[focusmaniaczx3]

i think i might have broken or torn something up in my suspension or steering from showing my butt a little too much the other night. i got some old thick iron skillets went to a big open parking lot rolled the rear tires onto the skillets yanked the e-brake and proceeded to do some of the greatest donuts and drifts i have ever seen from any car any time ever. i was pulling some serious G's in the donuts and had the wheel cut nearly all the way to the left with the gas to the floor when i had to stop from going off the pavement. i rolled off the skillets and went to leave and when i turned to go out i heard this aweful popping/grinding coming from the front of the car. i prayed that the suspension or steering was just bound up from my cutting up and that it might go away after a day or so. its been 3 and it still is popping/grinding at slow speed sharp turns. like making a 90 degree turn out of a driveway, street, or parking lot. when it pops i dont feel any vibration in the steering wheel. also when slowing down from speed it sometimes pops from the same area. if any1 has and clue what it could be please let me know

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Check the end links on the sway bar, one might be loose. I had that happen to me when I changed mine recently. The first drive- no sounds, then it started getting worse until I found that one of the nuts was completely loose.

You might need to change the sway bar end links.

 

[Guest]

Could be front coil springs snapped on bottom coil! Common thing right now, they just corrode and snap. Ford change them F.O.C!

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

i somewhat doubt its the coil springs. i would hear a crap ton of popping and cracking every time i hit even a small bump. it just does it when i make a sharp turn at low speeds and sometimes it pops once when i hit the brakes to slow down from speed.

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

any1 got any other ideas? i got under the car and checked it out and couldn't find anything immediately wrong that just jumped out at me but as far as suspension stuff goes im a novice so something might have been snapped in half right under my nose and i didn't notice. if you think you know what it is and how to check for it lemmie know so i can check it and hopefully fix it myself without taking it to a shop

 

[BOOSTA]

did you check the sway bar endlink like the other guy said? I had a similar problem and it was the endlinks.

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

checked the end links they seem to be good. everything under there seems fine but it still pops in the turns like before. another thing to add. ive noticed that it only popps when turning if its in gear and i have the clutch engaged. if im turning with it popping like mad and push in the clutch it immediately stops. cv axels maby? a bud of mine at work suggested that last night.

 

[suby6]

I hope you have learned a lesson about beating on your poor vehicle... [slap]

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

my philosophy is beat it till it breaks and then replace the broken peice of junk with a shiny new performance part. rip out the tranny? RWD conversion. sling a rod? 4.6 or 5.0 conversion. break the suspension buy coilovers. curb a wheel? buy some rims! but seriously tho i need some advice from somebody because i have no problem fixing it i just have a problem figuring out exactly what it is. and i really dont want to get stranded on the side of the road somewhere driving on broken parts. i think it might be the cv joints but i dont know how to check. lemmie know what you think the problem might be and how to check for it. PLEASE!!!!!!

 

[BOOSTA]

Your best bet is just to make an appointment with a mechanic and have them diagonose it. Good luck.

 

[BOOSTA]

Ive had a few monor problems i couldnt figure out nor could other people on here and i took it somewhere to get looked at and wham they told me in like 10 mins, lol.

 

[jbodin]

my philosophy is beat it till it breaks and then replace the broken peice of junk with a shiny new performance part. rip out the tranny? RWD conversion. sling a rod? 4.6 or 5.0 conversion. break the suspension buy coilovers. curb a wheel? buy some rims! but seriously tho i need some advice from somebody because i have no problem fixing it i just have a problem figuring out exactly what it is. and i really dont want to get stranded on the side of the road somewhere driving on broken parts. i think it might be the cv joints but i dont know how to check. lemmie know what you think the problem might be and how to check for it. PLEASE!!!!!!

That "disposable" mentality is the same kind of thing that got us all into the current financial crisis -- you sound like you have a lot more disposable income than I have, but what will you do when it runs out?

"Drive it like you stole it" makes for a neat bumper sticker, but "Drive it like you OWN it" is a much better creed to live by in the long run. Even in the world of motorsports, winners and losers can often be separated by those who know how to take care of their machinery and bring it home to victory, and those who obliviously abuse it until it dies (which usually results in a premature retirement from the race and a "DNF" in the win column).

Good luck figuring this one out.

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

wow man burn me why dont ya. i was just trying to make a funny. i dont put the car through hell but once every 3 months or less and i dont do it for the purpose of breaking it and blowing money on it. every1 cuts up from time to time and some do more often than others and some cut up in much bigger ways than others. i myself do it alot less often but in much bigger ways. inevitably when i have parts that break or wear out i do replace them with performance parts. ive owned my car now for 3 years and i have never had the same part break twice. as a matter of fact ive only had 4 occations in 3 years where i have directly broken anything. and ive done all the work to the car myself except for the last time i got a stg 2 clutch put in it because i couldn't get it right the first 5 times i tried to put it in. just got the focus fixed by the way. cv joints. took me about an hour after i got the parts. thanks for the help but the parental crawling is not appreciated. i was asking for help to diagnose the sound before it turned into a real problem not for someone to play the blame game with who is responsible for the "financial crisis" good grief stick a fork in me im done

 

[jbodin]

wow man burn me why dont ya. i was just trying to make a funny. just got the focus fixed by the way. cv joints. took me about an hour after i got the parts. thanks for the help

Glad to hear it was a relatively easy fix. I didn't intend to offend -- it's just that when you're dealing with a 7- or 8-year old vehicle in the first place, you've got to take into account things like wear and tear. Older vehicles require a little more care, love, and TLC.

Cars are a bit like horses -- treat them right and they'll treat you right in return.

[]

Pax!