2012 Titanium Front Strut Low Speed Noise (Clunk/Rattle)

[gtncpa]

Well my car has been at the dealer a week.... and now they told me they need two more parts.

[dyn085]

Originally Posted by gtncpa

Well my car has been at the dealer a week.... and now they told me they need two more parts.

I would imagine that the two parts are the bearings. I stopped in to check on my order (seems how my dealership decided to not fix my pre-existing condition due to my Eibach's) and they said that the bearings have been changed to 'emergency' status and that there are over 4400 on back order...

[Zillon]

Originally Posted by dyn085

there are over 4400 on back order...

Wow.

Yeah, time for a wake-up call, Ford. I'd say there's a legitimate problem.

And on a slightly related note... since Koni, Bilstein, and Eibach seem to be dragging their feet on releasing something in the form of dampers for our cars, I think I'm going to give the ST struts a shot. I just need to figure out which ones they are on Fordparts.

[dyn085]

Originally Posted by Zillon

Wow.

Yeah, time for a wake-up call, Ford. I'd say there's a legitimate problem.

And on a slightly related note... since Koni, Bilstein, and Eibach seem to be dragging their feet on releasing something in the form of dampers for our cars, I think I'm going to give the ST struts a shot. I just need to figure out which ones they are on Fordparts.

Notice how pretty much no one has anything available for the '12's...

[DougC]

Had my front end checked out again today. My dealer has already changed the springs, bearings, ect. earlier this year. The noise did not go away. So they looked things over and have ordered a LF Strut. Hopefully this will take care if my clunk and rattle....

[Zillon]

Originally Posted by dyn085

Notice how pretty much no one has anything available for the '12's...

Yeah, everyone's waiting for the ST. No sense in making parts for the plebian non-performance models, right?

Anyways, to those who are interested... in ETIS, the ST suspension is designated as the 'Performance Suspension.' And as most know already, the Ti w/18" wheels has the Handling Suspension, the Ti & SE Sport get the Touring Suspension, and the SEL and SE get the Standard Suspension.

Here are the part numbers for the ST struts and shocks. Pricing is surprisingly cheap, particularly for the front struts.
LH Front: AST-12281 57.47 on Fordparts
RH Front: AST-12287
Rear: ASH-24518 70.50 on Fordparts

[kshew97]

Took my car in on Thursday last week, they worked on the strut noise and the loose headliner. Picked it up on Friday, and with the exception of a small pebble between the rotor and the backplate, all of my noises and rattles are GONE!

Once I took out the damn pebble, my car FINALLY sounds like it is supposed to! NO WEIRD NOISES!

Now, if could get the steering issue fixed, it would feel like a new car!

[gtncpa]

My parts are on back order. Grrrrr

[eriksarnstrom]

Have fun waiting for parts. I've been waiting since 7/31

[Zillon]

Well, just ordered the first round of suspension parts.
- (2) AD-1098 Strut bearing (Focus ST) $10.80 ea
- (1) AST-12281 LH F Strut $37.93
- (1) AST-12287 RH F Strut $37.93
- (2) ASH-24518 R shock $46.53 ea

All came to ~190 in parts from Tousley, and I should have everything in the next week or so. Pretty cheap for nearly a full suspension overhaul.

Since the strut bearings are on backorder until 9/15, I'm holding off for now. I want to do a bit more research and see exactly just how compatible the S40/V50/C30/MS3 strut bearings are with our cars. They don't seem to have the same widespread failure issue, and they're meant for a slightly heavier car, thus they might be slightly more robust. It's a shot in the dark, but I'm tired of waiting for a solution from Ford.