LCA Clunking noise source found...now what???

ponyman · 05-07-2007, 12:51 PM

Okay, so after retorquing for the umpteenth time my LCA bolts, I still had a clunking noise when I went over bumps....more on the passenger side than the drivers side, but I would get it on the drivers side as well...

Well I got under there and did some good hard looking...well guess what I found....My new beefy BMR rear sway bar is making contact with my BMR LCA relocation bracket!!!!!! On both sides, but the contact seems to be more pronounced on the passenger's side....Now I am at stock height...and have the LCA in the middle hole (not that, that has any contributing factor to it)....so question??? When I lower the car will it reposition the sway bar just enough to remove it from the contact area???? or should I loosen the bolts that hold the bushing on and try and slide it lower/higher on the holes that the bushing bracket has....to get the sway bar some space from the relocation bracket????

I'm glad that I know I'm not crazy....now I just have to figure out how to rectify the situation....any thoughts???

BlackBetty · 05-07-2007, 02:34 PM

I just installed a bunch of BMR stuff, and also have all sorts of clunks. Haven't gotten around to fixing everything yet.

Regarding the brackets, are you sure you installed them on the proper sides? They have that little cutout for swaybar clearance. I don't remember seeing any possible clearance issues when I installed mine, however, I will have to go out and look later to makesure that's not one of my problems.

ponyman · 05-07-2007, 02:45 PM

Yeah they are on the right side...you actually can't get them to go on the wrong side...and the swaybar hits the bottom of cutout I believe...might be the top, I don't remember, but it is hitting in the cutout....

dseid2 · 05-08-2007, 06:24 AM

My Stang suspensionclunked before I had my upgrades installed and it clunks after the upgrades were installed. Quite frankly I think some of it is inherent to the design.

F1Fan · 05-09-2007, 03:31 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: dseid2

My Stang suspensionclunked before I had my upgrades installed and it clunks after the upgrades were installed. Quite frankly I think some of it is inherent to the design.

This is absolutely NOT true. The stock suspension has no mechanical interference points through out all possible suspension movements. If you have mechanical interference your suspensionparts were installed incorrectly or were poorly designed.

Cheers/Chip

dseid2 · 05-10-2007, 06:05 AM

F1Fan:

I have an 07 GT and it had suspension noise before my mods and after my mods. I have no mechanical interference, all parts were professionally installed and all parts are top quality (Eibach, FRPP and Steeda). Look how many posts there are on noisy S197 suspension.Don't you think Ford would have answered these complaints if they could have. After all, this is the third production year for the S197. But don't get the wrong idea, I love my Stang.I also have an 07 BMW 525 and even though the build qualityand engineeringis superior, I rarely drive it, the Mustang is just a heck of a lot more, suspension noise and all.

davesiar · 05-10-2007, 10:55 AM

I had a bunch of BMR stuff installed on my ride as well, and also had a clunking noise from the drivers side rear when going over a bump. I found it to be my exhaust bouncing and hitting the bottom end of the car. I just adjusted my mufflers and everything was well in the rear, no more clunking. Now, I have a nasty clunking in the drivers side front when I go over speed bumps. It wasn't there until I took it in for an alignment, ever since then, a clunking sound. I took it back to them, and they looked it all over and tightened everything up, but could not find anything. Anyone have any input on this one.

F1Fan · 05-11-2007, 04:47 AM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: dseid2

F1Fan:

I have an 07 GT and it had suspension noise before my mods and after my mods. I have no mechanical interference, all parts were professionally installed and all parts are top quality (Eibach, FRPP and Steeda). Look how many posts there are on noisy S197 suspension.Don't you think Ford would have answered these complaints if they could have. After all, this is the third production year for the S197. But don't get the wrong idea, I love my Stang.I also have an 07 BMW 525 and even though the build qualityand engineeringis superior, I rarely drive it, the Mustang is just a heck of a lot more, suspension noise and all.

My '05 GT when stock was dead quiet in terms of suspension clunks and noises. Many people mistake the normal (for American cars anyway), drive train noises as suspension noises. The S197 has a 2-piece drive shaft with three moving joints in it and the 8.8" rear end is also noisy with gear whine withsome slop in the ring and pinion. Put all of these parts togetherwith a manual transmission and a crude clutch mechanism and you have a car that even brand new makes some noises but they are NOT suspension noises. Try this next time you have the car up in the air, with the car in gear see how much you can turn the rear wheels before the rear end gears engage and the slack in the drive shaft is taken up. You will be amazed at howmuch slopthere is in the drive train.

I have installed dozens and dozensof S197 suspension components in my garage for localclub guys and friends I've made since I bought my S197 including my own of course. I have NEVER had a car make suspension noise after I had completed the installations and taken the car on a test drive. None of the drivers or owners of the carshave evercomplained about suspension clunks ornoises even after many thousands of miles and I see these guys ail the time and ask about their car's suspension. The mostcommon legitimate suspension noise complaintusually comes from not replacingcritical suspensionfasteners per the Ford shop manuals and/or notachieving book torque numbers. This is an installation error not a suspension problem. The only other real source of suspension noise I've seen are broken or damagedO.E. strut bearings. These things are crap! I've had people come to mewith "professional" suspension installations that were done completely wrong. Onegal hadthe front strut clunking noise aftera well known SoCalFord dealer installed her FRPP suspension kit for her. I took the struts out and found that one of the strut bearings was missing two of the little bearings from thebearing and some of the balls were showing signs of being crushed or flat spotted. The ONLY way thesebearings can come out is if youdisassemble the bearing and loose them! SoI ran her down to the local Ford dealer for a new strut bearingand put it all back together and what do you know? The noise was gone!

I've been designing and modifying German high performance street and road racing suspensions off and on for almost 30 years primarily on VW/Porsche/Audi,BMW and very long ago,German Fords. Don't kid yourself, the public thinks that BMW's are well made butfor the last 5 or 6 years BMW's have been really crappyunreliable cars, ask anyone who repairsthem for a living. Of course BMW has always gone in cycles with quality at least as long as I have been playing with them since the very late 1960's. The 2005S197GTis my firstnew American car,all I've ever owned wereGerman cars previously except for the vintage '66 2+2 and '69 Boss 302 Mustangs I bought and restored. Trust me when I saythere are no designed in clunks or mysterious noises in the S197 suspension that cannot be tracked down to incorrect installation, lack of fastener torqueor poor aftermarket parts. Been there and seen too many poor aftermarket parts installations to count.

Cheers/Chip

BlackBetty · 05-13-2007, 02:56 PM

I just went out and checked on my car, and the swaybar doesn't come close to the relo. brackets at ride height... it's actually right in the center of the cutout.

I have all rod-ends in the rear end, not really concerned about road noise, but it clunks like crazy and I'm pretty sure I've torqued the crap out of everything. Would it be worth trying to put a little shim in between the rod end and the bolt to eliminate motion?

F1Fan · 05-16-2007, 03:48 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: BlackBetty

I just went out and checked on my car, and the swaybar doesn't come close to the relo. brackets at ride height... it's actually right in the center of the cutout.

I have all rod-ends in the rear end, not really concerned about road noise, but it clunks like crazy and I'm pretty sure I've torqued the crap out of everything. Would it be worth trying to put a little shim in between the rod end and the bolt to eliminate motion?

Hi BlackBetty,

So you have BMR LCA's UCA and Panhard bar all with spherical terminations? Geez that is going to be oneloud car to drive on the street! I have a couple of questions for you, when you received the LCA's UCA and Panhard bar did you check the fit of the O.E. bolts to the new spherical ends for clearance? They should have had a very close mechanical fit meaning an almost tight fit. Most of theO.E. bolts used on the S197 suspension arestretch boltsare supposed tobe replaced each time they are removed per the Ford shop manual. Mostgoodmechanicswho are familar with the S197and have readthe shop manuals will usually reuse them oncebefore tossing them and installing new factory replacement fasteners.Was there any side to side play when you installed the new parts? If so didn'tthe kit provideany spacersto rectafy this problem? This is a common problem with aftermarket kits using spherical or rod ends, the bolts are frequently not spec'd correctly for O.E. fasteners andfrequently will fita little bit loose on the ball part and also have some side to side playand this is a constant source of clunking or clicking as you accellerate, brake and corner. No amount of torque will fixthis basic mechanicalfit problem. You need to have close bolt to ball fit and no lateral play tominimize this additional noise on an alreadyinherently noisey suspension termination. Also as thespherical ends wear you will get more and more noise and clunking so it pays to getspherical ends that fit properly from the begining. Call BMR up and complain about the poor fit and see if they have spacers and new spherical ends that fit your O.E.fasteners better. If not dump them as a supplier or switch the ends out to polyurethane and be happywith the huge decrease in noise and ride harshness levels, there is nodifference in performanceforusewith street tires anyway. Unless you are going to spend at least 50% of your time on a race track with wider,actualracing rubber compound tires sphericals are just another fashion statement made bywannabe racers.

Cheers!