rockycat

I had a 2007 ford fixed it for free because it was under warranty

rockycat

dealer coding-basic part no. 18183-condition code D4

rockycat

NOT: ALIGNMENT NOT REQUIRED

NOTE: DISCARD AND REPLACE ALL FASTENERS.
PARTS LIST
8R3Z-18183-B--- UPPER MOUNT ASSEMBLY (2 REQ'D)
W520112-S440A--- STRUT UPPER MOUNT NUT(8 REQUIRED)
W520215-S440--- STRUT ROD NUT AND WASHER (2 REQ'D)
W709870-S439--- STRUT TO WHEEL SPINDEL BOLT(4 REQ'D)
W711091-S900--- STRUT TO WHEEL SPINDLE FLAG NUT (4 REQ'D)
N807144-S440--- STABILIZER BAR LINK UPPER NUT (2 REQ'D)

DDP Stang

i had a guy tell me it was the front sway bar too im going to put one on and try it cause it drives me crazy too

rockycat

I just had my 2006 GT in the shop at keller bros. Lebanon, PA
they preformed the maintance according to TECNICAL SERVICE BULLETIN (TSB 07-18-02) with the same results as when I had it done to my 2007 mustang no more noise.

Unleashedbeast

Mine clunks too, allow me to tell you what I have done and where I am at currently.

Lowered my car with Steeda Sports springs, GT500 shocks/struts, and GT500 strut mounts, and camber bolts. Noticed a clunking in the front right a day later. Checked everything, all was tight, clunking continued.

Replaced GT500 upper strut mount with Steeda HD camber mount (removed camber bolts - reinstalled OEM strut bolt), made sure everything was tight including sway bar upper nut, but clunking returned a day later.

Removed upper sway bar link nut, added 1/2" lock nut and red loctite, allowed loctite to cure for 7 hours before driving, clunk went away for two days....and it's back again.

I HAVE NO IDEA HOW IN THE HECK TO MAKE IT GO AWAY!!!!

Is the OEM sway bar link bolt bad because it's a torque to yield one time use only bolt? Would buying a new nut and using loctite fix it?

I'M TIRED OF THIS CLUNK!!! Makes my low miles Mustang sound like it has 200,000 miles on it. It only clunks when driving slow over choppy roads no matter if I am turning or driving straight. When I am on the interstate it makes no sounds at all and rides great.

Next move, I'm going to buy a new stabilizer bar nut from Ford to see if that repairs my problem. Will post back the results.

DDP Stang

I Did that and it went away for a day and then it came right back

Unleashedbeast

UPDATE:

I removed the old sway bar end link upper nuts that I put on with 1/2" lock washers and red loctite. I had to heat them with my hand torch to break the loctite free so I could loosen them.

I went to the local Ford dealer and bought new upper end link nuts. I cleaned up the end link stud very well, applied just a little amount of red loctite to the top side rear thread area, and installed the new nut. So far, big difference and my front end feels/sounds stock again. I noticed on the old nuts that the nylon lock material at the top of the nut was almost gone. You would have thought the loctite and lock washer would have made up for that. I think the lock washer (covering a slightly smaller area than the nut itself) made it have less clamping force on the strut. This is why I opted not to reinstall the lock nut.

Will report back in a few days to see if it stays fixed.

Unleashedbeast

UPDATE: The new nuts made a difference, but not completely fixed. real heavy bumps and potholes still make the front end clunk, but the lighter stuff that once made it clunk no longer does. The new nuts made a little difference, but as stated before....still not fixed.

Next possible solution....Koni Yellow Shocks/struts, and ditch the OEM GT500 shocks/struts.

Unleashedbeast

I've been doing a LOT of research and reading, and here is what I know to be the cure for the infamous clunking problem. When I modified my suspension, I took the advice of a trusted member who said to buy the SVT GT500 upper strut mounts. It was an assumption to me, and others, that the "upgraded" strut mount was stronger than the previous design, but we were wrong. Take a look at the link below to see the mounts I purchased.

GT500 SVT strut mounts

If you look at the pictures you will see they have either natural metal studs or "green" colored studs. Also notice the part number M-18183-A (7R3V-18183-A orAR3V-18183-A). They are the OLD Ford design, and will NOT eliminate front end clunk. I always wondered why my original strut mounts were silent, but the new GT500 mounts clunked. Observe the pictures below and find out why.

The first picture is the SVT GT500 mount. Notice it's metal inside, and no added rubber cushion. *Please note the spring rubber seat is currently removed in these pictures. It's installed on my car underneath the Steeda HD Camber plates.*



Now, let's look at the new revised mount from the TSB *The entire strut assembly is still intact. I left the original equipment together.*



Do you see the added rubber material added to the mount? Now, let's compare them side by side.





Ford added extra dampening rubber in the new design. The new part number 8R3Z-18183-B. They will either have a black or yellow stud color design. They are both the exact same mount, the color was changed to black for manufacturing reasons. The tell tale sign if you have the new mount, and don't remember the numbers is to locate the added rubber material in the bottom of the mount where the top of the shock mounts to it.

So, now we know what's required to get rid of the clunk because I know for a FACT the Steeda HD upper camber strut mounts did NOT solve the issue. The New OEM mount is the only thing that will, but how do we adjust for too much negative camber without using cheap camber bolts that have been known to move under load?

Use these instead. They have all the camber adjustment while still using the new OEM strut mount, and not having to worry about cheap camber bolts.

Steeda billet camber adjusters

Now my front end is silent as the day I bought it.