Front end / Suspension noise

[G1-Focus]

This past Friday 3/23 I had a "single, clunking noise" appear and a vibration that accompanies the clunk.

It happens when when I turn the car to the right and only to the right. It happens when driving the car and it happens when backing out of the garage.

I noticed too that it seems to be a combination of suspension use (going over a manhole or bump in the road or over the bump getting into the garage)and then turning the wheel to the right after the suspension event.

It's almost as if the suspension travel causes something to go out of alignment or something was not right to begin with and causes excessive play and then by turning to the right causes whatever it is to pop (or clunk) back into place.

I think the same thing happened when I first got the car, but it was less apparent and happened only a few times when pulling into the driveway.

I'ts a 2001 SE Sedan with the sport package. It's almost 3 months old w/1,500 miles on it and I baby it. I'm going to call the dealership this week, but am hoping that somebody might be able to give me some idea or has had the same problem before I deal with the dealer and can arm myself with information.

[blurr]

Sounds like strut bearings! Mine went at 9000 miles, others here have had similar problems. Look in the Suspension and Team Tech sections for more details. Mine had a pop/creak/groan over rough pavement and especially while turning the wheel near the right and left stops.

1500 miles! Yikes!
Good luck.

[nilo]

G1-Focus,

I had the same problem with my front suspension. As I backed out of a driveway turning right at the same time, my suspension made a clunk noise. The steering also groaned a little when turning the wheel back and forth. I took my ZX3 in to the dealer and they said the strut bearings had gone bad. So Blur is right about that. It is covered in the warranty for me so check with your dealer. I'm still waiting for the parts to arrive to have this fixed. My ZX3 is at approximately 25K miles.

------------------
NiLo
Infra-red ZX3
5-Speed, ABS
Mods?: No wheel caps... (Some arsehole thought it looked better on his wheels )

[John_Deer_5Speed]

My ZX3 makes this scraping sound whenever I go over speed bumps, or the front suspension goes through a wide range of motion. I took the car to the dealer, and they said they couldn't find a problem. Days later I discovered that a service bulletin has been issued for this exact problem. It can be found at the NHTSA website. Next time I'm bringing it with me. Now I have a grinding suspension to go with my transmission noise!

[KillingTime]

Do any of you have the Eibach front sway bar installed?

Read this thread: http://www.teamfocaljet.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000576.html

[tomp]

I'm having the same problem... will have to see what they say about the suspension noise when I pick up my car tommorrow. Something tells me that they will say "cannot reproduce the customers concern"... Really starting to hate Donnelly's Ottawa Ford here(!).

As an FYI, these are the reasons why I decided to have my car serviced today:
1. Metal on metal grinding sound from the rear wheels. Quite loud, usually starts after taking a left turn at medium speeds. Sounds like the bearings are shot or something (?). The noise sometimes stops when travelling in a straight line for a fair distance.
2. "Pulsating brakes" as Ford would call it. Seems to me like the front disk(s) are warped.
3. Broken oil cap. The technician busted it the last time I had the oil changed. The part had to be ordered.
4. Service #00B59. Clutch master cylinder and return spring replacement.
5. Front suspension creak mostly at low speeds, bumbs, and low speed tight turns.
6. Upper body cladding is bending/warping outwards near the door handle.

------------------
Stock '00 ZX3, 5sp, A/C, RF Green

[G1-Focus]

I am bringing in the car a second time, because the first time the 2 mechanics that took a ride heard nothing.

However, this past Thursday 4/12 I lucked out and had the dealer's master tech go for a ride and in less than 100 yards from departure, BANG, there's the noise.

Guess what he says it might be. Probably the mount at the back of the engine compartment for the engine cradle and/or, but less likely, the steering rack. BUT, he thinks that in both instances it is a mount/bushing that was improperly installed and then as a result an improper torque load was applied simulating a proper torquing of the mount.

Let's see what happens this Monday.

[nilo]

I finally got my strut bearings replaced and wow! what a difference it made.. My Z is cornering a lot better now with less body roll and the suspension feels alot crisper.
My strut bearigns were totally shot. Everytime I went over a bump it made a loud metal contact noise and it just felt very loose. I also had my leaky water pump replaced. I was putting in coolant every other day. It was almost as bad as the windshield wiper resorvoir. BTW, anyone know why the windshields wiper fluid evaporates or disappears so quickly??? I keep adding so much every week and I hardly ever use it.

------------------
NiLo
Infra-red ZX3
5-Speed, ABS
Mods?: No wheel caps... (Some arsehole thought it looked better on his wheels )

[blurr]

nilo- it's interesting how they degrade slowly so you don't really notice how bad the handling was until they fix it. Slot car!

There has been discussion on the disappearing washer fluid. Mine seems ok, but do a search you'll find something.

G1- What did they find?

[G1-Focus]

They replace the entire right front of the car - control arm, hub/spindle assembly, axle, abs-brake sensor, strut, spring, and guess what...the noise is still there.

It only took me a weekend's worth of driving to/from my friends house to seat the suspension to make the noise return. I am going to call to see if they replaced the bearing plate. I think they did, but cannot tell from the description on the receipt.

Watch this be the real problem and they replaced all those parts for nothing.



[This message has been edited by G1-Focus (edited 05-07-2001).]

[atmzx3]

that is EXACTLY what happened, G1! they replaced every part of the suspension just like on your car, but the noise was still there. WHY? because they did not change the strut plate! so that must be your problem.

------------------
Owner of a Camaro z28 killer, SERIOUSLY. i beat the snot out of it!

[FocusZTec]

Funky they replaced all my bearings without any need.. mine has never made a front end noise and its been crashed and dented once.

------------------
00" 5-Speed Infra Red ZX3
Mods:
Xenon Kit/Custom mesh grills painted white/ New Edge Perfomance Clear SideMarkers
SCA 2.5 B&G Springs
Team Dynamics 17' Monzas With Yokohoma Paradas 205/45/17ZR
Nopi Dual Headlight Conversion & APR Roof Type Wing
SpeedPeople Indiglo Gauges
FocusSport Wire plugs
Tenzo R Exhaust, Neon Light Painted mirrors back,and side moldings.
AOL S/N - FocusTypeXenon

[G1-Focus]

What's even better is when I asked the service writer about the bearing plate he hesitated as if he didn't know what I was talking about. Then I told him it's at the top of the strut assembly and it keeps the spring in place.

His answer - I don't know.

They have once again heard the noise and are "in contact with Detroit".

Watch this be the problem and they essentially wasted all my time and their resources for only one component.

[urpheuz]

same problem here, I called Ford Motor Co cus the 5 times that i took my car to the dealership i had replaced the shocks and some lubrication but this time i was tired and when i called them they are going to have a supervisor and the guy that fixed to do all the work

------------------
Red Focus ZTS
stick shift, eyelids, painted mirrors, leather, moonroof, etc, etc, etc

[KrazyKiko]

I hear something similar to that whenever I go over speed-bumps. I dont' notice it on normal bumps, though. I just have been too damned lazy to get it looked at.

- Jay

------------------
Drive Hard, Fast and Focus-ed.

[G1-Focus]

Oh yeah, I forgot. The mechanic also put grease in a couple of places hoping this would quiet the noise.

It's not a squeak but an actual clunk that no amount of grease would take care of even if they find out where its coming from.

[matthewtink]

The problem with the clunking sound when driving over a bump is likely to be the pedal box which in some Focus can move around. The soulution is to add spacers to lessen the movement or replace the pedal box. That's what they did with mine anyway!

[wmudavey]

What are the side effects of having bad strut bearings?

I got into an accident back in March and it bent my control arm and tie rods on my right front. Well the spring was bent for over a week till they could fix it. Would this have damaged the shocks or struts? Could this have damaged my strut bearings? My car feels very floaty on the freeway now and it sometimes feels hard to keep under control. I also get a weird noise when I go from about 5mph to 0mph...I can hear creaking in the suspension in the front. Any ideas???

[This message has been edited by wmudavey (edited 05-13-2001).]

[focusguy2000]

I wonder if this is not the problem I am experiancing. I originally thaught it to be the tranny/engine mounts loosening up on me. The problem has gotten progressivly worse over the past 2 weeks to the point where my steering is dramatically affected upon braking, and it is very loose. At speeds about 70 the steering wheels vibrates pretty bad as well. My car is scheduled to go in tomarrow to have this looked at. Unfortunatly, if it is the bearing plates on the struts I might be paying out of pocket expenses as I do have a set of lowering springs on my car. Luckily my dealership is pretty cool about the whole modding stuff. And if there is a service bulletin for it, that helps my cause a lot.

------------------
cloud 9 white zx3 5spd
Ractive filter
custom exhaust
Progress sport springs 1.8" drop
Team 5280 NONE HIGHER!
Quarterfinalist 2000 Bandimere speedway Import/Sport compact challenge

[David]

bump .... see my new post.
I'm with ya on this one.

------------------
formerly known as The Grand Goobah
TEAM NEW ENGLAND
tw.blue zx3
paint matched dash
yahoo i.m. goober_zexthree
AOL i.m. The Grand Goobah
http://www.geocities.com/GOOBER_ZEXTHREE/
"Wicked pissa!!!"

[wmudavey]

I went to the dealer yesterday and they told me they didn't hear anything. Stupid monkeys!!!!!!!!! IT IS CREEKING SO MUCH MY ROOMMATE HEARD IT WHEN I PULLED UP TO MY APARTMENT.

------------------
2001 ZX3
Advance Trac, Side bags, moonroof, Malibu blue
Mods to my company car:
Intermittent wipers, BMW tip, Ireland sticker, Foglight mod.
That will be about it...I don't own it!

[G1-Focus]

Well, I called the dealer today and they said that they have a bunch of new parts coming in and hope this takes care of the problem.

I will post a laundry list of what was replaced @ 1,900 and 2,200 miles - scary, isn't it!

[xcelr8z28]

My 02 focus sedan just got out of the shop, new struts, new tires, and an alignment. Its now making a rattling noise and a rough vibration while turning right at slow speeds. I see that a previous post mentioned strut bearings, but wouldn't this of been replaced with the struts??? or maybe i have another problem please advise.

[emotionz3]

the strut mounts sometimes aren't replaced when a shody mechanic is running the show.

mounts should always be replaced with new struts as they contain the pilot bearings that twist with the struts. they also wear down over time since they have a rubber dampening material in them.

if it isn't the strut mounts, i'd have everything re-tightened. sounds like the struts aren't torqued down to proper tension.

i'd have your drivers side (left) ball joint looked at as well if there is noise during a right turn (the weight is shifted to the left corner during a right turn, causing a worn ball joint to act sloppy)

[blackfoci]

I'm preparing to take my lil' Focus in for it's yearly check-up, and my main concern is the passenger side suspension is starting to creak and groan more and more over the last for months. Really noticeable going over speed bumps and sharp turns. It's probably just the bearings but I figured I'd get some input before they try and replace the whole assembly/control arm as they're prone to try. Thanks.