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rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: rficalora
Date: June 04, 2012 07:27PM

My son's 2006 Mustang makes a clunking sound in the front when going over a speed bump or in/out of the driveway. Jacked it up & don't see signs of warn bushings or bad bearings, etc; everything seems tight -- except when moving the wheels to see if the bearings had any play, I noticed the struts rotate slightly (maybe 1/8 to 1/4") as I push on the wheels. Is that normal?

I searched some boards & seems like a lot of people hear what sounds to be the same clunking sound but there doesn't appear to be any clear cause -- just lots of speculation by lots of people.


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: rficalora
Date: June 04, 2012 11:46PM

Ok, it was a dumb question -- have looked at it some more & realized the struts turn with the wheels. Still no idea what the clunking is. Everythng seems tight. No signs of anything hitting or rubbing.


ex-tyke
Graham Creswick
Chatham, Ontario, Canada
(1165 posts)

Registered:
10/25/2007 11:17AM

Main British Car:
1976 MGB Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: ex-tyke
Date: June 05, 2012 08:26AM

My experience with front end noises........the prime suspects are sway bar end links or sway bar bushings (if your car has them).
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rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: rficalora
Date: June 05, 2012 11:06AM

Thanks Graham - it does have them. Will double check them tonight. We're going to take the Mustang to OK so we're making sure it's ready for the trip.


flitner
John Fenner
Miami Fl
(168 posts)

Registered:
03/11/2010 10:58AM

Main British Car:
1972 MGB 350 CHEVY

Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: flitner
Date: June 05, 2012 12:58PM

What I have found when the noise is strut related is the coupling / mount to the top of the strut tower, I believe it is similar in construction to a trans mount as it is a rubber impregnated disk that has a failsafe. I would try changing those out.
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mgbreis
Ryan Reis
Beatrice, NE
(203 posts)

Registered:
07/16/2008 11:07AM

Main British Car:
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: mgbreis
Date: June 07, 2012 09:07AM

Echoing what Graham and John posted, we used to have a ford product (Taurus) and it had clunking that we cured by replacing the sway bar end links and the strut plates. Seemed like it needed it every three years or so. Not a good design, but maybe your Mustang is different.


Dan B
Dan Blackwood
South Charleston, WV
(1007 posts)

Registered:
11/06/2007 01:55PM

Main British Car:
1966 TR4A, 1980 TR7 Multiport EFI MegaSquirt on the TR4A. Lexus V8 pl

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Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: Dan B
Date: June 07, 2012 10:21AM

Let us know what you find. My TR7 was clunking, so I will need to fix that once we get it running again.
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MGBV8
Carl Floyd
Kingsport, TN
(4512 posts)

Registered:
10/23/2007 11:32PM

Main British Car:
1979 MGB Buick 215

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: MGBV8
Date: June 07, 2012 04:30PM

Seems the problem is that you two just bought a couple of clunkers! :) Sorry, I couldn't resist. :)


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: rficalora
Date: June 07, 2012 09:18PM

Everything seemed tight so we drove it. Made it to Stillwater w/no problems except driving through heavy rain the whole way. We hit one spot on the highway where there was what must have been a deep puddle at the bottom of a hill under a bridge. It was already dark out so when we hit it the water spray was like a white sheet in the headlight reflections and hydorplaned at the same time... luckily I was driving & had slowed down to about 50 before we got to the bridge. Was an exciting few seconds though!


robert.milne
Robert Milne

(4 posts)

Registered:
07/18/2012 03:32PM

Main British Car:
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: robert.milne
Date: July 24, 2012 12:49PM

The top strut mounts are the problem. There is a bearing with plastic races. These wear out and leave to much space between the plates causing the clunking noise. It is a cheap fix but you have to remove the struts in order to replace the mounts.


rficalora
Rob Ficalora
Willis, TX
(2764 posts)

Registered:
10/24/2007 02:46PM

Main British Car:
'76 MGB w/CB front, Sebring rear, early metal dash Ford 302

authors avatar
Re: Anyone familiar w/front struts?
Posted by: rficalora
Date: July 24, 2012 10:09PM

I've also read the sway bar link bolts loosen up. Meant to check them when we changed the oil last weekend but forgot. Will check both this coming weekend.
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