[PitchBlack04]

Well...I have had the right front strut and top plate replaced along with sway bar end link and the loud noise continues....sounds like the strut is going to pop through the hood when I hit a dip in the road and nasty bumps...any idea were to go next with this?

 

[sudgalvas]

My 03 svt does the same thing on the right side.

I have had both struts replaced, springs, strut plates, and anything else my dealer could think of. The problem will not go away.

The noise only comes from the right side. A medium size bump on the road makes the suspension bottom out, or at least sound like it is bottoming out.

I don't know what to do, I have tried everything, and so has my dealer. Any advice?

 

[04svtfoci]

my driver side front sits slightly lower than rest of car an bottoms out easily dealer says nothin is bent, and i replaced the strut.. the suspension is gettin complete swap out tomorrow so ill see if that helps any.

 

[PitchBlack04]

04svtfoci....let us know how this works out for you....makes me wonder if there is something going on with a front spring

 

[SPEEDER04]

So many views but no answers to the quetion.....wow....all focus owner who have no answers....thank you for the ones who did reply.

 

[ajbeer-svt]

There are a bad (weak) set of sway bar link ends out, That is what the dealer told me. I had that problem three times in my 04 svt. The only way to fix it is after market end links. After I put the poly end links in, I had no problems.

 

[fat pat]

i used to have that problem as well...it randomly went away once i got on winter tires, and hasnt returned since my summers

 

[sudgalvas]

So many views but no answers to the quetion.....wow....all focus owner who have no answers....thank you for the ones who did reply.

Okay, I fixed my car while the dealer spent thousands of Ford's money trying to fix it.

After posting earlier today, I decided that there had to be a logical explanation as to why the car was bottoming out just on the right side, on the smallest of bumps...even pulling into my driveway.

What I found was the swaybar (anti-swaybar) link bolt was hitting the sheetmetal of the car. See pict below. The yellow arrow is the point of impact and subsequent damage. The blue arrow is the line of travel for the swaybar link when the suspension compresses. (EDIT..the swaybar does not move, rather the body comes down to the link bolt! D'oh [8] ) The green line illustrates the bolt which attaches the link to the swaybar.

The swaybar link is attached to the strut towards the top. There are ball joints on each end to allow the sway bar to travel up and down. The next picture pans out a bit and lables the components and circles the impact point.

The next obvious question is why is this hitting? What can be done to fix it? Simple, slide the whole sway bar towards the right of the car.

To do this, one 13mm bolt on each mount for the swaybar bushing had to be loosened on the K-frame which holds the steering rack & pinion and the swaybar. Then I pryed the swaybar a 1/4" to the right and re-tightened the bushing clamps.

A test drive revealed there was now proper clearance for the swaybar to properly travel up and down.

When you take your car in, just ask them to center the swaybar and all should be fine. I can't tell you how nice it is to have that annoying noise gone!

Hope this helps all who read it! [thumb]

Jonas

 

[PitchBlack04]

Thank you very much for the time taken to make your post...now i can get off my lazy ass and check this out and fix the problem if this is what I find....will be one very happy camper if this is it...no more cringing when hitting a bump in the road etc....priceless!

 

[..:: sleestak ::..]

nice find!

 

[04svtfoci]

i only got the back half of my suspension in today the front will be done tomorrow night , damn work schedule cut me short but i must say that even with just the eibach rear end installed taht car feels so much better

 

[UtahSVT]

Question... from these pictures, where would the urathane bushings go that come with the F2 endlink kit??? And what makes that kit adjustable? I'm having front supspension problems too, rattle sounds, bottoming out as well as when I turn it sounds like a rubber band stretching. Thought I was buying some new "updated" endlinks from Ford but they look like the exact same ones that are on there. ???

 

[PitchBlack04]

Well...here is a little update....the noise is gone finally....had the sway bar moved over to the right just about a 1/4 inch...thank you sudgalvas

 

[AdrenalineSVT]

Thank you... Thank you... Thank you...

This has been one of the most annoying problems that I personally have had with my SVTF...

[thumb]

 

[sudgalvas]

Thank you... Thank you... Thank you...

This has been one of the most annoying problems that I personally have had with my SVTF...

[thumb]

This has been bothering me for the longest time...I cannot remember if it did this when I first got it(I am sure it did, I just did not drive it aggressive enough), but it has been pissing me off for such a long time. There had to be a reason.

Again, what really bothers me is all the "experts" I had look at my car, and they could not find it. Oh well, at last our cars are free of this problem!

What amazes me is the number of people on this board who are experiencing the same problem has to represent a small percentage of SVTF drivers out there that are having the same problem. This should really be a TSB. Or maybe a sticky?

Have a good 4th and lets keep all 10 fingers!

Jonas

 

[PitchBlack04]

The dealership is the worst place to bring a car for the most part making the warrenty pretty much worthless to me at least.....would rather pay a shop that I can trust to save myself from having to deal with fools. Brought it to them twice....had to go back to take the gentleman who was working on the car for a test drive to duplacate the noise for him...asked to have my SVTF kept inside for the evening...found it outside with the doors unlocked. Dealerships do not represent Ford very well at all...basically giving them a bad name. I should have looked into this on my own but working on cars is not something I enjoy very much anymore and avoid it. It is awesome to have the internet and talk to people who have the same cars and care about them....at least we can all find the answer to the problem and solve it.

 

[sudgalvas]

It is awesome to have the internet and talk to people who have the same cars and care about them....at least we can all find the answer to the problem and solve it.

Amen, Brother! [thumb]

 

[focusedintentions]

wow...wish i would have seen this thread a long time ago.....now i know what that noise is!!!

 

[kcalblabel]

i dont think its just the svts, i just put the h&r cup kit and front rear sway bars on my zx3 an it made the same annoying sound but then again im still waitin for an alignment []

 

[HempHound]

alignment is about $75.00 you really shouldn't put this off.