Lower stress bar rubs crossmember

[Robotaz]

The FSWerks lower stress bar rubs the cross member on the passenger side of my '09 coupe. So now I have a creaking sound when I brake and take off. I lubed it with brake grease and it quit for one day, but it's back. So now I will have to take the damn thing off AGAIN and FILE the cross member where it's rubbing to get it to stop. I would be concerned about serious engineering endeavors from a company that has problems designing a metal bar that is this simple to fit correctly. I've now been under the car at least 6-7 times removing and reinstalling those freaking bolts, which means I now have to go buy new ones AGAIN!!!! if I want to be sure that they don't break off and destroy the car. BEWARE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR HEADACHES!

[FocusSportTECH]

I'm sorry your having problems with the lower stress bar. We have never heard of this problem before. This may be an issue of engineering tolerances of the subframe or the stress bar as well. However the mounting holes on the lower stress bar are larger then needed incase of issues such as this.

My suggestion is try to tighten the bolts while pushing upward on the bar. This will fit the bar slightly higher and may eliminate your issue.

Thanks,
Vik

[bigdaddyzx3]

Rough day at the office?

Maybe you want to switch to decaf.

[fx4baja]

No problem with mine in the 10 months its been on the car and i used the old bolts.

[iceguyb14]

yeah mine is fine as well

[starfuryt550]

mine is fine on my 02...something must be off with your suspension

[Robotaz]

Yeah, I guess there is a problem with the solution being to just take it off. lol

[Robotaz]

Originally Posted by FocusSportTECH

I'm sorry your having problems with the lower stress bar. We have never heard of this problem before. This may be an issue of engineering tolerances of the subframe or the stress bar as well. However the mounting holes on the lower stress bar are larger then needed incase of issues such as this.

My suggestion is try to tighten the bolts while pushing upward on the bar. This will fit the bar slightly higher and may eliminate your issue.

Thanks,
Vik

That is exactly why the bar would be rubbing then. Clearly there are known tolerance issues with the crossmember if the stress bar's mounting holes are enlarged to accommodate these issues. So what is happening is the crossmember is flexing and causing the bar to fall in the mounting hole. The bolts are brand new and have 159 ft-lbs on them, as the Ford manual states. If the holes weren't so large then it wouldn't fall down like that and rub the crossmember. I don't consider it unreasonable or indicative of needing to not drink caffeine that I'm annoyed that a simple metal bar cannot be mounted correctly either. I'll just spend another Saturday morning taking it off, filing the crossmember, and reinstalling it and hope for the best. If it still falls down and rubs because the hole is too big then I'll send it back and consider the $40 in nuts and bolts and $20 in shipping to be another unfortunate lesson learned.

[Dave&KersFocus]

Originally Posted by Robotaz

That is exactly why the bar would be rubbing then. Clearly there are known tolerance issues with the crossmember if the stress bar's mounting holes are enlarged to accommodate these issues. So what is happening is the crossmember is flexing and causing the bar to fall in the mounting hole. The bolts are brand new and have 159 ft-lbs on them, as the Ford manual states. If the holes weren't so large then it wouldn't fall down like that and rub the crossmember. I don't consider it unreasonable or indicative of needing to not drink caffeine that I'm annoyed that a simple metal bar cannot be mounted correctly either. I'll just spend another Saturday morning taking it off, filing the crossmember, and reinstalling it and hope for the best. If it still falls down and rubs because the hole is too big then I'll send it back and consider the $40 in nuts and bolts and $20 in shipping to be another unfortunate lesson learned.

Well now that you have decided to hack away at the Lower Stress bar whos to say that FSWerks even wants it back? All you had to do is call during their normal business hours 9am-5pm PST and im sure Vik or one of the other guys would have helped you with the problem if not you should have sent it back when it didnt work for you the first or even second go around. Im not bashing you bro im just saying all you have to do is ask and there are many people here willing to help you out with ANY question you may have.

[polarisman14]

^^He's not filing down the stress bar, he's filing down the suspension crossmember.

The tolerances used are necessary as it's designed to fit cars within a 9 year span--I'm sure manufacturing tolerances have changed to some degree from one year to another as most of the pre-09 users haven't had fitment issues. Why not try putting some sort of nylon washer or something to that effect to dampen the vibration in between the two parts?

[focusownerskid]

Life gets worse, find a new hobby.

Next time, give them a call as soon as the problem pops up and you won't waste so much money. They have the best customer service and if you would have given them a chance to help you out earlier on, you wouldn't be in this position and probably less aggrivated.

It's a great product, I know MANY with it and have zero issues. In fact, this is the first i've heard of anyone having an issue personally or on the boards. A lot of people (100+) trust their engines to their supercharger/turbocharger systems, I doubt they are inept to producing a 'piece of metal' to YOUR specifications.

Every batch has it's bad apples, so it's one of the following;

- Your the bad apple.
- The bar is the bad apple.
- Your vehicle has subframe issues(i've had two Foci with awkward sframes) and it's the bad apple.

FS however? Not the bad apple.

- Drew

[focusZX505]

I know I have mine on my 08 coupe with no problems it looks to be touching the lower part of the crossmember but I've had no noise with it

[Dave&KersFocus]

Originally Posted by polarisman14

^^He's not filing down the stress bar, he's filing down the suspension crossmember.

The tolerances used are necessary as it's designed to fit cars within a 9 year span--I'm sure manufacturing tolerances have changed to some degree from one year to another as most of the pre-09 users haven't had fitment issues. Why not try putting some sort of nylon washer or something to that effect to dampen the vibration in between the two parts?

Thank you for clearing that up. I looked over the part about the cross member. But again all he has to do is call and the problem would have been sloved then and there. We all know this and as an owner of ALL FSWerks parts on my car to include the turbo kit i wouldnt trust my car to any other manufacturer out there (been there done that and had nothin but problems). Whenever i call someone ALWAYS answers the phone and gives me nothing but the best answers and information that is available. I hope that you get this problem solved soon and like it was mentioned B4 you might just have a bad apple, dont let it ruin your experience with one of the best companys on the market for the Ford Focus.

[Robotaz]

LOL, I'm the bad apple? Again, it's not my fault that the bar rubs so how in the hell can I be the bad apple? I just wish I'd never messed with it at all. I pulled out of a gas station yesterday and heard a knock on the same side that it's rubbing. Very annoying. I don't even care about the money at this point. I just don't want to hear a car with 2,500 miles that has suspension noises that sound like crap. The bar is coming off as soon as I have the time to waste.

1.) The holes in the bar for the control arm bolts are too big. Period. I think that even with 160 ft-lbs that the bar is flopping around because the hole is so big. I could be wrong, but that's what I think. I don't think I would hear a rubbing, creaking sound if it weren't moving around the bolt.
2.) The bar is designed to cut it too close for there to be any flex in the crossmember and not rub. I understand the design accommodates turbo plumbing, but I don't need that. I just need the thing to not rub, so the design is flawed for my situation.
3.) If you add plastic crush washers, or anything like that, you have altered the design of that point to a degree that I feel is not safe. You don't want that bolt having any room to move, at all. It will crush more over time and you'll end up with a loose bolt.
4.) I'm sure FSWerks is as good of a company to deal with as everyone says. I do however have an issue with not being told: a.) that doing this installation with the wheels off the ground will most likely tear the bushings, b.) the actual torque for the new bolts is 159 ft-lbs, as stated in the Ford shop manual, not 120 ft-lbs stated by FSWerks and c.) that the holes are so big that you need to push up on the bar when you install it. Seems like common sense to tell people these things. The bar came with no instructions of any kind.

[blueovaldave]

If I bought something from someone and was not sure how to install it I would have called them with questions.

1 phone call would have taken care of all your problems, instead you want to blast them in a public forum before you even talk to anyone there.

[pzev04boy]

Did you call and talk to them yet?

[Dave&KersFocus]

Originally Posted by blueovaldave

If I bought something from someone and was not sure how to install it I would have called them with questions.

1 phone call would have taken care of all your problems, instead you want to blast them in a public forum before you even talk to anyone there.

AGREED!!!! All this time spent writing on here and he could have already talked to Vik, Randy, or Rafi about this. If you havent called them yet then its on you. Your the one who owns the car that has the problem and if your not gonna do anything about it after we told you TIME AND TIME AGAIN to call FSWerks about it then your the one who's at a loss here. You refuse to take our advice so therefore i feel no more should be given at this point.

[focusownerskid]

Originally Posted by Robotaz

LOL, I'm the bad apple? Again, it's not my fault that the bar rubs so how in the hell can I be the bad apple?

I gave 3 options in my post, read it again.

You chose to pick yourself out of the litter.

Have you called? I don't think so, because they would fix the situation, I wouldn't think you'd be an still unhappy customer.

Call them, fix the situation and stop making posts about something that could have been solved with a phone call WEEKS ago.

- Drew

[ZX3TUNING]

LOL

everyone has sort of pussy footed around this but really it sounds like the problems is 100% you. Sorry to say.

the simplest solution is using a thick SS washer on either side between the bar mounting tab and the frame. this would space the bar away from the pinch seam of the subframe and would not crush or cause the bolt to loosen up.
why you choose to hack away at the subframe is beyond me but maybe more than anything the "lesson learned" comment... maybe the lesson you should have learned is not to work on your own car if you cannot see such issues. OR better yet, call the company who sold or built the product before you go off half cocked and bitch about it online after you've gone and made it worse! Complaining about a noise on a car with 2500miles is one thing but hacking away at a structural component seems like a even dumber thing to do.

seeing as you missed the problem as you see it the first time, have you even bothered to actually check out and confirm the problem is what you think it is or are you just going off the assumption that because you did this recently, it has to be this causing the problem/noise? maybe getting someone who has a better understanding of cars in general to look at it should be at the top of your priority list rather than pissing and moaning about it online.

I'm not trying to be a dick about it but sometimes people learn better with a slap!
i hope you see this post for what it's meant to be... common sense coming up and kicking you in the butt!

[FocusSportVP]

As far as I know, the OP has not called. Calling would have been best right from the start in regards to an issue with rubbing or any other issue. If we made a mistake we would do our best to correct the situation. However, it is difficult to make a correction without some direct conversation between us and the customer.

[fx4baja]

Originally Posted by ZX3TUNING

LOL

everyone has sort of pussy footed around this but really it sounds like the problems is 100% you. Sorry to say.

the simplest solution is using a thick SS washer on either side between the bar mounting tab and the frame. this would space the bar away from the pinch seam of the subframe and would not crush or cause the bolt to loosen up.
why you choose to hack away at the subframe is beyond me but maybe more than anything the "lesson learned" comment... maybe the lesson you should have learned is not to work on your own car if you cannot see such issues. OR better yet, call the company who sold or built the product before you go off half cocked and bitch about it online after you've gone and made it worse! Complaining about a noise on a car with 2500miles is one thing but hacking away at a structural component seems like a even dumber thing to do.

seeing as you missed the problem as you see it the first time, have you even bothered to actually check out and confirm the problem is what you think it is or are you just going off the assumption that because you did this recently, it has to be this causing the problem/noise? maybe getting someone who has a better understanding of cars in general to look at it should be at the top of your priority list rather than pissing and moaning about it online.

I'm not trying to be a dick about it but sometimes people learn better with a slap!
i hope you see this post for what it's meant to be... common sense coming up and kicking you in the butt!

Well yea i agree.

[Cameroon]

So what happens if he takes the bar off and still has the noise???

[fx4baja]

Originally Posted by Cameroon

So what happens if he takes the bar off and still has the noise???

He will need to sale the car.

[Dave&KersFocus]

^^ thats comedy!!! Even Randy stopped by and gave a few words of wisdom. LMAO, the FSWerks king has spoken!!

[Cameroon]

I spent two months tracking down a rattle. It sounded like the exhaust or heat shielding rattling.

Turned out to be a the drivers side lower shock bolt was just loose enough for the captive washer to rattle.

Sounds can and will echo through the chassis.