Think I figured out that stupid endlink clunk...at least mine anyways...

[2014_GT]

I wouldn't weld two washers. I'd get some round-stock and cut to length, then weld and drill. The issue has to do with surface area in contact with the bolt. Two washer would be better than nothing, but if you're going to spend the time, do it right.

As for the comment about the car being a POS after 48K miles because of one clunk, then try driving a Dodge or GM with the same number of miles and see if you feel the same way. Or, become one of those ricer pricks that drives a WRX.

 

[2006GT]

I appreciate all the feedback.

So when you remove the sway bar you really don't see any noticeable difference in the ride or handling?? How about any excessive tire wear? The clunking is totally gone???

I'm all for finding out the fix for this, it pisses me off I bought all this Ford Racing stuff and now Im going to remove those parts to fix this.

Me doing anything with the GT500 strut mounts wont help, since I replaced it all with new Maximum Motorsport's adjustable camber plates. The only piece we reused was the the upper spring isolator from the stock upper strut mount, would this make any difference??????

Today I replaced the lower control arms (needed it anyway as the back seals were leaking). This didn't help. My entire front end is brand new, except for the part mentioned above and I still have that sound!!!!!! Going to try to remove the front sway bar next weekend and see if that makes any difference.

There is honestly some knowledgeable people here, someone should really do a serious write up on this (hello Muscle Mustangs & Fast Fords or one of you other publications that cruise these boards!!!) People have been complaining about this issue since 2005 and although you search around the many Mustang message boards and find lots of people complaining about this issue and had a TSB issued there is no real definitive answers given on how, what, and why this happens and what to do to absolutely fix this. I am going to look into what Beauch mentioned.

If there is anyone that can prove me wrong and knows of an article explaining this issue entirely I would freaking dig that!!

Items replaced to this point
1. All Ford Racing Lowering kit Front and rear - Springs, Shocks and Struts, sway bars front and rear.
2. Maximum Motorsports adjustable Caster Camber plates
3. Lakewood Pan Hard bar
4. Ford A Arm brace
5. Both Ford lower control arms
6. Both Ford sway bar end links

and the beat goes on......

 

[one eyed willy]

i didnt notice anything when i removed my front sway bar.....but im also using a extreme BMR rear sway bar that really tightens up the car ALOT.

all im telling you is to remove it......then you will know for sure if thats where the noise is coming from. then go from there. the problem seems to be that after some time, the end links start to distort the holes on the struts, like the metal is just too soft and over time that hole gets bigger and bigger.

you can swap the struts from side to side, put the driver side on the passenger and pass. on the driver side.....then that will give you 2 brand new holes.

we need some sort of bushing or something really. not just a thin peice of metal that appears to be way to damn soft.

remove the sway bar and test it out first. since you already did new struts, this may not even be your issue? was your struts new when you put them on or used?

 

[bigwilly43729]

Trust me, the car isn't going to flip on it's side or explode if you take to swaybar off. And really, at this point, what do you have to lose? If you take it off and you like the results, then you win. If not, you are still in the same boat.

It's understandable if you want the swaybar; you paid good money for it. I've gone through stock and aftermarket swaybar endlinks and had the same problem. Unless you do some sort of modification, this problem will continue to exist. Swapping the struts would only be a temporary fix. Like was suggested before, you need some sort of metal or bushing that isn't going to deform in a short period of time.

The real question is, how much do you want to spend and how much work do you want to do?

 

[2006GT]

ok then, removing the sway bar it is! Gonna give that a try soon as I get a chance. Ill let you know the results. thxs guys!

one eyed willy, yes everything is brand new never installed anywhere before, all this stuff came straight from Ford Racing except for the Caster/Camber and pan hard bar.

If this sway bar removal fixes this I'm going to be pissed! Or happy not sure

Will removing sway bar affect my alignment?? Sorry I'm not a big suspension guy.

 

[G.T]

Will removing sway bar affect my alignment?? Sorry I'm not a big suspension guy.

no it won't.. it'll only affect your cornering performance so watch out for that as you'll need to relearn how the car reacts and handles when cornering at higher speeds

 

[2006GT]

Took sway bar out no change in clunk. Also definitely could see a terrible change in handling immediately. From what I'm learning it is 100% my Maximum Motor Sport CC plates. The clunking is mainly with 05 & 06 GT. Supposebly this is the Fix

Ill be testing this weekend. Sucks spending every free moment chasing this sh%t.

 

[Kevinmach1]

Took sway bar out no change in clunk. Also definitely could see a terrible change in handling immediately. From what I'm learning it is 100% my Maximum Motor Sport CC plates. The clunking is mainly with 05 & 06 GT. Supposebly this is the Fix

Ill be testing this weekend. Sucks spending every free moment chasing this sh%t.

And the results are...........?????

 

[19COBRA93]

So you've been running around for 5 months without a sway bar, what's your impression?

And if you swap struts side to side, the mounting tabs will be switched. On the drivers side, the mounting tab is toward the door. If you move that strut to the passenger side, that tab will now be towards the bumper and won't be used. Make sense?

 

[drivendaily_yeg]

I made a YouTube video that addresses all the different sources a front end clunk can be coming from. I have a lot of experience with these issues in S197 mustangs so I hope this video helps people:

 

[Forty61]

I made a YouTube video that addresses all the different sources a front end clunk can be coming from. I have a lot of experience with these issues in S197 mustangs so I hope this video helps people:

You’ve made two posts here, both bringing up threads that are over a decade old and both promoting your YouTube channel. I don’t personally care but I will warn you this forum has the most knowledgeable people for this platform and nobody here takes kindly to new members just coming in and spamming with stupid threads or links to their own personal sites etc. If you want to be a member of this community I would go make posts on other threads that aren’t just links to your YouTube, just my two cents.

 

[spectreman]

So what? The dude is offering expertise. Crikey, it's just free advice.

 

[07 Boss]

So what? The dude is offering expertise. Crikey, it's just free advice.

To some of us this is a special place. The guy only posted to self promote. I think the folks in this post got their answer ten years ago. He's not trying to help anyone but himself.

 

[JEWC_Motorsports]

So what? The dude is offering expertise. Crikey, it's just free advice.

You have been a member for 12 years, you should know how the forum operates. He isnt a vendor so his self promotion needs to go.

 

[spectreman]

What I know, gents, is that this dying forum gets few posts a day and this guy added something he thought some may find useful. It revived my interest in the topic because my car has recently developed the 'clunk' and I figured to check out the thread, actually watched the video and found it informative. So what if he gets monetized a tad by watching his youtube channel- that's no sweat off my nose. I'd think we'd be grateful for additional info. I know I was.

 

[eighty6gt]

spectre man didn't you see what happened to larry jm and jj 427 R?

Don't ask questions!

 

[spectreman]

spectre man didn't you see what happened to larry jm and jj 427 R?

Don't ask questions!

Mea culpa...

 

[stkjock]

spectre man didn't you see what happened to larry jm and jj 427 R?

Don't ask questions!

Really....

 

[spectreman]

Found out what was causing the clunking issue on my left front end; I expected the worst but it was discovered that the nut on the lower end of the strut had come loose. All tightened up and no more noise. Blammo, fini.