Automatic 5.0

Estabrook Ford service never fixed my squeaky front end and now it has become a clunk when I go over bumps. They told me they would order either LCA's or UCA's, cannot remember which, but never called both times they ordered them. I finally gave up on their crappy service department but now the car clunks in the front. What is the most likely issue and how do I fix it?

They also never fixed my transmission, the shifting flair between 5 and 6. Either they could not get the car to duplicate the fault or once they said it was over full and took some transmission fluid out. Started flaring off and on two weeks later.

SpectreH

It must be something in the adaptive learning of the factory tune. Mine used to do that and if I reloaded the factory or Steeda tune, it would be gone for a while and return later. After I added the ProCharger, it hasn't done it in in nearly 50,000 miles. Their tune also changed the traction control behavior (for the better, IMO).

houtex

Can't help regarding transmission...

Just a point of order, your car doesn't have UCAs or LCAs up front. Just the Front Control Arms, struts, strut mounts, sway bar links, sway bar and tie rod ends. Oh, and springs, of course. So I'm not real sure why they'd say UCA and LCA when they don't apply...

Just watch this video and/or more like 'em to see how you can do the checks yourself. First, ball joints:


And then the rest of the suspension. The Mustang's is different, but the same overall procedures work.


Basically, you can push, tug, poke and prod and see where the problem is. Be sure to check the sway bar linkage, that was my recent problem, one of the sway bar links at the strut had somehow gotten a slightly loosened nut... tightened it up, clunk gone.

Now, lots of clunks are just the front sway bar at the radiator bushings. You can just replace those, they're pretty easy, but that's an easy check in all the stuff you'll do, but the real deal is to do the checks so you know for sure. Could be so many things. I mean, it could even be the engine mounts, but that would probably be a very outlier situation, probably not.

Don't forget the rear! Lower control arms, upper control arms, panhard bar, springs, shocks, sway bar and its links. Same sort of procedures, sans the 9-3/12-6 tire check.

Automatic 5.0

When I pull into my driveway, I hear it pretty good so the wheels are turned and I am going over a slight bump at the same time. I'll check the things you pointed out. Thanks for the information!

JimGilles

I recently purchased a 2008 Mustang 4.0 Coupe Deluxe for my daughter's first car. It had 115k miles on it. From the Carfax and my personal inspection, it has turned out to be exactly what I was hoping it to be, an all original car that had no history of major mechanical issues. It was just driven by previous owners who had to do nothing to it. I wanted to be the one who performed the first maintenance on it. It had the original serpentine belt, spark plugs, fuel filter filled with very dark brown mirk, totally flat shocks, springs and struts, cloth seats, complete with drivers side hole in the lower outside back rest and totally glazed over headlights. In other words, a perfect car that had never been messed with by a wannabe teen age mechanic.

This forum helped me find the "clunk" in the front end. I read where someone suggested that the fastest, easiest and cheapest first step in the process of elimination is to remove the front stabilizer bar. I removed it and wa-la...no more clunk. Someone had placed a plastic shim behind the passenger side mounting clamp in an attempt to stop the "clunk." That was the first and only shade tree fix that the car had. New bushings are on the way.