So, now that I have my timing chain, water pump, oil pump, etc. changed, I wanted to knock out some of the other small issues I’m still having with my 2010 SHO. A couple of them I will create a separate post for. This post is regarding my struts.
When I bought my SHO, I noticed that it had a little bit of a rattle in the front end when hitting bumps. I assumed that this was related to a bad strut and didn’t really worry about it too much. Shortly after buying it, I installed new and fully loaded Monroe struts. I also made sure that the upper mounts were installed facing the proper direction. While it did seem to rattle less for a bit, it still had a small clunk when hitting bigger bumps. At that point, I figured it was time to replace the sway bar links, lower control arms / bushings, tie rod ends, etc. A four wheel alignment was completed next by a very reputable shop. Unfortunately, this still did not fully resolve the problem and I still had a little bit of a clunking sound.
This year it has gotten much worse, and sounds like it was coming primarily from the passenger side. However, I sometimes do hear it from both sides. With the car on the ground, turning the steering wheel back-and-forth makes practically the same clunking sound as hitting a bump. Trying this same technique after lifting the front of the car off of the ground results in no abnormal sounds.
With the car back on the ground and turning the wheel back and forth, a friend and I noticed that there was quite a bit of play at the top of the passenger side strut. It seemed to me that the upper strut mount was defective. I picked up and installed a replacement one the next day. While the play we had noticed before was now gone, it did nothing to fix the clunking problem. At this point, I am starting to wonder if I just need to buy another set of brand new struts. This sound is getting on my last nerve!
Does anybody else agree with my thinking? It’s possible that I could get the Monroe struts replaced under the manufacture warranty, but I don’t feel like I want to use this brand any longer. Are there any differences between using the Ford OEM struts vs. any of the aftermarket brands? Which brand/style would be the best option for my non-PP SHO? Is there anything else that I should be checking as well? Looking at everything from under the vehicle while pulling, tugging, and banging on various areas of the suspension shows me nothing. It all appears to be tight and as expected. I would appreciate any suggestions or ideas that you all might have. Thank you for your time and for reading this way too long post!
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When I bought my SHO, I noticed that it had a little bit of a rattle in the front end when hitting bumps. I assumed that this was related to a bad strut and didn’t really worry about it too much. Shortly after buying it, I installed new and fully loaded Monroe struts. I also made sure that the upper mounts were installed facing the proper direction. While it did seem to rattle less for a bit, it still had a small clunk when hitting bigger bumps. At that point, I figured it was time to replace the sway bar links, lower control arms / bushings, tie rod ends, etc. A four wheel alignment was completed next by a very reputable shop. Unfortunately, this still did not fully resolve the problem and I still had a little bit of a clunking sound.
This year it has gotten much worse, and sounds like it was coming primarily from the passenger side. However, I sometimes do hear it from both sides. With the car on the ground, turning the steering wheel back-and-forth makes practically the same clunking sound as hitting a bump. Trying this same technique after lifting the front of the car off of the ground results in no abnormal sounds.
With the car back on the ground and turning the wheel back and forth, a friend and I noticed that there was quite a bit of play at the top of the passenger side strut. It seemed to me that the upper strut mount was defective. I picked up and installed a replacement one the next day. While the play we had noticed before was now gone, it did nothing to fix the clunking problem. At this point, I am starting to wonder if I just need to buy another set of brand new struts. This sound is getting on my last nerve!
Does anybody else agree with my thinking? It’s possible that I could get the Monroe struts replaced under the manufacture warranty, but I don’t feel like I want to use this brand any longer. Are there any differences between using the Ford OEM struts vs. any of the aftermarket brands? Which brand/style would be the best option for my non-PP SHO? Is there anything else that I should be checking as well? Looking at everything from under the vehicle while pulling, tugging, and banging on various areas of the suspension shows me nothing. It all appears to be tight and as expected. I would appreciate any suggestions or ideas that you all might have. Thank you for your time and for reading this way too long post!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
