witxway

The car that I Let get away was a 1968 Mustang convertible that I sold in the late 80s.
I got the bug and again and recently purchased a 2004 Mustang Convertible. (6Cyl Premium)
It was an Arizona car and has 38,000 miles on it and is super clean.
I was hoping the rough ride was due to shocks but new ones were put in the rear today (Old ones were leaking) and it still is the roughest riding car I ever drove, hitting every crack in the road super hard and shaking .
I have a 30 day warranty from the dealership plus an extended warranty, so I drove it home thinking we could fix it or that it may be covered under the warranties. My husband is a gear head from the 50s and we have had dozens of cars but he is stumped too.
Someone mentioned a fix for the same problem with their 2005 that they called "incorporating the TSB". Can someone please interpret that for me and I will go back to the garage that we trust and have him check it out.
Also, would that apply to my 2004? I know that model changed in 2005.
Thanks!! Mary

05stangkc

Hello,

Welcome To TMS.

A TSB Is A Technical Service Bulletin. A Service Advisement From Ford. They Apply to Specific Issues & Specific Models So an 05 TSB as Far as Suspension has Nothing in Common. Replacing the Shocks Was Only Half the Solution. Here is the Shop Manual Recomendations For Rough Ride. {BELOW} Also I Checked For A Ride Issue TSB for an 04 and Found None.

Unless Someone Has Changed The Springs on the Vehicle to Lower it, Likely Some New Front Struts Should Help. Also if Car Has Had Different Wheels & Tires Which are Wider Width Rims & Shorter Tires That will Also Contribute to a Rougher Ride. A Pic of The Car From The Side Would Shed Light on Wheel & Tire Combo & If it Has Been Lowered With Different Springs.

Depending on What You Are Used To Even in Correct Trim The Ride May Not Be Up to Your Par. If You Could Find a Similar Model in Stock Trim You Could Drive & Compare. That Would Really Let You Know! And Convertibles Will Be Different Than a Hard Top.

If Any 04 Owners Have Anything Else To Add from Direct Experience Please Chime in! Be Advised Our Regular Posters Come in & Out of Forums So You May Not get Further Input Immediately.

FYI I worked at Ford Dealerships in Parts For 30+ Years So I Know a Little!

I will Do a Mention to My Admin Counterpart Who Has Experience With Your Model and Owns a Mustang Specialty Repair Shop. He Should See This in the A.M. & Can Likely Be of Further Assistance. He is Very Sharp!

Oh And I Just Got The Title! Cute Real Cute!




@svopaul

• Rough ride

• Strut(s).

• INSTALL new strut(s) as necessary.
• Shock absorber(s).
• INSTALL new shock absorber(s) as necessary.
• Front coil springs or rear springs (5560).
• INSTALL new front coil springs or rear springs as necessary.

Mgb,

KC

A COUPLE OF MUSTANG EXAMPLES FOR YOU BELOW! LOW & REGULAR HEIGHT! THEY ARE GT'S BUT SEE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISTANCE OF TOP OF TIRE & FENDER!

05stangkc

LOW MUSTANG

REGULAR HEIGHT MUSTANG

witxway

I am delighted and now encouraged by the response already to my post. I can see I am on the right track to a better ride.
I value your experience and the time you took to educate me.
I am just the "driver" in the family but I have learned a few things from my "old school" trained mechanic husband. (Got a Model A you cant start, he's your man!)
He had already mentioned the tires and lowered the tire pressure a bit. They are newer but I don't mind checking into different ones.
We will be looking forward to sharing ideas and learning more about my pony.
Thanks so much!
Mary

witxway

Bert

welcome to the forum .... "I may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride"

My guess would be the same -- prior owner replaced stock springs with lowering springs, which are much stiffer than stock; might have changed to stiffer struts and shocks to go with the stiffer springs .... if so, changing back to stock could help a lot in the ride quality department.

I am not familiar with that TSB

Larger diameter wheels with low profile tires can contribute to the brick-like ride also; what size are the tires? (it is marked on the tire sidewall)

svopaul

Welcome to the Forum Mary! From your pictures it doesn't appear that the car has been lowered. Please bear in mind that just because a tire looks newer doesn't necessarily mean it is, you will need to look at the DOT number on the site of the tire for a date. Tires get harder with age and the ride suffers. I have a set of BF Goodrick tires on my wifes '89 LX that look new but are 6 years old and my ride quality has suffered enough that I am about to replace them. There will be a stamp in the sidewall of the tire that says "DOT....." and will have some numbers. The last 2 digits will be the year the tire was produced and should get you a ballpark of age. With 38K on the car it is quite possible they were replaced some time ago but haven't been driven much. The DOT number will only be on one side of the tire, if you don't see it on the outside then unfortunately you may have to get underneath and look at the back side. Struts as mentioned could be another issue....38K miles should not warrant strut and shock replacement but they do have rubber seals which can dry out so depending on the storage conditions this could be an issue there.

Also keep in mind that we all have been spoiled by the ride quality of newer cars and this can play a part in how we feel about ride quality. I know in my mind, my '68 Mustang I had when I was 16 rode a LOT nicer than they really do today...LOL. I get out of my '20 Mustang and get into anything older and I instantly feel like it's nowhere near as nice when it comes to ride quality.

Generally though, that car should ride fairly decent in stock form. Make sure the correct size tires were installed when they replaced them as well, anything with a shorter sidewall will impact your ride quality.

witxway

Thanks again for your help. Here is what my tire info is: Potenza RE760 Sport 225/55R16 95W DOT EM6ADEL0315 (So, they are close to 9 years old!) Looks like a trip to the tire store is in order!
Plus, being stored in Arizona, I would not be surprised if rubber parts were dried out.
To your point, I do agree my assessment of the ride is influenced by my age and experience with more "modern iron". I know I am adjusting to my perception that I am riding on the ground , compared to my 2022 Honda CRV Touring.

svopaul

The tire size is correct for that model but the age is going to be a huge factor...and modern tires, 9 years old is going to definitely have an impact on ride quality and be careful and look for cracks or seperation...I'd definitely put new rubber on it asap. Tire brand will also have an impact on your ride quality to an extent so do some research on what is available. Sounds like we may be on to something for an improvement for you.

05stangkc

Mary,

I Did A Bit of Research For Tires And Ride Being a Top Factor! Here is My Choice! Tires are Very Hard To Choose as Everybody Has A Different Opinion and Every Car Can Perform Different with the Same Tire So With That Being Said This is Just My Opinion!

https://generaltire.com/tires/passenger/altimax-rt45

Also You Had Mentioned the Rear Shocks Were Leaking. Probably Due To Just Age and Certainly Not Miles So Front Struts Can Certainly Be Suspect Due To That Leaking Elsewhere. Also The Fact The Car was Used So Sparingly Some Road Miles Might Free Things Up a Bit and You Will Get Used To The Car a Bit As Well!

Oh and Lest We Forget! A Most Beautiful Car That Looks To Be in Wonderful Condition! I Hope You Enjoy It As Much and As Often as You Can! And PEEK a BOO I Think See You in the Window of the Store in the First Pic Taking The Pic! and A Couple of Gentlemen in the Cars Quarter Panel Reflection! Mabye the Hubby with the Hat on!

Here is a Thread on Keeping That Vert Top Looking Good!

https://themustangsource.com/forums/...6/#post6810272

Oh and Please Let Us Know How it All Works Out!

Mgb,

KC

witxway

Thanks to all of you, I am feeling more optimistic that I can make a significant improvement in the ride for my 04.
I made an appointment at the Ford dealership for Monday and will leave it there for a few days or until they look her over good.
I will be bringing notes from all of you , regarding your ideas and have told him I need new tires to start. (They do carry the General Tires that were recommended, so they will be in the mix for consideration.)
When I was puling out of my parking spot today, backing out and turning the wheel sharply, both Roger and I heard a distinct clunk in the front end that sounded like something dropped out of position and then re slotted itself.
That will likely be a big clue.
Thanks again for the great compliments and help with this problem. I was thinking I might have to sell her and now I think she is not ready to leave the stable!
Mary

05stangkc

Hello,

Did You Notice Your Avatar! I Also Updated Your Signature, I Popped in One Of Your Pics For You!

That Clunk May Be Upper Strut Mount! Those Were an Issue on the 05's For Sure Don't Know on the 04 But Worth a Look!

Best of Luck on The Repairs The Age of The Tires Alone is Reason to Replace. They Just Don't Hold Up After a Certain Point For Safety Reasons!

We Had Another Lady Join Today Also with Your Bodystyle Convertible Out of Florida! That Make 4 Ladys on the Site at Present!

Is Your Mustang Called Sally?? She is Far To Nice To Consider Selling Just Needs a Spot of TLC!

Mgb,

KC

witxway

Yes, of course, she is "Sally". I hated to admit it , it so NOT original, but so perfect! My bestie and I were singing along to the song just this afternoon! Thanks for the graphics help. Is it better to start a new post or respond to individual comments?

witxway

I saved the link for how to keep my ragtop clean.
We live in Wisconsin but this Sally will never see snow.
My husband had ragtops (1966 Corvette most recently) so he is a good resource for me as well.
At one time he had our 36x72 outbuilding filled with toys. He did all his own mechanics (or 90% of them) and hated to end his long run of over 60 years.
We had to downsize for his health reasons, but he did keep one, a 1930 Model A Roadster, rust free, that he will be selling soon.
We moved to town (Green Bay) and have just a 3 stall.
He also stores a rust free 2000 Chev Silverado pickup that has never seen winters and has under 70k miles.
He is delighted we have another fun car to enjoy.

05stangkc

As Far As Posting If I Am Replying Directly After Another Post I Don't Quote. If I Am Answering Somebody 3 Posts Up A Quote Makes More Sense. Some Folks Also Multi Quote which I Have Never Used But Probably Should in Some Instances. You Will See it as You Look Around. Everybody is a Little Different. Quoting a Post with Pics Gets Messy if it Has Lot of Them. They Can Be Backspaced Out and Text Left Intact. You Can Try Different things As You Go Along! Use What Works For You! If You get Something Messed Up You Can Edit Your Posts as Well!

I Need to Downsize As Well. Health Reasons Also. Hate to Say it But Don't Want to Leave a Mess For My Girls after I Leave For Greener Pastures.

Mgb,

KC

Bert

I generally use the quote feature when it might not be obvious what I am replying to (like if it is a few posts up in the thread), or if I want to respond to a specific portion of a previous post. You CAN edit the quoted post, to only keep the part you are referring to or answering; just be careful not to edit-out the [quote] markers in the quote text

witxway

[QUOTE=Bert;7080573]I generally use the quote feature when it might not be obvious what I am replying to (like if it is a few posts up in the thread), or if I want to respond to a specific portion of a previous post. You CAN edit the quoted post, to only keep the part you are referring to or answering; just be careful not to edit-out the Thanks Bert!

05stangkc

We Look Forward To Sally Making a Full Recovery After Her Procedures at the Local Ford Clinic!

A Clean Bill of Health and!!!!!!!!!

Ride Sally Ride!

Mgb,

Kc

Bert

[QUOTE=witxway;7080574]that was an example of what happens when you edit-out the quote markers that I was talking about -- the /QUOTE in brackets at the end of the quote needs to stay in the text, so the system can recognize that as the end of the quote .... above is posted as a quote because I was careful to leave them in; you can edit anything in between those markers in the square brackets

witxway

I only asked Roger once to consider down sizing his car collection, when I could see they were becoming a lot of work and he was losing some of his enthusiasm. He had some of those cars longer than he had me (40 years at the time) so I always let him do his thing and decide when he might be ready to do so. I knew he was ready when he told me had a buyer for his 66 Corvette that he had since the mid 70s. (Sadly, he always said driving that car made him feel young again.) He even had some movie stars, including a 1940 Ford cab over dump truck that was one of 3 trucks he drove to Dubuque to be in Sylvester Stalone's early movie "Fist' about the start of the truckers union. (More stories to follow) Anyway, you will know too when and if it is time to cull the herd.