2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
02-09-2007, 11:35 PM
#131
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Fenton, MO.
Posts: 645
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
I have an '07 GT with the same thunking, and that is the perfect word for it. I test drove about 4 GTs and they ALL had this sound. Car noises drive me INSANE; it's in my genes or something. A few things:
1) I drove an '85 Scirocco with oodles of miles on it and this is the same sound that car had: it was a strut noise.
2) I drove a 2000 Honda Insight and sued Honda using the lemon laws and won. Each state is different to a certain extent on what is required to cause a car to be a lemon. But fairly common to all of them is how many times you take the car to the dealer vs. if they actually fix the problem. For me it was 5 or 6 times and maybe a month total of not having the car to have it declared a "lemon".
I hate to be "that guy" and say sue the bastards, but maybe it would send a stronger message?! And what you get if you "win" is not necessarily predetermined: could be money damages or a total buy-back of the car. I don't want to get rid of the car, but this noise is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.
One more thing: I haven't heard of a single person on this thread [maybe i missed it] who has put NON-FORD struts on the car. Anybody? Did it kill the thunk?
Thanks!
NP
I have an '07 GT with the same thunking, and that is the perfect word for it. I test drove about 4 GTs and they ALL had this sound. Car noises drive me INSANE; it's in my genes or something. A few things:
1) I drove an '85 Scirocco with oodles of miles on it and this is the same sound that car had: it was a strut noise.
2) I drove a 2000 Honda Insight and sued Honda using the lemon laws and won. Each state is different to a certain extent on what is required to cause a car to be a lemon. But fairly common to all of them is how many times you take the car to the dealer vs. if they actually fix the problem. For me it was 5 or 6 times and maybe a month total of not having the car to have it declared a "lemon".
I hate to be "that guy" and say sue the bastards, but maybe it would send a stronger message?! And what you get if you "win" is not necessarily predetermined: could be money damages or a total buy-back of the car. I don't want to get rid of the car, but this noise is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.
One more thing: I haven't heard of a single person on this thread [maybe i missed it] who has put NON-FORD struts on the car. Anybody? Did it kill the thunk?
Thanks!
NP
The GT really handles very well. A noticable difference. The car sounds and feels tighter.
Igot rid of the front clunk sound by removing the front sway bar and installing the BMR front sway delete and radiator support bracket. Then to tighten up the front end of the body installed a Blue Oval Dual Strut Tower Brace.
The GT is very tight now.[sm=icon_rock.gif]
02-12-2007, 10:10 AM
#132
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 852
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: GT John
I removed the factory struts and shocks and installed Steedas new stock front struts and shocks. $399.00
The GT really handles very well. A noticable difference. The car sounds and feels tighter.
Igot rid of the front clunk sound by removing the front sway bar and installing the BMR front sway delete and radiator support bracket. Then to tighten up the front end of the body installed a Blue Oval Dual Strut Tower Brace.
The GT is very tight now.
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
I have an '07 GT with the same thunking, and that is the perfect word for it. I test drove about 4 GTs and they ALL had this sound. Car noises drive me INSANE; it's in my genes or something. A few things:
1) I drove an '85 Scirocco with oodles of miles on it and this is the same sound that car had: it was a strut noise.
2) I drove a 2000 Honda Insight and sued Honda using the lemon laws and won. Each state is different to a certain extent on what is required to cause a car to be a lemon. But fairly common to all of them is how many times you take the car to the dealer vs. if they actually fix the problem. For me it was 5 or 6 times and maybe a month total of not having the car to have it declared a "lemon".
I hate to be "that guy" and say sue the bastards, but maybe it would send a stronger message?! And what you get if you "win" is not necessarily predetermined: could be money damages or a total buy-back of the car. I don't want to get rid of the car, but this noise is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.
One more thing: I haven't heard of a single person on this thread [maybe i missed it] who has put NON-FORD struts on the car. Anybody? Did it kill the thunk?
Thanks!
NP
I have an '07 GT with the same thunking, and that is the perfect word for it. I test drove about 4 GTs and they ALL had this sound. Car noises drive me INSANE; it's in my genes or something. A few things:
1) I drove an '85 Scirocco with oodles of miles on it and this is the same sound that car had: it was a strut noise.
2) I drove a 2000 Honda Insight and sued Honda using the lemon laws and won. Each state is different to a certain extent on what is required to cause a car to be a lemon. But fairly common to all of them is how many times you take the car to the dealer vs. if they actually fix the problem. For me it was 5 or 6 times and maybe a month total of not having the car to have it declared a "lemon".
I hate to be "that guy" and say sue the bastards, but maybe it would send a stronger message?! And what you get if you "win" is not necessarily predetermined: could be money damages or a total buy-back of the car. I don't want to get rid of the car, but this noise is ABSOLUTELY UNACCEPTABLE.
One more thing: I haven't heard of a single person on this thread [maybe i missed it] who has put NON-FORD struts on the car. Anybody? Did it kill the thunk?
Thanks!
NP
The GT really handles very well. A noticable difference. The car sounds and feels tighter.
Igot rid of the front clunk sound by removing the front sway bar and installing the BMR front sway delete and radiator support bracket. Then to tighten up the front end of the body installed a Blue Oval Dual Strut Tower Brace.
The GT is very tight now.
Thanks for the good info. My fear is that I'd drop the cash [like I did for the new Steeda HD Strut Mounts] and have nothing change. Since your car is an '05 and mine an '07, I'm not 100% convinced that it would fix the clunking which has actually worsened since the installation of the HD strut mounts.
I've read on these forums that people have done this or that, from replacing everything down to the K-member, to as little as tightening one nut on the strut, and sometimes it has worked and sometimes not! I'm puting my eggs in Wolfey's basket that Ford is working on it [too good to be true???] and I'll stick toappearance mods for the most part while I wait on Ford.
Let's say I get impatient [very likely] and decide to re-do the front end. Did you do the work yourself? I can afford the parts, but not the labor and I'm a "put it on ramps in front of the house" do-it-yourselfer cause that's all the space I have! What scares me most are the springs and getting them on/off without something horrible happening.
PS: how do you like the WMS intake? I saw one on Ebay and it looks absolutely awesome! But how does it perform/sound/etc?
Northy
02-17-2007, 10:46 PM
#133
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 852
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Well, I spent the better part of the day buying a floor jack and jack stands and getting the car in the air to make some suspension adjustments. I took off the sway bar. I was so excited to go for a drive. THIS DID NOT WORK. Clunk clunk clunk down the street I go. If I wouldn't lose thousands of dollars in the transaction I'd drop this car and get something that's not such a clunker. I was expecting so much more from this car. It's not tight. It's fast and growls and it sounds great. . . but it's a clunker. It could have soul, but the clunk drains it out. Blah blah blah. . . . I didn't buy a 350Z because it was too "refined", and now I'm beginning to regret that choice.
02-17-2007, 11:21 PM
#134
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 195
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
Well, I spent the better part of the day buying a floor jack and jack stands and getting the car in the air to make some suspension adjustments. I took off the sway bar. I was so excited to go for a drive. THIS DID NOT WORK. Clunk clunk clunk down the street I go. If I wouldn't lose thousands of dollars in the transaction I'd drop this car and get something that's not such a clunker. I was expecting so much more from this car. It's not tight. It's fast and growls and it sounds great. . . but it's a clunker. It could have soul, but the clunk drains it out. Blah blah blah. . . . I didn't buy a 350Z because it was too "refined", and now I'm beginning to regret that choice.
Well, I spent the better part of the day buying a floor jack and jack stands and getting the car in the air to make some suspension adjustments. I took off the sway bar. I was so excited to go for a drive. THIS DID NOT WORK. Clunk clunk clunk down the street I go. If I wouldn't lose thousands of dollars in the transaction I'd drop this car and get something that's not such a clunker. I was expecting so much more from this car. It's not tight. It's fast and growls and it sounds great. . . but it's a clunker. It could have soul, but the clunk drains it out. Blah blah blah. . . . I didn't buy a 350Z because it was too "refined", and now I'm beginning to regret that choice.
02-18-2007, 06:37 PM
#135
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: State Of Confusion
Posts: 1,199
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Hey everybody! How are things in thunking land? ;-)
I've just finished reading through all the latest posts since I started this thread and I want to thank everyone for posting their ideas, fixes and complaints on the thunking noise.
Has everyone read post #s 93 and 94 in this thread?
93 is about my attempts to figure out what the thunking problem is without getting into a bunch of hit or miss parts replacements.
94 is about a guy who is supposed to have installed a pair of new HD Steeda front strut mounts and gotten back with a report by now. Haven't heard a peep from him yet.
I'll PM him and see what's up.
In the mean time, Ford's stock strut mounts suck IMO. They are mostly plastic, even the bearing housing is plastic. What were they thinking other than 'save money'? They are one use throw aways. Not good!
Anyway, I'll be in touch with my guys at the dealer this week to see if the service manager has heard anything new regarding the fix. I also plan on test driving a convertable to see if what Ford says is true then take it from there.
I'll keep you all posted on my progress.
Wolfey2k
I've just finished reading through all the latest posts since I started this thread and I want to thank everyone for posting their ideas, fixes and complaints on the thunking noise.
Has everyone read post #s 93 and 94 in this thread?
93 is about my attempts to figure out what the thunking problem is without getting into a bunch of hit or miss parts replacements.
94 is about a guy who is supposed to have installed a pair of new HD Steeda front strut mounts and gotten back with a report by now. Haven't heard a peep from him yet.
I'll PM him and see what's up.
In the mean time, Ford's stock strut mounts suck IMO. They are mostly plastic, even the bearing housing is plastic. What were they thinking other than 'save money'? They are one use throw aways. Not good!
Anyway, I'll be in touch with my guys at the dealer this week to see if the service manager has heard anything new regarding the fix. I also plan on test driving a convertable to see if what Ford says is true then take it from there.
I'll keep you all posted on my progress.
Wolfey2k
02-20-2007, 02:54 PM
#136
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 852
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
does anybody have or know where to get a drawing or pictures or some representation of the undercarriage of the car where the potential culprits are: the frame to body mounts and their attendant bushings? my chiltons manual is basically worthless and i tried another one [can't remember name] to no avail. I'll post a picture and maybe somebody can tell me or point out to me where these are so i can try and manipulate them so they stop thunking.
02-20-2007, 03:33 PM
#137
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location:
Posts: 886
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Hi, well, I'm on this thunking noise like flys on, well you know. I've stirred up so much stuff that Ford contacted me directly last night. After speaking with them I've still haven't gotten far. They got to the dealer giving them and a tech rep a bunch of crap trying to give me answers but still nothing yet today. Only thing is they eitherdon't want to come up with a fix or if they do it's costly and don't want to do it. My biggest question to Ford is to please tell me what's the exact problem. I told her I'll fix it myself but I don't want to spend a $1000 to find out it didn't do it. Those of you that say you don't have the problem I notice you live in states that don't have winters which kill the roads. Concider yourself lucky. It's a thunking/rattle noise that drives me and others crazy. I'll stay on the problem. Like I told the rep, it's panic button time and I want answers. I'll go to Bill Ford if I have too.
[IMG]local://upfiles/60765/06A4824154574206B513A3C816987278.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]local://upfiles/60765/06A4824154574206B513A3C816987278.jpg[/IMG]
02-20-2007, 04:51 PM
#139
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 195
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Wish I had a way to have pull with Ford. There are some new lower controlAarms out by Ford Racing. Somebody suggested that the lower A arm bushings could be the culprit. They list for $199.
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
do you or does anybody else on here [larrys, wolfey, etc.] belong to a mustang club and if so what kind of pull could all of the clubs together have with Ford?
do you or does anybody else on here [larrys, wolfey, etc.] belong to a mustang club and if so what kind of pull could all of the clubs together have with Ford?
02-20-2007, 05:11 PM
#140
3rd Gear Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location:
Posts: 852
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: LarryS
Wish I had a way to have pull with Ford. There are some new lower controlAarms out by Ford Racing. Somebody suggested that the lower A arm bushings could be the culprit. They list for $199.
Wish I had a way to have pull with Ford. There are some new lower controlAarms out by Ford Racing. Somebody suggested that the lower A arm bushings could be the culprit. They list for $199.
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
do you or does anybody else on here [larrys, wolfey, etc.] belong to a mustang club and if so what kind of pull could all of the clubs together have with Ford?
do you or does anybody else on here [larrys, wolfey, etc.] belong to a mustang club and if so what kind of pull could all of the clubs together have with Ford?