[uornamehere]

my 03 svt has really squeeky suspension .. sounds like an old hotel bed.. lol nd i have a rattle commin from some sort of heat shield idk where its commin from.. the heat shield that covers the exhaust manifold was makin noise so i took it off .. i thought that fixed the problem but it didnt.. i only hear the rattle around 1300 to 1700 rpms madd annoying.. it sucks the focus is acting like this because this is my first ford nd its leavin a bad taste in my mouth... i hope someone can help me wit this because its buggin the piss outta me..

 

[jgustafson]

Same issues, no clue. Bump for answers!

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Sounds at X engine rpm are likely due to worn motor mounts if the condition occurs without the vehicle moving. Testing mounts is difficult in manual trans vehicles, but the formula is the same. Chock the wheels and engage the emergency brake. Now have an assistant observe the engine in the engine compartment as you put the vehicle in gear and disengage the clutch with the vehicle secured so it won't move. The engine should move about 1" in the engine compartment. If it moves further than that, or you hear clunking sounds then you have motor mount problems. You can also visually inspect the mounts for cracks, rips, or tears in the isolator.

 

[SynisterShadows]

i got the same prob with the suspention in my focus

 

[bluefront]

Many hard-to-find rattles from the exhaust system, and particularly rattles that are RPM related......come from the cat. converter. The guts of the thing come loose on the inside.

If you bang on the converter with a hammer, you can sometimes hear the rattle. Not fixable......you get to buy a new one.[xx(]

 

[Weldman0730]

I thought there were greaseserts on the articulating components of the suspension, I know there is on my truck and motorcycle, if there are it may be a good idea to put a little bit of grease as it may stop the suspension noise.

For the engine rattle, I think whynotthinkwhynot is right, but I also know when these cars dont have a lot of oil in them, like if you pull your dipstick and the oil level is on the L line, it will make a lot of noise in the valve train(this is bad btw), I noticed this on a less mechanically inclined, friend of mine's car, so make sure you have enough oil in your car. Other than that I have no idea, just keep in mind the focus's design is one which doesnt eliminate sound from the valve train and other areas very well.

 

[uornamehere]

thanks for the help i gotta check some stuff out out..

 

[focuspwr]

man i exactly how annoying this issue can be because im having the exact same problem only my squeek is in the rear passenger side. The slightest bump or nook in the road and she's chirpin away! I want to say its gotta be a bushing causing something to rub or something hell i dont know im no mechanic i havnet gotten under her to look.

 

[mizts]

Got the squeaky suspension on mine at the moment, and it's the sway bar bushings.

 

[RonMexico]

I have that annoying squeek too in the front, think its the front strut mounts, anyone confirm this?

 

[uornamehere]

this problem sucks.. i love the focus right... but its just the stupid little problems with every ford including my svt thats putting a bad taste in my mouth... i like the pep it has, the handling, the way it sounds like a raging 6 due to the stainless steel intake, and the exhaust note but other than that i think its a typical ford.. i also dont like how u start feelin power till about 2,500 to 3,00 rpms.. by all means im not knockin the focus lol its def a fun car..
ps.. the duel pressure plated clutch is the gretest clutch i have ever used.. thats a clutch that can take a beatin

 

[Weldman0730]

this problem sucks.. i love the focus right... but its just the stupid little problems with every ford including my svt thats putting a bad taste in my mouth... i like the pep it has, the handling, the way it sounds like a raging 6 due to the stainless steel intake, and the exhaust note but other than that i think its a typical ford.. i also dont like how u start feelin power till about 2,500 to 3,00 rpms.. by all means im not knockin the focus lol its def a fun car..
ps.. the duel pressure plated clutch is the gretest clutch i have ever used.. thats a clutch that can take a beatin

Well if your like me it takes a while to get used to 4 cyclinder engines(I dont know how long you have owned your car), I have never owned anything but a Big Block Inline 6(the 300ci), which made all of its torque before 2000rpm, and I currently own a 97' 4.6L triton and that engine makes a lot of power before 2000rpm, along with the focus.

All 4 cyclinder engines need higher rpms to make power, its just an inherant characterstic of the engine, unless its FI, which is why a lot of car manufacturers have started to put turbos on 4 cyl cars.

As far as suspension squeaking, this seems to be a problem with the Focus, I dont know why but it seems like a lot of people have this problem.

 

[loudfocus01]

Alright guys, enough bashing the focus. Here's the very likely fix to your rattling:

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=86936&highlight=cat+shield+rattle

As for the suspension noise, if its coming from the front, it is most likely your front swaybar endlinks.
The stock ones don't last all that long, and start to clunk.
I would highly recommend upgrading them to the much thicker, stronger, and greaseable Moog endlinks.

If the noise is coming from the rear suspension the two most likely culprits are either the bushings on your rear swaybar, or the top shock nut on your rear shocks has been tightened down too much.
Check out this thread also:

http://www.focusfanatics.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157728

Pretty much all your problems/noises that bug you about your focus can be fixed,
you just have to do some research, and do some investigating on your car.
Hope this info helps you out. Welcome to the site. Glad to have you as a member.

 

[ajp]

maybe your swaybar bushings ned to be oiled? this happens a lot on my dads a3

 

[uornamehere]

iv owned my car for a year now.. it had 30,000 miles on it now it has about 63,000

 

[uornamehere]

thanks for the info loudfocus01 that was the answer iv been lookin for...

 

[loudfocus01]

Glad I could help.

 

[uornamehere]

Question to all post readers.. how do u guys like ur focus?? any problems uv encountered worth mentioning?? im new to the focus im only goin on a year with it.. and also do u have any advice about getting the most HP out of the engine with spending less than 1,200 dollars???

 

[loudfocus01]

Love my focus. No problems with it, other than maintenance and wear items
needing to be changed out for new ones. But that is all normal.
I'd suggest getting a tune from Tom at focuspower. He's one of the vendors on here,
and he is probably the best focus tuner out there. Other engine mods I'd suggest are
a short shifter, poly lower engine mount, Offroad Pipe(replaces the cat).
You can get all those for a decent price, and they'll make your svt much funner to drive.
If you want a lot of power, I'd suggest saving up your money and getting a nice
turbo setup. Check out the Forced Induction section if you are interested in going that route.

 

[focusmaniaczx3]

ok the squeaky suspension is probably bushings. sway bar or others. they squeak when they weren't greased up well enough when they were installed. and yes its very very VERY annoying

most bang for your buck on cheap power would be turbo or nitrous and you MUST get a tune. talk to tom about the tune. for under $1200 best thing to do would probably be exhaust work, header, intake, throttle body for much better throttle response, a flash tool that plugs into your OBDII port, i think its called diablo or predator for the SVT, a nitrous wet kit with all the proper safetys and a nitrous file/tune from tom. the safety things for nitrous will keep you from blowing the motor. wide open throttle switch so it only sprays at wide open throttle, air to fuel ratio switch so if for some reason the motor leans out it shuts down the whole system saving the motor. those two should be a requirement for safe use but another really good one to have for first time bottle users is the rpm window switch. that will only let you spray at a certain rpm range. i suggest 3500 to 6500. that way you arent still spraying when you hit the rev limiter and have that nitrous pool up and blow off the plastic intake manifold. hope that little bit was helpful