lowered the car got clunks

[06silverbullet]

i lowered my car with k springs and got clunks, now i'm not sure whats causing it as i havent had time to check things out but the rear clunks, and i didn't take the top nut off the struts so what could cause that? i've gone back and tightened everything i've loosened for the most part and it wont stop.

the front suspension clunks but i have a feeling its the struts not being tight enough, question is is there a special tool i should be using to keep the strut from spinning when i tighten the nut on top? it's a pain using two wrenches and i'm not sure i can get it tight enough

 

[Lee's05GT]

Get somebody you know with an impact gun to tighten down the top of the strut it wont spin as much until its tight. And as far as clunking, i experienced that in the front when i would go over bumps and stuff like that, ended up changing the strut mounts out with gt500 ones and it went away.

 

[06silverbullet]

hmmm, well that might help. I ot thetires off and the springs on the front have lubricant all over them looks like the front struts blew. back ones I'm not sure yet everything under seems to be tight I'm gonna see if the to nut is loose just to make sure

 

[06silverbullet]

so i checked all the nuts bolts, made sure they where all nice and super snug, everything was. took it around the block still clunked, the top nut on the front is as tight as it will go so that's not the problem.

would blown shocks cause a clunk? cause i get more clunking from one side and the one side that is louder is the one with the blown shock/strut.

but i'm still confused as to why the rear end would be clunking everything is tightened up. the struts don't appear to be blown there isn't any fluids leaking from them.

 

[Lee's05GT]

The clunking like I said above would be from bad strut mounts, I know some years of our mustangs the strut mounts are known to go bad

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[Lee's05GT]

Another note, I was about to buy just new shocks and somebody told me about it and it worked

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[06silverbullet]

well i know some of the struts at least one of them is def bad, it's leaking quite a bit of crap from the seals.

it would be odd though if all 4 mounts went bad at the same time? i plan on getting cast/camber plates anyways.

 

[AbdullaGT500]

For the fronts, make sure your sway bar endlinks are tightened completely where they bolt to the strut. That would cause a rattle. As for the rear, see if the exhaust is rattling against anything. With the car on the ground shake the exhaust around a little and see if you can hear it hitting.

 

[Lee's05GT]

I forgot about the endlinks too mine was tight but still moved around I ended up just taking the sway bar off

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[06silverbullet]

For the fronts, make sure your sway bar endlinks are tightened completely where they bolt to the strut. That would cause a rattle. As for the rear, see if the exhaust is rattling against anything. With the car on the ground shake the exhaust around a little and see if you can hear it hitting.

it wasn't that i grabbed em and tried shaking them and it wouldn't budge. it's not a rattling it's a clunk over bumps just like if it where the top nut on the strut was loose but it's not i have it tightened all the way down to where the threads stop.

i'm really thinking its the struts cause it didn't start happening til a week or so after i installed the lowering springs.

 

[AbdullaGT500]

Have you checked the endlinks again after you installed them? They can come loose.

 

[06silverbullet]

Have you checked the endlinks again after you installed them? They can come loose.

checked them this morning, along with the bolts going to the struts and the top nuts on the mount and actual strut. took it for a drive and it still clunked. the one side with the blown strut is by far the worse and is almost spooky as it feels very loose over bumps.

i ordered the gt500 mounts and frpp shocks/struts kit recommended for the k springs so hopefully that fixes all the issues and i can get it aligned...


could the rear end not being center cause clunking? i haven't had the time til today to be able to mess with the car. i have an adjustable phb from j&m i just don't have it adjusted properly.

 

[Ampire]

Don't know much about these car's suspensions but on most cars missing bumpstops will cause the strut to bottom aggressively. If the strut experiences excessive travel (goes in too far and out too far) it will cause the seals to fail and the strut to leak. Then the strut will start to make bang and clunk noises.

 

[06silverbullet]

Don't know much about these car's suspensions but on most cars missing bumpstops will cause the strut to bottom aggressively. If the strut experiences excessive travel (goes in too far and out too far) it will cause the seals to fail and the strut to leak. Then the strut will start to make bang and clunk noises.

oh i knew the struts would fail, just was a matter of time but i've never heard a blown strut actually clunk, ony my old tbird i had lowered it and it blew all the struts didn't help i drove that thing hard into turns and pitched the car sideways all the time. but when they where blown they didnt clunk.

 

[Gallagher]

i got that to.. check your exhaust could be hitting ur floor

 

[06silverbullet]

i got that to.. check your exhaust could be hitting ur floor

my exhaust is kinda fudged for the time being, long story short the mid pipes were welded at one time to the axle back so they where cut when changed well... now they're too short for anything to clamp on and frankly i like the awy it sounds but they do rattle and thud but i know what it sounds like adn its not the exhaust banging around i can distinctly tell its from the front end and when it's from the rear end. and on the free way on small bumps the rear end will clunk and i can tell its not metal on metal clunking like the exhaust.

 

[GallopingFord]

Is your car still under a Ford warranty? Here you go:

TSB 07-18-02

 

[SonicBlur]

I had a clunk after my K-springs, it was the end links. I know you said you checked them but I would varify one more time. Make sure they're tight. Work backwards and check ALL your bolt and nut tightness. Also varify that the strut cap is facing the correct way in relation to the bottom spring perch mount. If it didn't knock prior to the springs then it has something to do with the install.

-Mike

 

[2010GT]

i got that to.. check your exhaust could be hitting ur floor

^^^This^^^ Seen it happen before.. The drop makes your exhaust ride closer to the axle, so when you hit a bump the exhaust smacks the axle housing.

 

[06silverbullet]

I had a clunk after my K-springs, it was the end links. I know you said you checked them but I would varify one more time. Make sure they're tight. Work backwards and check ALL your bolt and nut tightness. Also varify that the strut cap is facing the correct way in relation to the bottom spring perch mount. If it didn't knock prior to the springs then it has something to do with the install.

-Mike

how do I know if it's facing the correct way?