Clunking noise up front

[ckadiddle]

OK, last few days I have been noticing a clunking noise when going over some bumps. :censor: Not every bump, just some. Doesn't seem to make a difference either way whether I am going over a small or large lump or depression in the road surface. Noise seems to be coming from drivers side front. I can feel it clunk through the floor as well as hearing it. I will probably have to take it to the dealer this Friday or some time next week. :alone:

Guesses?

I hope like heck whatever it is is covered under the extended warranty. I jsut fell out of 3/36 warranty last month due to time limit. There are only 28000 miles on the car.

[Rider90]

Are you sure it is up front? Last time I had a noise that made itself obvious over bumps, I had to pop the trunk and take care of it Goodfella's style.

[NRAUD]

I have a problem like that at my right-front. I usually hear it when slowly rolling over a speed bump or driveway lip. When I first noticed the sound I figured it was a balljoint, control arm bushing, or tie rod failure. The first visual problem I noticed was fluid leaking from the shock housing. The motion control at that corner also became poor. I've seen from posts, that other members have had shock failures, and soon my right rear also began leaking. However, recently Marauder307 has had his car diagnosed with failed control arm bushings. I think that he first detected a problem from a noisy or squeaking front end. Since Marauder307's problem with the bushings have arose, I decided to make a better inspection of my front end, even though the audible sounds seem different. When I think back, I remember that when the lower control arm bushing failed on my '94 Crown Vic, it made a sound similar to what you and I seem to hear now from our Marauders.

[ckadiddle]

Thanks nraud. I may take it to a small shop first where they'll look at it for free and tell me if it's shocks or suspension parts. I think the suspension is covered under my ext. warranty, but I am sure shocks are not. I would like to avoid buying shocks at the dealer.

[ckadiddle]

Are you sure it is up front? Last time I had a noise that made itself obvious over bumps, I had to pop the trunk and take care of it Goodfella's style.

Checked that already - no live people in the trunk.:D

[Warpath]

Seems that most noises from MMs come from either hood stops or broken upper shock mounts in the front from what I've read here on this board. Marauder307 control arm problems are a special case from when it was shipped on a boat to HI.

[ckadiddle]

Seems that most noises from MMs come from either hood stops or broken upper shock mounts in the front from what I've read here on this board. Marauder307 control arm problems are a special case from when it was shipped on a boat to HI.
This is transmitting a thumping through the floorboards to my feet as well as hearing it, so broken shock mount sounds like a good possibility. I drove over a raised manhole cover (with the left front) on the way to work yesterday that is normally uncomfortably jarring - it was BONE SHATTERING :eek: instead of just normally jarring.

[JMan]

This is transmitting a thumping through the floorboards to my feet as well as hearing it, so broken shock mount sounds like a good possibility. I drove over a raised manhole cover (with the left front) on the way to work yesterday that is normally uncomfortably jarring - it was BONE SHATTERING :eek: instead of just normally jarring.

Three weeks with a front shock locked up nearly knocked my teeth out. Just got the new ones in Monday, 2/13. Car became a year old on Valentines Day. Two shocks failed - one rear and one front - in a year. :mad2: Four previous Panthers, sans Tokicos, with no shock failures at all in 15 years. I guess that's the price you pay for . . . performance? Best of luck with your 'ride'!

J

[ckadiddle]

Got news this morning. Definitely a dead shock. 298 parts and labor. Ick. Have to go back tomorrow morning to get it installed, they did not have one in stock (big surprise). Had oil changed while I was there.

[JMan]

Got news this morning. Definitely a dead shock. 298 parts and labor. Ick. Have to go back tomorrow morning to get it installed, they did not have one in stock (big surprise). Had oil changed while I was there.

Odd! My car was built after the 12/03 split when they fixed the shock problem :bs: . Is the price for one front shock or both? I'm just curious knowing what the dealer cost is on them.

I despise the dealer I bought my car from so much I paid for them and did it myself. I would not recommend trying that job in your driveway though. The shock and spring are a strut in actuality and require some specialized tools and equipment to perform the procedure. It is not only a pain, it is dangerous without the right gear. You'll enjoy your car again tremendously when it's over and done with!

Best of luck,

J

[ckadiddle]

Odd! My car was built after the 12/03 split when they fixed the shock problem :bs: . Is the price for one front shock or both? I'm just curious knowing what the dealer cost is on them.
I despise the dealer I bought my car from so much I paid for them and did it myself. I would not recommend trying that job in your driveway though. The shock and spring are a strut in actuality and require some specialized tools and equipment to perform the procedure. It is not only a pain, it is dangerous without the right gear. You'll enjoy your car again tremendously when it's over and done with!
J
Original Estimate was for ONE shock. Actual prices on the receipt are much less.
67.47 for shock absorber assembly
23.28 for link (?)
28.68 for caster, camber, toe-in check - .4 hrs labor
155.73 total - about half what service writer estimated. What's up with that?

Good News: the cost DID get covered under my extended warranty, so I only had to cough up 50 bucks deductible. Yay! Service writer originally told me that the shock WOULD NOT be covered. I am just happy the cost was much less painfull than I anticipated. And I got to use my extended warranty. ;)

[JMan]

Original Estimate was for ONE shock. Actual prices on the receipt are much less.
67.47 for shock absorber assembly
23.28 for link (?)
28.68 for caster, camber, toe-in check - .4 hrs labor
155.73 total - about half what service writer estimated. What's up with that?

Good News: the cost DID get covered under my extended warranty, so I only had to cough up 50 bucks deductible. Yay! Service writer originally told me that the shock WOULD NOT be covered. I am just happy the cost was much less painfull than I anticipated. And I got to use my extended warranty. ;)

I have no clue. That would be a question for like RoyLPita, Carfixer or Ray the Dealer. I'm sure you're enjoying your car again though!

Happy to hear it,

J

[TripleTransAm]

I despise the dealer I bought my car from so much I paid for them and did it myself.


Good Lord, we think alike. I am in the same boat right now with MM#2. MM#1, while never impressing me 100% (I always felt it was a little underdamped since brand new), still rides the same at just under 70000 km as it did when brand new. MM#2, on the other hand, is showing premature loss of control at 30000 km (and it's getting worse). I'm actually praying for a shock to completely give out in order to make my dealership visit more fruitful. Otherwise, I'll get the "they probably all ride like that", regardless of the fact I've owned another one for just under 3 years.

[ckadiddle]

Good Lord, we think alike. I am in the same boat right now with MM#2. MM#1, while never impressing me 100% (I always felt it was a little underdamped since brand new), still rides the same at just under 70000 km as it did when brand new. MM#2, on the other hand, is showing premature loss of control at 30000 km (and it's getting worse). I'm actually praying for a shock to completely give out in order to make my dealership visit more fruitful. Otherwise, I'll get the "they probably all ride like that", regardless of the fact I've owned another one for just under 3 years.

Drive over a lot of speed humps! :D The current and previous mayors live(d) in my neighborhood so we have a plethora of "traffic calming" devices. I hate roundabouts!!! Speed humps in my neighborhood are probably what finished off the shock. Thinking back, I think I was experiencing a rougher ride before the stupid thing croaked. It's amazing to me what a difference in ride one little shock makes.

On the flip side, I think my service writer at the Ford dealer is malfunctioning. I don't think there's a TSB for what ails him, though.
:lol:

[TripleTransAm]

Thinking back, I think I was experiencing a rougher ride before the stupid thing croaked.

:lol: You know, I'm afraid to death of this being the case! With the way things have gone, quality-wise, I wouldn't be surprised if MM#1 has the FAULTY softer shocks all along! :lol: And meanwhile MM#2 has a handling problem altogether unrelated to shocks!
(although, I'm having a tough time figuring out what else would make a car wobble or yaw side-to-side, sometimes I swear I feel I need to change steering input too often when taking a constant radius sweeping curve! Sometimes I even get the impression the back end is shifting under a little bit of throttle application... it's not the winter tires, because I never had this problem with the exact same tires on MM#1).

I did go over some speed bumps in a mall parking lot last week, and heard some really odd sounds from underneath the car considering the low speeds. Never heard any such things (loud POK sounds as the body came back down) on my other car.

One more detail: when it's really cold out, it almost seems like MM#2 becomes easier to drive straight.

[Warpath]

OEMs will tweak the ride occasionally based on customer complaints - especially near the beggining of a new vehicle. It does not occur very often because changes can get expensive. My point is that if you feel a difference in ride from one MM to another, it may be intentional. It could just as likely be differences caused by manufacturing variability.

[JMan]

:lol: You know, I'm afraid to death of this being the case!
I did go over some speed bumps in a mall parking lot last week, and heard some really odd sounds from underneath the car considering the low speeds. Never heard any such things (loud POK sounds as the body came back down) on my other car.



Thats how my front shock acted exactly. It actually locked up totally for a day and was a relief. Pushing down the l/f fender was like pushing on the dining room table - solid. But after a day or so, it loosened up a little and went back to beating me senseless again.
Steve, try bouncing the front corners and see if one bottoms hard on the downstroke. Oddly, when I removed the bad one, it loosened up completely. I guess rotating the shaft broke it free. I suppose one could try that as an experiment with it in the car. Of course it's a matter of time before it spits oil in your immaculate garage!

J

[mrjones]

Have any of you had the shocks replaced under warranty? My l/f shock is leaking, and the car is still under warranty. I wonder if they're gonna give me any crap about replacing both.

What replacements have you used for the front shocks?

[Steve_NC]

I have this problem also in my 2003 300a MM. My oasis report says that the shocks have been replaced once by the original owner, and I think they are covered in the warranty. I am also currious about a good aftermarket replacement if anyone has a vender or part number that has been good them for shocks.

[RoyLPita]

I am gonna have my left front looked at. I have a clunk noise, too.

[jgc61sr2002]

[QUOTE=mrjones]Have any of you had the shocks replaced under warranty? My l/f shock is leaking, and the car is still under warranty. I wonder if they're gonna give me any crap about replacing both.

What replacements have you used for the front shocks?[/QUOT


IMO they should be replaced as a pair.

[mrjones]

IMO they should be replaced as a pair.


Mine too. If Ford balks on doing both, I may just put a pair on myself, and I'm wondering what everyone is using. I like the performance of the OEM, but it seems that these things are busting and leaking a lot. I wouldn't mind trying something different if there is something out there at a reasonable cost that will work well.