I've been doing a LOT of research and reading, and here is what I know to be the cure for the infamous clunking problem. When I modified my suspension, I took the advice of a trusted member who said to buy the SVT GT500 upper strut mounts. It was an assumption for me, and others, that the "upgraded" strut mount was stronger than the previous design, but we were wrong. Take a look at the link below to see the mounts I purchased.
GT500 SVT strut mounts
If you look at the pictures you will see they have either natural metal studs or "green" colored studs. Also notice the part number M-18183-
A (7R3V-18183-
A or AR3V-18183-
A). They are the
OLD Ford design, and will NOT eliminate front end clunk. I always wondered why my original strut mounts were silent, but the new GT500 mounts clunked. Observe the pictures below and find out why.
The first picture is the SVT GT500 mount. Notice it's metal inside, and no added rubber cushion. *Please note the spring rubber seat is currently removed in these pictures. It's installed on my car underneath the Steeda HD Camber plates.*
Now, let's look at the new revised mount from the TSB *The entire strut assembly is still intact. I left the original equipment together.*
Do you see the added rubber material added to the mount? Now, let's compare them side by side.
Ford added extra dampening rubber in the new design. The new part number 8R3Z-18183-
B. They will either have a black or yellow stud color design. They are both the exact same mount, the color was changed to black for manufacturing reasons. The tell tale sign if you have the new mount, and don't remember the numbers is to locate the added rubber material in the bottom of the mount where the top of the shock mounts to it.
So, now we know what's required to get rid of the clunk because I know for a FACT the Steeda HD upper camber strut mounts did NOT solve the issue. The New OEM mount is the only thing that will, but how do we adjust for too much negative camber without using cheap camber bolts that have been known to move under load?
Use these instead. They have all the camber adjustment while still using the new OEM strut mount, and not having to worry about cheap camber bolts.
Steeda billet camber adjusters
Now my front end is silent as the day I bought it.
This was added in another thread by someone who had the problem cured.
I confirm the part# 8R3Z-18183-B.
After I sent letters to the Ford Board of Directors, Ford Customer Service
and Bill Ford, Ford Engineer Ralph Arning sent my dealer the 8R3Z-18183-B.
Dealer replaced both struts also as they were both leaking.
Repair completed 6/5/07
I found this info in my THUNK file.
The new mount will look identical to your original except the mounting studs
a few mm's longer. The real change was to the compound of the rubber used
in the mount. The "chuckle" or "loose lumbar" was attributed to the radial
and axial rates on the mount. The new rubber compund corrects this issue
and thus corrects the loose lumbar noise from the front suspension. I've
compared the test graphs of the two mounts and there are drastic improvements
to both the static radial and the static axial rates for the new mount.
Edit: You may find this interesting. From my Thunk file.....
Also, although it's not necessary, adding the 4R3Z-5025-A X member brace will
help with the load put on the upper mount. This may explain why the convertibles
do not have this problem.
Hmmm...Soon after this the braces showed up on the hard tops.
I went with the CHE K brace.
The K member brace was added to all 2008 and up Mustangs after the discovery.
