Thanks wunderbra for those helpful comments. I'm curious now about my ride height in the rear. I should look in manual and see if I can find out what it is, and maybe go park somewhere good and flat and level and try to check it, see how far from "normal" it might be.
EDIT: (because I don't have a garage or flat concrete driveway, just a gravel driveway that's uneven).

 

The rear end on my wagon seems to be a bit bouncy lately, especially loaded on the highway. I just did the bounce test and it failed:

• pushed down & let go
• up
• down
• up
• stopped

One to many ups in there. Ride height's uniform so the springs are probably OK. Rock Auto has Gabriels on closeout for $21 each.

 

Oh, a wagon. I have two of them and if they are bouncing like you say, they are waaaay past where they should be. Even though the wagons are heavier in the back, and are built to carry cargo, they unfortunately use the same spring and cartridge as the sedan. Ride height uniform? What does that mean? How many miles on the springs/shocks? When you get them changed, let us know how those cartridges were.

 

~250K miles on the original struts. Wagon spring rates are higher according to the folks over at the Accord Wagon Club. OEM part numbers show a difference ('96 LX):

• Wagon: SPRING, REAR (NHK SPRING) 52441-SV5-A12
• Sedan: SPRING, REAR (NHK SPRING) 52441-SV1-A03

Aftermarket strut/spring assemblies, though, don't show a difference...one size fits all. That's why I'll just replace the struts and keep the old springs.

Uniform ride height: Car parked on a level surface, it doesn't look like the front or rear is sagging which probably means that the springs are OK. New dampers should take care of the bouncy ride.

 

Oh you are right. I should have specified that aftermarket, like Monroes, are the same for sedan and wagon.. which is what I used last time. The quick struts. I could never get an answer whether the springs were built to wagon or sedan specs, although they have worked just fine on my wagon with cargo.