ACCLERCR Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Hello all! I have an '08 GT500, and I'm hearing a little knocking sound when I tap the accelerator. I also hear it sometimes going over bumps, so I'm thinking that it is not associated with anything with the gears but something in the suspension. Perhaps it is normal and I am just paying attention to it now. Also, I did have Steeda LCAs and the UCA done a few months ago. Not sure if that has anything to do with it but figured I would mention that part anyway...you start to think that maybe something wasn't tightened enough, etc. Again, I've only noticed it recently because I think I've just been listening too much. If I rolled the windows down and just enjoy the car, obviously I don't hear it and I don't feel anything affecting performance (yet, unless this sound is a precursor to something failing?). Any comments, suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'll wait to bring it back to the place that did my install. They are great guys and do great work and I may have them diagnose as well. Thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaR Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 aftermarket lca and uca give better performance by transferring energy more efficiently then factory units. the downside is there is more noise associacted with them. For peace of mind have them double check there work. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Thanks...will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricWieczorek Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Agree with KaR. I swapped out my 08 stock LCAs for the BMR. It increased handling but I do have noise. I've triple checked everything and everything is fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vandy09 Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Sounds to me like the lower control arm bushings. Mine do it with the stockers. Can be annoying. But have it checked for peace of mind. If they have grease certs you can try some grease. Sorry I'm not familiar with Urs off hand Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 Thank you also...they are Steeda LCAs and the one UCA. I will have them checked out for peace of mind. I just wanted to make sure that it was nothing serious due to the wheel hopping I experienced prior to LCA/UCA installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnf Posted July 18, 2012 Report Share Posted July 18, 2012 If you have spherical bearings, check those. I put BMR's LCA and UCA in. The lower had bad bearings in them. Its a fluke, but they sent me new ones and the noise is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 Thank you...not sure if they do...I can ask Steeda direct, and I will also let the installers know as I am scheduled to bring my car back to them for an evaluation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rpmcobra Posted July 21, 2012 Report Share Posted July 21, 2012 I also had LCA's, UCA's, the braces, pan hard bar and pan hard bar brace put on by a well know GT 500 vender. I trailered the car home and checked the work and found the pan hard bar adjustment not tightened. I blame myself because I talked to the mechanic the entire time he worked on my car. It pays to check each time you trust someone with your car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 I checked on the spherical bearings. Per the part numbers on the box and Steeda's website, my Steed LCAs don't have the spherical bearings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnf Posted July 22, 2012 Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Poly bushings can create more noise as well. I had that very noise on accel and deccel. How bout the UCA? Worth a look. From what I have read, the spherical on the LCA at the axle connection ensures proper articulation of the rear end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 22, 2012 Thanks! I will mention that when I bring the car in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted July 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2012 Had the car checked today. LCAs and UCA seem tight, and they torqued all areas as well. Noise still exists.....I only hear it in the 1st and 2nd gears, accelerating and decelerating, and I can definitely hear it when I tap the pedal. When manually turning the driveshaft, (while on the lift) there was some play in the differential and a "knocking" noise, but they advised that this is normal as it needs a little play. I left with the same noise, but if the noise gets louder, they advised me to take it back, and perhaps swap the original UCA (which I still have) with the Steeda one to see if, first, that eliminates the noise; if not, the next focus would be to open up the differential. What do you guys think? Any other areas to consider or just monitor things as time goes by? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ts 68.5 tang Posted August 1, 2012 Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 i had the same knocking sound it was the pipes they get hot and expand. mine expanded one 1" longer. check when its hot. i waited 5 min to check it. it cool down enough that i couldn't find it. i started the car and let it run. it was hitting above the rear end and a muffler hanger was hitting the rear bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2012 It's not the pipes at all in my case...it's a pure mechanical sound. My feeling is that once one changes the original design of a "system", the dynamics of something upstream or downstream changes...what that is yet? I'm not sure. I can guess that it's what I said in my last post - in the differential area. The one way to hone in on the problem is if the condition worsens....so, in my case, if the knocking gets louder, something obviously is not normal and needs to be corrected. Thanks for your post though. I have a friend of mine that's going to put his GT500 up on the lift to see if he has this same noise and tolerance noise in the differential area. If anyone puts their car up on a lift, please turn your drive shaft clockwise, then quickly counter-clockwise (and do it back-and-forth) to try to generate the sound. Please let me know....thanks all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SVTSnake Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Do you have adj panhard bar? If so double check it. Mine kept loosening up on one end (pass) and would cause a knocking. Had to use blue loctite to keep it from loosening. Knocking gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 5, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Thanks for the post...I don't have an adjust panhard bar...thanks again for trying to pinpoint this frustrating area for me. I will eventually bring it back and have them check it again, and spend more time diagnosing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 Does anyone know the difference between the Roush-designed UCA and the Steeda UCA? Also, is the Roush UCA designed for both the GT and GT-500? There seems to be just one Roush part number. Is the Ford OEM UCA the same on the GT and GT-500? I'm considering now swapping just the currently-installed Steeda UCA with the Roush UCA to eliminate the knocking/clunking sounds. If any one has any thoughts or have the Roush unit installed on their car, please let me know. I'm thinking that if I have the Roush UCA in place, I can still keep the Steeda LCAs installed, unless someone feels that there may be an issue. Thanks again for everyone's feedback so far! I just want the wheel hop issue to go away without the annoying clunking noise...we shouldn't have to compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 26, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Need help guys. Steeda advised my yesterday that clunking/knocking sound is due to 2-pc driveshaft with their control arms. I am to follow up with them next week, but need some help here with where this is going. I don't want to keep swapping out parts and I don't want to spend any more money on a problem that should've been a Ford fix to begin with. What do you think my best option is? Just replace Steed UCA with Roush unit? I still want to contact Roush for their opinion. Aluminum one-piece driveshaft??? If this is installed and problem still exists, then, where do I go? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54First Posted August 26, 2012 Report Share Posted August 26, 2012 Steeda advised my yesterday that clunking/knocking sound is due to 2-pc driveshaft with their control arms. I have BMR control arms, upper and lower on my '08. With the proper torque on the arms and a two piece driveshaft I had NO clunks. I now have a DSS one piece aluminum shaft. Still no clunks. Are you using the stock UCA bracket? If you are it has a 16mm hole and there's probably your clunk. The factory and aftermarket UCAs use a 14mm bolt in that 16mm hole. That can be remedied with a decent bracket (Roush bracket/arm is one, mine is BMR) or a set of stepped spacers from, I think, UMI. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 27, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Someone today just recommended the Upper and Lower BMR control arms to replace the Steeda UCA and LCAs to remedy the problem. They did also recommend getting the BMR mounting bracket. Do I need to replace the Steeda LCAs to have one-type system or can I just replace swap the Steeda UCA with the BMR UCA with mounting bracket? Also, please let me know the exact BMR part numbers you purchased for the UCA and the mounting bracket, and the LCAs. I went on BMR's site and there are too many options. I do have a stock height and do not plan on lowering vehicle so I don't need an adjustable. Please help, and thank you for your repsonse above. As far as the mounting bracket, the OEM mount is still there but Steeda supplies the UCA with stepped spacers for the tolerance difference so now I'm really confused why still the clunk. The Roush UCA system seems to have slightly different dimensions to solve the wheel hopping and apparently no clunking. Is the BMR design similar. Here's a copy & paste from Steeda's site: Stepped Spacer Details This spacer is designed to fix the problem with the OEM upper link. At the attachment point for the upper link to the chassis mount Ford uses a 14mm bolt, but the opening in the mount is 16mm. This is not typically a problem with the OEM mount as it uses a soft hydra mount bushing to soften this. But once an aftermarket upper is installed with a urethane bushing can transmit this noise or clunk. This space can be installed with all aftermarket upper that still use a 14mm bolt. The stepped spacer takes up the slop and eliminates all noise from the upper. Note, it does work with aftermarket chassis mounts with smaller then 16mm bolt holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54First Posted August 27, 2012 Report Share Posted August 27, 2012 Someone today just recommended the Upper and Lower BMR control arms to replace the Steeda UCA and LCAs to remedy the problem. They did also recommend getting the BMR mounting bracket. Do I need to replace the Steeda LCAs to have one-type system or can I just replace swap the Steeda UCA with the BMR UCA with mounting bracket Do not need to swap LCAs unless they have rod ends instead of poly. Also, please let me know the exact BMR part numbers you purchased for the UCA and the mounting bracket, and the LCAs. I went on BMR's site and there are too many options. I do have a stock height and do not plan on lowering vehicle so I don't need an adjustable. Please help, and thank you for your repsonse above. NonAdj UCA UTCA018 Mount UCM001 LCA TCA021 Panhard Rod PHR006 Panhard Brace PHR007 As far as the mounting bracket, the OEM mount is still there but Steeda supplies the UCA with stepped spacers for the tolerance difference so now I'm really confused why still the clunk. The Roush UCA system seems to have slightly different dimensions to solve the wheel hopping and apparently no clunking. Is the BMR design similar. No. The Roush actually looks like the stock mount. It has a different durometer rubber bushing. No matter which bracket you get, check the Roush instructions for the hot tip on how to install it without dropping your tank. Steve I just had a second thought. Get under the car with the trans in neutral and twist back and forth on your driveshaft. Is there play? Does it clunk? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ingram4868 Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 I know this is a long shot but I remember a few people complaining of broken rear sway bars. Easy enough to grab and give it a shake to rule something else out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Thanks. On the BMR part numbers, do I need the Panhard Rod & Brace? Or are you just recommmending those for the future? Important: When you mentioned "Do not need to swap UCAs unless they have rod ends instead of poly"...did you mean LCAs (not UCAs)? I also have the Steeda LCAs (lower control arms), which do, in fact, have the polyurethane bushings. So, if it was just a typo, are you recommending to just leave the Steeda LCAs in place? Do they not have any effect on what the UCA does? Sorry for all the questions...I just want to make sure that no angles or orientaition changed when the LCAs were installed, as I did not do them myself. I assume that no modifications were made and that they just fit the factory holes/lengths. So, overall (and please confirm), I should keep the Steeda LCAs in place and just replace the UCA with either the BMR or the Roush UCA & Bracket? Lastly, I'm not sure whose last comment that was above regarding twisting the driveshaft back & forth, but all I can say is that the installer did do that (when the car was up on the lift) right near the Differential and there was some play and a little knocking sound. He said, at the time, that this was normal. Is there something to this? The other reason I mention this is that when I called Steeda and told them my problem, the gentlemen mentioned/put the blame on the 2-pc driveshaft as the cause of the clunking/knocking sound. This just put another factor into the equation. I just want my car to ride like it supposed to. If you feel that I will be good to go by just putting on the Roush UCA & bracket then I will just stick with that, and keep my Steeda LCAs in place. What do you think, with all that I mentioned above? Again, sorry for all the details, and thanks for helping me out here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 I just read the post on the sway bar...I will check that as wel...thanks! "54First", please see my last reply to your response...thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54First Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 I just got back on to make a change, and I saw your questions. Yes, UCA is a typo (actually more like brain fade). I did mean LCAs which do not affect the UCA. Panhard rod and brace are not necessary since you're not lowered. I just put that in because I have them. You can leave the Steeda lowers in place. The driveshaft twisting was to see if it was your clunk. Your installer put that to rest. A little play is normal. If you were to install BMR LCAs, I listed adjustable ones. The non adjustables are: Billet ACA004, Boxed TCA019. Sorry about the stupidity. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54First Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Well, it's morning and I slept on this. Before you throw any more money at this, let's step back for a minute. First, although I have almost no experience with Steeda, I don't know why their poly bushed control arms would be noisier than anyone else's except that they said so. Most manufacturers use bushings from Energy Suspension or Prothane. My first try, and maybe you did this, but the bolts/nuts on the UCA are extrordinarily hard to torque to 129 lb/ft. The one on top of the diff requires an experimentally derived combination of u-joints and non-torquable extensions. The one to the bracket is impossible to get a socket and torque wrench on while the bracket is in place. I made a special extension for my torque wrench to do the job. Otherwise, you really need to loosen and lower the bracket about an inch, then torque it. If your installer only put a box wrench on it and got it as tight as he could, it's not tight enough. The poly bushings rotate, so having it slightly out of position while torquing will have no bad effect. I've read about several guys, one a retired mechanic, who thought they had the bolts tight enough, but had a clunk. Retightening to spec cured it. I've also heard of torn rubber in the factory bushing on the diff. That can cause a clunk. The LCAs are way easier to reach. Usually not the problem. That's all I can think of right now. Don't spend money yet. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Thanks...I will look into this and ask the installer as well. The folks at Steeda only mentioned that a loose CV Joint may be the reason, and that it could've gotten loose from the stiffer polyurethane busing of their UCA. But why should I keep their UCA is this going to happen, and potentially damage other areas? Tech support at Roush plainly said that their UCA/Mounting bracket kit works with no issues and no need to change LCAs. Please let me know your thoughts on this. So, a few things i need to inquire about: 1) See if my CV joint is loose (if it is, then it will get loose again if I keep the Steeda UCA in place - or this would be the logic). 2) Question installer as to see if proper torquing was applied. 3) Check rear sway bar (?), as per one poster. 4) Do you think that there's anything in the differential that might have been damaged or are you just referring to the bushing closer to the differential? The Steeda UCA only has Polyurethane bushings, and I absolutely did NOT have the clunking when the factory UCA was in place...only the wheel hop which started this whole thing. 5) If all is okay, I think that I should consider swapping out just the Steeda UCA with the Roush UCA, including their mount. What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
54First Posted August 28, 2012 Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Thanks...I will look into this and ask the installer as well. The folks at Steeda only mentioned that a loose CV Joint may be the reason, and that it could've gotten loose from the stiffer polyurethane busing of their UCA. But why should I keep their UCA is this going to happen, and potentially damage other areas? Tech support at Roush plainly said that their UCA/Mounting bracket kit works with no issues and no need to change LCAs. Please let me know your thoughts on this. I have no experience with Roush, but I've heard good things (on forums) about the UCA. No need to replace the LCAs. So, a few things i need to inquire about: 1) See if my CV joint is loose (if it is, then it will get loose again if I keep the Steeda UCA in place - or this would be the logic). I'm not sure what Steeda means by loose. If they mean the bolts are loose, then you just tighten. If they mean the joint itself is loose, it means new driveshaft time. 2) Question installer as to see if proper torquing was applied. 3) Check rear sway bar (?), as per one poster. 4) Do you think that there's anything in the differential that might have been damaged or are you just referring to the bushing closer to the differential? The Steeda UCA only has Polyurethane bushings, and I absolutely did NOT have the clunking when the factory UCA was in place...only the wheel hop which started this whole thing. Nothing damaged in the diff. Just referring to the stock rubber bushing on the top of the diff that the UCA bolts to. I'm sure you didn't replace that. Very few people do. 5) If all is okay, I think that I should consider swapping out just the Steeda UCA with the Roush UCA, including their mount. What do you think? If you're getting the "stop the hop" UCA, the arm and bracket come assembled. It's worth a try. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ACCLERCR Posted August 29, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 Thanks again! I will keep you posted on what comes out of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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