hey all. i bought a 98 avenger es yesterday, and i knew it was lowered, but i thought, hey, no big deal. i drove it 70 miles home, and it was a LONG 70 miles..it was so terribly unstable that i brought it to a mechanic this morning.when it was up on the lift, we noticed both back springs were in two pieces.. so i need new springs..i do wanna take the car back up to stock height..whats the cheapest and quickest way to do this? also, not even 24hours after having the car, all the sudden the check engine light blinked and then stayed on permanently, and now the car sputters so unbeleivably bad, its almost undriveable, what could that be? and when i backed it into the driveway, the left and right rear of the car were smoking, and it smelled terrible..i dont think it has anything to do withthe breaks cuz they look and sound fine...the smoke was bad and it stunk..and it wasnt from the exhaust...what the hell is it? some 24 hours huh?

Look for used springs from a salvage yard.

When you say the left and right rear of the car were smoking, where exactly was the smoke coming from? Were the tires rubbing somewhere? Was it from the exhaust?
Did the car overheat? That would cause the engine light as well as smoke and stinking.
If it did overheat that bad, it could have caused major engine damage.

no, the car isnt overheating at all... now that you mention it, because the back springs are snapped in two, i just put the full size 17's back on the car today, and then it started smoking, so maybe the tires were rubbing...for some reason, the moron i bought the car from yesterday had 14's on the car, and now i know why, do you think it could be the tires hitting, cuz its not coming from the exhaust, its coming from around the rear wheel wells on both sides, and i really dont think its the brakes cuz they work fine..what do you think? and as far as the engine light, no, the car is not overheating at all..the temp is perfect...i drove it home 70 miles yesterday. today, i put the 17's back on, and i start getting smoke..then, it was fine earlier today, and then this evening, i was driving down the street, the check engine light blinked a few times outta nowhere, and then it is on constantly now..and now the car is putting and sputtering terribly..i know a lil about cars, and it seems to me like its missing or not running on all 6 cylinders or something...what do you think? i dont wanna sell it, cuz its in amazing shape and i only paid 1500 for it, but i dont want to have to dump 2k into it.

Sounds like the smoke was from the tires then. That's good news.

The engine light could be many things... including just having a loose gas cap.

Do a Google search for checking engine codes on a 98 Avenger. I'm not sure if that year has the digital odometer. If it does, you can turn the key on off on off on and it will show the code(s). You can then look up the codes.
You may also be able to have Auto-Zone, or similar, get the codes for you.

I've got a stock set of all four spring I'd sell you they were a week old when removed ...
I'm never going back to stock height ...
CEL hit Autozone and give me the codes ... 98 won't do the key dance ...