of the center caps, and a dull knock from the left front which I think is just the strut needing to be replaced.

So what happens if I drive on this spring? I've been doing it for months, so obviously not much, but is it like a ticking time bomb, waiting to slip and do something really bad?

I had the same thing happen to both my front struts, But the crack was on the top, my car sagged down prolly close to an inch in the front.

But yea thats basically it ya dude. Because if you hit a bump hard, or pothole without seeing it creap up, and the car shifts a bit, that spring will just come right out, and who knows what else it could hit and mess up.

And i right on this?

yes, or all 4