kc5mhb

When I did the suspension swap, I remember using a 3/8 inch drive and a socket to hold the center while tightening the nut with a wrench. That nut was made to be tightened while the strut assembly was off the car.

nawagner

I think I had to use a 6mm Allen wrench to hold the center post and box or open end wrench to tighten the nut, but it was not on the vehicle and had a spring compressor.

newjohnre

I agree that it should be tightened while off. The only problem is that I had mixed some handling gear (BMR springs with Tokico D-specs) and there is no real documentation on how many threads should be showing when properly tightened. For future reference the magic number for that combination was 8 to 9 threads showing.

White81Z28

Yea, mine is showing about 4-5 at most. I dont think I will be able to tighten it because I cannot get an open or box wrench on it due to it sitting down in the hole. Part of the inside finder well stops me from getting a good grip on it. Deep Socket has been the only way to turn it. I doubt it will fix my clunk anyway, will just have to get the new strut mount.

How much do they cost from Ford and any idea on labor to put them on?

nawagner

I forgot that I have aftermarket shocks so it has a different shaft. You will probably have to pull them off to get it tightened. The FoMoCo part is #8R3Z-18183-B, sold individually. I got mine from the deallerr for a little over $100 for both, but I get a discount. If I were going to do it again I would purchase the FRPP #M-18183-C which are a little over $100 pair. I would guess to have the shop do it would be 1-2 hours so around $100-$200 depending on what they charge an hour.

Mustangmaster

Does anybody think that the thunk noise is dangerous? I have had the noise since about 50,000 miles and now have 88,000 miles. Is there any way the shock would become dislodged and make me wreck? I don't want to do the strut mount fix until I'm ready to get new shocks and the car rides good still and I don't think I need them. The thunk is annoying but not that bad. Especially on smooth highway roads and/or the radio on.

kc5mhb

I don't think its dangerous, just annoying. At 50K miles I did the GT suspension upgrade and when I pulled the struts out, the mount came apart on both sides while compressing the springs. A good spring compressor is critical for them not popping apart and I had some cheap ones. That being said, when it came apart and all the little ball bearings came out, when I reassembled it, I used a bit of wheel bearing grease to keep the bearings in the holder so it would assemble without them falling out and it would keep them lubricated. My car prior to and afterwards does not have the clunk while driving, but sometimes makes noise during a turn while going up into a drive or in reverse while the wheel is turned fully to the left. Other than that its good. If you have that many miles on the car on the original suspension, I think its time to change the struts.

sjtraw

Hey guys, had the same problem with my '07 GT. Ford has a TSB for this. There fix is to replace the upper strut mounts with heavy duty ones (like the GT500). Ford wanted me to pay for half the parts and labor (my 'Stang was out of warranty when I discovered the TSB). If your still covered it's free. I was upgrading my suspension with Eibach's prokit anyway, so I replaced the upper strut mounts with camber plates, and the clunking front end noise is gone. I lived with it for over three years, hope this helps so nobody else has to.

08blackoutstang

mine ended up being the A arms and ball joints... and now mine is gone... hmmm interesting

Unleashedbeast

My 2009 GT500 had the SVT -A mounts on it from the factory. It clunked....and clunked....ugh!

Replaced the upper strut mount with the -B revised versions when I lowered the car. Now it's dead silent and sounds the way it should.