2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
02-22-2007, 08:28 PM
#151
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 195
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
I hope you guys are right but I'm telling you it's NOT the strut bearings. I have the Steeda HD Strut Mounts and bearings and the problem is WORSE. And the GT500 is another animal altogether than the GT. Different weight, engine, suspension, etc. Not tryin to shoot you down just saying that I think Wolfey is right about the subframe to body mounts being wack.
I hope you guys are right but I'm telling you it's NOT the strut bearings. I have the Steeda HD Strut Mounts and bearings and the problem is WORSE. And the GT500 is another animal altogether than the GT. Different weight, engine, suspension, etc. Not tryin to shoot you down just saying that I think Wolfey is right about the subframe to body mounts being wack.
02-22-2007, 08:34 PM
#152
1st Gear Member
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Amboy, Illinois
Posts: 129
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: LarryS
We might be wasting time and money with the GT 500 upper strut bearing.
ORIGINAL: northy_polk
I hope you guys are right but I'm telling you it's NOT the strut bearings. I have the Steeda HD Strut Mounts and bearings and the problem is WORSE. And the GT500 is another animal altogether than the GT. Different weight, engine, suspension, etc. Not tryin to shoot you down just saying that I think Wolfey is right about the subframe to body mounts being wack.
I hope you guys are right but I'm telling you it's NOT the strut bearings. I have the Steeda HD Strut Mounts and bearings and the problem is WORSE. And the GT500 is another animal altogether than the GT. Different weight, engine, suspension, etc. Not tryin to shoot you down just saying that I think Wolfey is right about the subframe to body mounts being wack.
02-22-2007, 08:44 PM
#153
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 7
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Hello-
So, some people haven't heard anyone with the Shelby GT500 with the same problems? Well here is one - Car made this clunking noise with 3 miles on it when I picked it up after Thanksgiving. Sway bar disconnected- same noise.. Strut bearings? Don't think so! Pretty cheap sounding for a $45K rig! Sounds like my dad's Taurus when the sway bar end links were shot(a common Taurus problem) Of course, I live where there are some bumpy roads, and it drove me nuts before the car was put away . It only has 130 miles on it- I thought maybe Ford or someone will find the solution by the time I put it back on the road in April. By the way , my 2003 Cobra Mustang never made this noise, and 'felt' more solid to me suspension-wise anyways. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.
Dave Christo
So, some people haven't heard anyone with the Shelby GT500 with the same problems? Well here is one - Car made this clunking noise with 3 miles on it when I picked it up after Thanksgiving. Sway bar disconnected- same noise.. Strut bearings? Don't think so! Pretty cheap sounding for a $45K rig! Sounds like my dad's Taurus when the sway bar end links were shot(a common Taurus problem) Of course, I live where there are some bumpy roads, and it drove me nuts before the car was put away . It only has 130 miles on it- I thought maybe Ford or someone will find the solution by the time I put it back on the road in April. By the way , my 2003 Cobra Mustang never made this noise, and 'felt' more solid to me suspension-wise anyways. Just my 2 cents for what it's worth.
Dave Christo
02-22-2007, 10:46 PM
#154
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: State Of Confusion
Posts: 1,199
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: Embalmer
I can't get it until tomorrow, but I know the base/GT part retails at $17 and the GT500 part retails at almost $70. There's GOT to be a difference!
I can't get it until tomorrow, but I know the base/GT part retails at $17 and the GT500 part retails at almost $70. There's GOT to be a difference!
Also the strut bearing for a GT or GT500 is going to be different in that it's made to accommodate a larger, thicker spring I would think. I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.
02-23-2007, 12:07 AM
#155
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: State Of Confusion
Posts: 1,199
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
Okay you guys, been real busy working on figuring out the front end thunking problem. I think I have the solution............FINALLY!
Here's the scoop!
As some of you know I have spent a fair amount of time figuring out why the stang coupe makes that horrible thunking noise when going over bumps at low speeds. I have also personally noted it makes the thunking noise at high speeds to while I was taking a long trip across country a month or so ago. When I hit a bunch of ripples at around 70 MPH,,,thththththththunkthunkthunk in rapid succession.
Recently I had the good fortune to run across a fellow MF'er, yes I mean Mustang Forum,,,er.. (Tpony)and he was kind enough to jack his 07 convertable up and have a looksee. He took pictures for me too since we didn't know we are practically neighbors, about 30 miles apart, and send them to me.
What I found when I went to my dealer yesterday to have the parts guyslook and print up thefront subframe blowup's for both the coupe and convertable was that there is in fact anadditional part that for the lifeof me I can't understand why the engineers at Ford opted todelete on the coupes. It's a subframe cross member in the shape of a tube about 1.4" diameter by roughly 2' long that bolts up between the two tongues that connect to the body adjacent to the rear LCA bushing on both sides.
So once I knew what it looked like in real life I drove down to the other dealer and got the showroom guys to hand me the keys to two convertables to test drive and see if they thunked at all. They don't. One was a GT and the other was a V6 pony package. Man I don't like the GT's ride but that's a different thread. I loved the pony though. I almost baught it just because it not only looked really good but it doesn't thunk! Nothin! I mean ZERO!
Ford says that the suspensions are identical on both the coupe and the convertables except the convertables have this additional cross member that I have named the 'subframe torsion bar'. Some call it a cross member, I call it a sling blade ;-D... subframe torsion bar since it mounts to the subframe.
I'll attach the blow ups of bothmodels so you can see for yourselves. You'll notice toward the bottom of the page, part number 5025. The nuts thathold it onare part number HN5.
You will also notice that the coupe blowup doesn't show these part numbers of course. The missing link! The anti-thunker bar might be a better name for it. ;-)
Here's the good news. My service manager Howard, called Ford's Mustang team head engineer and got an update on their progress while I sat there and listend as they spoke on the speaker phone.
Now just in case any of you are wondering why the heck Ford would take months to do various analysis incuding crash testing, the crash testing is very important and of course it's for our safety and so Ford can cover their collective *****.
They have to make sure that the crumple zones are not adversely altered on the coupe due to the added strength of the rear part of the front cross member. This may also brought about a change inthe design of the subframe torsion bar or cross member. The convertable's cross member is a straight bar. The coupe's could be bent or twisted or what ever so it has the same 'safe' effect during a collision as the convertable has.
They've completed the crash testing and are planning on releasing the fix in TSB form by the end of the first quarter. That's March of this year in case you need clarification. Howard says it really means probably the end of March, maybe mid April.
I can wait! I hope you can too.
Just in case any of you want to fix it now, here are at leasta fewgood reasons not to try it.
First the part is quoted as retailing for $280.00 from Ford. That's excluding labor of course.
Secondly if you do the fix yourself your car won't be covered under warranty, especially if you get into an accident!
Thirdly and perhapsmost importantly you won't get it fixed under warranty for no out of pocket money! Ford will pick up 100% of the tab.
Fourth, the design of the part may be different than that of the convertable.
Now they also said they may offer an updated version of the upper strut bearing but the jury is still out on that one. They know and now I personally know the cross member IS the primary culprit behind the thunking noise.
Something that may offer you some comfort is that Howard said "the Mustang is one of Ford's best selling cars, especially since they went retro. They aren't about to screw it up by not fixing this problem, especially after letting the cat totally out of the bag!"
They know we consumers aren't stupid and are demanding a fix!
Remember the old saying. Good things come to those who wait!
I'd be patient and wait if I were you. Can't hurt to wait another month or so right? If it does, park the car until, take a chill pill, get laid, smoke a j,,oops did I say that? ;-) Put it out of your mind for a little while longer and live with it until the TSB comes out this March or April. Okay? ;-)
May our days of road thunking aggrivation and or insanity be coming to aend very soon!
Wolfey2k
Below is an email I sent to Tpony along with an explanation of the drawings. You'll see each of the two are titled appropriately at the top right of each page so you know which is which.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
[/align]Tpony,[/align]I got the images scanned in.[/align]I'm sending them to you full size so you can zoom in if you need to.[/align][/align]Image S2 is of the Coupe front subframe assm. You'll see that PN 5025 and HN5 are not included.[/align]The thunking culprit? We'll see.[/align][/align]Image S1 is of the Convertable front subframe assm. You'll see that PN 5025 and HNF are included.[/align]The solution for the coupe thunking noise? We'll see. ;-)[/align][/align]The subframe cross member or torsion bar part number is 5025. Image S1.[/align][/align]The nuts that hold it in. Their part number is HN5. Image S1.[/align][/align]Have a look and see if you can spot underneath your car's front subframe, take some good shots[/align]and send them to me if you would kind sir ;-).[/align][/align]Please try to look and see if you can tell that the bolt headson the torsion bar are welded to it, theholes they go through in the subframe and the nuts that hold them in place.[/align][/align]You don't need to do anydissasembly if you can't see the holes.[/align]If there is the bar on one side and nuts holding it on theother side, then obviously there are holes for them to go through in the subframe. I know you know that already, just making it clear for both of us if you don't mind. ;-).[/align][/align][font=arial]Ford dealers want $280.00 for the part! Geesh! For a stinkintube withflattened ends? It's probably a hollow tube too. Maybe it's solid but still, it's just asteel rod! :-[ Don't knowwhat the nuts cost yet.
Here's the scoop!
As some of you know I have spent a fair amount of time figuring out why the stang coupe makes that horrible thunking noise when going over bumps at low speeds. I have also personally noted it makes the thunking noise at high speeds to while I was taking a long trip across country a month or so ago. When I hit a bunch of ripples at around 70 MPH,,,thththththththunkthunkthunk in rapid succession.
Recently I had the good fortune to run across a fellow MF'er, yes I mean Mustang Forum,,,er.. (Tpony)and he was kind enough to jack his 07 convertable up and have a looksee. He took pictures for me too since we didn't know we are practically neighbors, about 30 miles apart, and send them to me.
What I found when I went to my dealer yesterday to have the parts guyslook and print up thefront subframe blowup's for both the coupe and convertable was that there is in fact anadditional part that for the lifeof me I can't understand why the engineers at Ford opted todelete on the coupes. It's a subframe cross member in the shape of a tube about 1.4" diameter by roughly 2' long that bolts up between the two tongues that connect to the body adjacent to the rear LCA bushing on both sides.
So once I knew what it looked like in real life I drove down to the other dealer and got the showroom guys to hand me the keys to two convertables to test drive and see if they thunked at all. They don't. One was a GT and the other was a V6 pony package. Man I don't like the GT's ride but that's a different thread. I loved the pony though. I almost baught it just because it not only looked really good but it doesn't thunk! Nothin! I mean ZERO!
Ford says that the suspensions are identical on both the coupe and the convertables except the convertables have this additional cross member that I have named the 'subframe torsion bar'. Some call it a cross member, I call it a sling blade ;-D... subframe torsion bar since it mounts to the subframe.
I'll attach the blow ups of bothmodels so you can see for yourselves. You'll notice toward the bottom of the page, part number 5025. The nuts thathold it onare part number HN5.
You will also notice that the coupe blowup doesn't show these part numbers of course. The missing link! The anti-thunker bar might be a better name for it. ;-)
Here's the good news. My service manager Howard, called Ford's Mustang team head engineer and got an update on their progress while I sat there and listend as they spoke on the speaker phone.
Now just in case any of you are wondering why the heck Ford would take months to do various analysis incuding crash testing, the crash testing is very important and of course it's for our safety and so Ford can cover their collective *****.
They have to make sure that the crumple zones are not adversely altered on the coupe due to the added strength of the rear part of the front cross member. This may also brought about a change inthe design of the subframe torsion bar or cross member. The convertable's cross member is a straight bar. The coupe's could be bent or twisted or what ever so it has the same 'safe' effect during a collision as the convertable has.
They've completed the crash testing and are planning on releasing the fix in TSB form by the end of the first quarter. That's March of this year in case you need clarification. Howard says it really means probably the end of March, maybe mid April.
I can wait! I hope you can too.
Just in case any of you want to fix it now, here are at leasta fewgood reasons not to try it.
First the part is quoted as retailing for $280.00 from Ford. That's excluding labor of course.
Secondly if you do the fix yourself your car won't be covered under warranty, especially if you get into an accident!
Thirdly and perhapsmost importantly you won't get it fixed under warranty for no out of pocket money! Ford will pick up 100% of the tab.
Fourth, the design of the part may be different than that of the convertable.
Now they also said they may offer an updated version of the upper strut bearing but the jury is still out on that one. They know and now I personally know the cross member IS the primary culprit behind the thunking noise.
Something that may offer you some comfort is that Howard said "the Mustang is one of Ford's best selling cars, especially since they went retro. They aren't about to screw it up by not fixing this problem, especially after letting the cat totally out of the bag!"
They know we consumers aren't stupid and are demanding a fix!
Remember the old saying. Good things come to those who wait!
I'd be patient and wait if I were you. Can't hurt to wait another month or so right? If it does, park the car until, take a chill pill, get laid, smoke a j,,oops did I say that? ;-) Put it out of your mind for a little while longer and live with it until the TSB comes out this March or April. Okay? ;-)
May our days of road thunking aggrivation and or insanity be coming to aend very soon!
Wolfey2k
Below is an email I sent to Tpony along with an explanation of the drawings. You'll see each of the two are titled appropriately at the top right of each page so you know which is which.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
[/align]Tpony,[/align]I got the images scanned in.[/align]I'm sending them to you full size so you can zoom in if you need to.[/align][/align]Image S2 is of the Coupe front subframe assm. You'll see that PN 5025 and HN5 are not included.[/align]The thunking culprit? We'll see.[/align][/align]Image S1 is of the Convertable front subframe assm. You'll see that PN 5025 and HNF are included.[/align]The solution for the coupe thunking noise? We'll see. ;-)[/align][/align]The subframe cross member or torsion bar part number is 5025. Image S1.[/align][/align]The nuts that hold it in. Their part number is HN5. Image S1.[/align][/align]Have a look and see if you can spot underneath your car's front subframe, take some good shots[/align]and send them to me if you would kind sir ;-).[/align][/align]Please try to look and see if you can tell that the bolt headson the torsion bar are welded to it, theholes they go through in the subframe and the nuts that hold them in place.[/align][/align]You don't need to do anydissasembly if you can't see the holes.[/align]If there is the bar on one side and nuts holding it on theother side, then obviously there are holes for them to go through in the subframe. I know you know that already, just making it clear for both of us if you don't mind. ;-).[/align][/align][font=arial]Ford dealers want $280.00 for the part! Geesh! For a stinkintube withflattened ends? It's probably a hollow tube too. Maybe it's solid but still, it's just asteel rod! :-[ Don't knowwhat the nuts cost yet.
02-23-2007, 12:20 AM
#156
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 195
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
02-23-2007, 12:22 AM
#157
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: State Of Confusion
Posts: 1,199
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: LarryS
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
Did your ride make the thunking noise before you installed it and if so did the problem go away after the install?
Thanks!
02-23-2007, 12:39 AM
#158
2nd Gear Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location:
Posts: 195
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: wolfey2k
Thanks LarryS!
Did your ride make the thunking noise before you installed it and if so did the problem go away after the install?
Thanks!
ORIGINAL: LarryS
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
Did your ride make the thunking noise before you installed it and if so did the problem go away after the install?
Thanks!
02-23-2007, 02:13 AM
#160
4th Gear Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: State Of Confusion
Posts: 1,199
RE: 2007 Front Suspension Thunking Noise
ORIGINAL: LarryS
I don't have BMR's bar. I just saw it on their site. Don't see a price for it. Maybe you can only buy it with a K member.
ORIGINAL: wolfey2k
Okay, does your car make the thunking noise? Is it a coupe or a convertable?
Thanks LarryS!
Did your ride make the thunking noise before you installed it and if so did the problem go away after the install?
Thanks!
ORIGINAL: LarryS
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
The bar appears to look something like BMR offers.
http://bmrfabrication.com/05Mustang/Kinstalled2.jpg
Thanks LarryS!
Did your ride make the thunking noise before you installed it and if so did the problem go away after the install?
Thanks!