TSB 9-24-16 GRUNT/CREAK/SQUEAK/CHIRP NOISE FROM THE LOWER CONTROL ARM BUSHING OVER BUMPS - BUILT ON OR BEFORE 8/3/2009

[Grabber]

Grabber,

I think I may have this problem. Can you tell me my build date please.

 

Vin:

1ZVHT88S985140106

 

Thanks!

Little birdy checked.

 

It's 10/23/2007.

[AlloyDropTop]

The TSB states that all cars built before 8/3/09 have this problem. I think they started building the 2010 model year car on 3/1/09. So that means that 5 months of 2010 production GT500's and GT's have the smaller 18mm arm.

 

Odd that it took 5 years to fix this problem.

 

I have been bringing this noise up various times on this site and others and only get 1 or 2 people to agree that they have any noise in the front suspension of their cars. Everybody else always says that they have silent front ends.

 

My car had been in to dealer something like 3-4 times and Ford dispatched an engineer. Dealer always agree'd it seemed unusual. Ford engineer said that they all do it, but that not many have complained, so it would probably never get addressed by Ford.

 

This is amazing news to me. I really think this will finally solve the noise in my front end, but won't know till spring.

 

Thanks for brining this to the site Grabber!

[Grabber]

I have been bringing this noise up various times on this site and others and only get 1 or 2 people to agree that they have any noise in the front suspension of their cars. Everybody else always says that they have silent front ends.

 

My car had been in to dealer something like 3-4 times and Ford dispatched an engineer. Dealer always agree'd it seemed unusual. Ford engineer said that they all do it, but that not many have complained, so it would probably never get addressed by Ford.

 

This is amazing news to me. I really think this will finally solve the noise in my front end, but won't know till spring.

 

Thanks for brining this to the site Grabber!

 

I hope this stops your grunting.

[AlloyDropTop]

I hope this stops your grunting.

 

Me too! I have high hopes, since almost every other front end component has been replaced!

 

Just the existence of this TSB makes me :happy feet: :happy feet: :happy feet:

[me32]

i also have this problem when going up the driveway and when full turning.

[Grabber]

I stopped by my Local Ford Dealer on my way home from work. It's nice that the service writer guys are there untill 6pm. The Mech's untill 10pm.

 

Anyways, they are checking into ordering the parts for my car. I'm gioing to have to break it out of the bubble to get the work done. I will drive it down there on a dry Sat. and park it in their shop so the work can be done on a Monday.

 

...oh ya, I found out that this is only covered under the 3 year or 36K mile part of the warranty. My car will be 3 years old in March so I'm covered under the original warranty guidlines.

[al ellison]

The TSB states that all cars built before 8/3/09 have this problem. I think they started building the 2010 model year car on 3/1/09. So that means that 5 months of 2010 production GT500's and GT's have the smaller 18mm arm.

 

Odd that it took 5 years to fix this problem.

 

I wonder if this will do anything to correct the wheel hop. Further, for those that have replaced their LCAs, did that correct this TSB issue?

Thank you.

[2kgt281]

I wonder if this will do anything to correct the wheel hop. Further, for those that have replaced their LCAs, did that correct this TSB issue?

Thank you.

 

This TSB addresses the Front LCA's and ball joints, not the rear LCA's.

[10random]

Is anyone in line to get this done or already had it done? This squeak drives me crazy, but I am out of the 3/36. I will have to do the work myself, but wanted to make sure this was the actual fix before bothering.

[Grabber]

I stopped by my dealers to look at my new Front LCA's that arrived. They look pretty nice. I asked the parts guy if they came with a bolt and nut hardware pack. They did not.

 

I then showed the install instructions to my service advisor and pointed out the 18 NEW nuts and bolts needed to do the job per the WSM. The WSM says to disgard those bolts and use new. My service guy did not know the parts showed up and he thought the nuts and bolts would of been shipped with the entire TSB kit.

 

This is not the case, so they are now ordering all the new hardware. If any of you guys are needing this TSB done to your car, you might want to point out the 14 (7 for each side) new nuts and bolts that need to be ordered.

 

Here's 3 pic's of one of my new front LCA's that will be installed very soon.

 

 

[Grabber]

In case anyone wants to know what nuts and bolts I'm talking about, I have highlighted them on the WSM.

 

[10random]

Thanks Grabber! Let us know how it turns out. I will have to do this one out of pocket when I get the chance. I am curious though if the Steeda X5 Ball Joint setup will also remove the squeaking? This seems to be a cheaper alternative and also pairs well with lowering springs.

[6-Speed]

Thanks Grabber! Let us know how it turns out. I will have to do this one out of pocket when I get the chance. I am curious though if the Steeda X5 Ball Joint setup will also remove the squeaking? This seems to be a cheaper alternative and also pairs well with lowering springs.

TSB 9-24-16 indicates the hydro bushing is the source of the noise (the big bushing on the rear of the LCA). If that's the case then the Steeda ball joint won't help. An alternative might be replacing the hydro bushing with a polyurethane bushing. Here's one product I've come across.

 

http://www.spohn.net/shop/2005-2008-Ford-Mustang/Suspension/Polyurethane-Bushings-Accessories/Polyurethane-A-Arm-Bushings-w-Brackets-Rear-Position.html

[03 DSG Snake]

Prothane also makes a replacement for the Hydro Bushing.

 

[10random]

Blah I'm just going to go with the updated arms from Ford. However, before I drop the cash for the upgrade has anyone had this service done and did it actually fix the problem?

 

Thanks!

[malcoll]

I've had this noise in my front end since new.... I've added it to my issues on three visits to dealerships...they all said they found nothing. Thank you Grabber...I have 5,000 miles left on 36,000 warranty....I'll get it in and done and hope it corrects the noise!

[Grabber]

In case anyone wants to know what nuts and bolts I'm talking about, I have highlighted them on the WSM.

 

 

Please note that Item number 3 - Steering gear bolts (2 required) are not called out to be replaced in the WSM. So there is a total of 14 nuts and bolts needed to do this TSB correctly. All 14 need to be replaced during the install. I stopped by my dealer today and my 14 nuts and bolts have arrived. Now I need to get my car into the shop on a dry day so the Master Tech can do the work.

[Grabber]

I've had this noise in my front end since new.... I've added it to my issues on three visits to dealerships...they all said they found nothing. Thank you Grabber...I have 5,000 miles left on 36,000 warranty....I'll get it in and done and hope it corrects the noise!

 

 

I was told that this TSB is covered for 3 years or 36K miles. What year is your car?

 

Mine is a 2007 and I have less that 2 months left on my factory warranty. I guess timing is everything.

[cluscher]

I just had this TSB done and picked it up at the dealership today. I only drove the car home because the weather is crappy (7 miles), but things seemed very quiet. No clunks whatsoever. Now the only problem I have is figuring out why my odometer reads 50 miles greater than it did when I took it in. I have a call in to the service manager about this.

[AlloyDropTop]

I just had this TSB done and picked it up at the dealership today. I only drove the car home because the weather is crappy (7 miles), but things seemed very quiet. No clunks whatsoever. Now the only problem I have is figuring out why my odometer reads 50 miles greater than it did when I took it in. I have a call in to the service manager about this.

 

 

Did you have clunks prior to having it done???

[cluscher]

Did you have clunks prior to having it done???

I did. A noticeable routine one when bringing back the wheel to center after being fully turned to the right on the slight incline of my driveway. It did it every time, and then there were random clunks here and there depending on the situation.

 

The car didn't clunk today when I did the driveway test and overall it seems quieter, ie the grunt, creak, squeak type noises that I didn't even really realize I had. I only drove it a few miles but so far I'm very pleased. This was something I figured was just a characteristic of the car, so it's nice we don't have to live with it.

[Grabber]

Now the only problem I have is figuring out why my odometer reads 50 miles greater than it did when I took it in.

 

 

So what did the dealer say about the 50 mile joy ride?

[ZXMustang]

Thanks for this POST Grabber. I had my car in the shop for front end noise before a few weeks ago and ofcourse the dealer came up with nothing. After seeing this post with the TSB info, I printed it out and went to the dealer with it. Long story short, they measured my control arms and found that I have the bad ones. In two days I should have it back and hopefully the loose sounds over bumps will be gone and it will feel tighter. Thanks again, and this is what the forums are really for.

[Grabber]

Thanks for this POST Grabber. I had my car in the shop for front end noise before a few weeks ago and ofcourse the dealer came up with nothing. After seeing this post with the TSB info, I printed it out and went to the dealer with it. Long story short, they measured my control arms and found that I have the bad ones. In two days I should have it back and hopefully the loose sounds over bumps will be gone and it will feel tighter. Thanks again, and this is what the forums are really for.

 

You are very welcome.

 

...and I agree with you about the forums.

 

Did they tell you it was a 2 day job? Should only take 3 hours according to the TSB time allowed.

[ZXMustang]

You are very welcome.

 

...and I agree with you about the forums.

 

Did they tell you it was a 2 day job? Should only take 3 hours according to the TSB time allowed.

 

 

No, they were working on finding this rattle in the right rear deck that has been driving me crazy and they took all day. Then at the last few minutes of the work day today they measured the control arm and found it to be the bad one. The writer told me they would order the parts tomorrow and probably get them on thursday to complete it. My rear deck turned out to be a speaker trim plate that was installed wrong that would creak when driving. the car has been doing it sincet new, but since getting cold out it got really bad. It took them two service visits and several days of labor to find it. Man Im glad thats over. Now the front end will be nice and tight and noise free. I hope they align it. I think it needs that too.

[Grabber]

No, they were working on finding this rattle in the right rear deck that has been driving me crazy and they took all day. Then at the last few minutes of the work day today they measured the control arm and found it to be the bad one. The writer told me they would order the parts tomorrow and probably get them on thursday to complete it. My rear deck turned out to be a speaker trim plate that was installed wrong that would creak when driving. the car has been doing it sincet new, but since getting cold out it got really bad. It took them two service visits and several days of labor to find it. Man Im glad thats over. Now the front end will be nice and tight and noise free. I hope they align it. I think it needs that too.

 

 

The WSM (Work service Manual) says nothing about an alignment. I forgot to ask about that part of the job. Let me know what they tell you about that. The parts just hard bolt up and have no adjustment....so maybe it's not needed. Dunno.

[AlloyDropTop]

I did. A noticeable routine one when bringing back the wheel to center after being fully turned to the right on the slight incline of my driveway. It did it every time, and then there were random clunks here and there depending on the situation.

 

The car didn't clunk today when I did the driveway test and overall it seems quieter, ie the grunt, creak, squeak type noises that I didn't even really realize I had. I only drove it a few miles but so far I'm very pleased. This was something I figured was just a characteristic of the car, so it's nice we don't have to live with it.

 

 

That is great news. My front end has sounded like a bad strut mount or bad ball joint, etc... from day 1. I think the dealer has basically disconnected, replaced a variety of parts, just to put it all back together and still clunk, at least 3 times now. I am really looking forward to getting this TSB performed on my car, and really hoping that finally, this car will drive like is should. 2 summers of clunking front end has been driving me crazy...

[cluscher]

That is great news. My front end has sounded like a bad strut mount or bad ball joint, etc... from day 1. I think the dealer has basically disconnected, replaced a variety of parts, just to put it all back together and still clunk, at least 3 times now. I am really looking forward to getting this TSB performed on my car, and really hoping that finally, this car will drive like is should. 2 summers of clunking front end has been driving me crazy...

I'm thinking you'll be in luck when you get this done. Definitely a noticeable difference.

[cluscher]

So what did the dealer say about the 50 mile joy ride?

Unfortunately I forgot to write down the mileage when I left it. The mileage in/out on my receipt both said 3322. I picked it up with 3370. The service advisor looked into it and said the 3322 mileage number was mileage on the car when I brought it in for them to check out the problem. He said they have to record that number to verify warranty eligibility, and then they keep the work order open until the work is complete.

 

Given this explanation the mileage discrepancy made sense to me, and with back and forth to the dealer a couple of times and one other ride it pencils out pretty close with a reasonable test drive for the tech. This dealership has a very good reputation so I believe them. They should have been more diligent in documenting the mileage IMO, but I also should have been more diligent on the mileage. So case closed and I'm comfortable with it. Thanks for asking and a BIG THANKS for putting this TSB out for us!

[ZXMustang]

Unfortunately I forgot to write down the mileage when I left it. The mileage in/out on my receipt both said 3322. I picked it up with 3370. The service advisor looked into it and said the 3322 mileage number was mileage on the car when I brought it in for them to check out the problem. He said they have to record that number to verify warranty eligibility, and then they keep the work order open until the work is complete.

 

Given this explanation the mileage discrepancy made sense to me, and with back and forth to the dealer a couple of times and one other ride it pencils out pretty close with a reasonable test drive for the tech. This dealership has a very good reputation so I believe them. They should have been more diligent in documenting the mileage IMO, but I also should have been more diligent on the mileage. So case closed and I'm comfortable with it. Thanks for asking and a BIG THANKS for putting this TSB out for us!

 

 

I agree with you especially on a car like ours. If it were a focus or something I would not even think twice about it.