Clicking/Clunking with Strange 10 way Struts, GT500 upper strut mounts, Steeda Sports

[AKDMB]

Well I got my new suspension installed and now I have an issue.

My car: 2012 Mustang 3.7 V6 Performance Pack



Here is my setup (Starting from the top):


2005-2010 GT500 Upper Strut Mounts - Part Number : M-18183-C

Steeda Sport springs for 2011-2014 3.7 V6 Mustang (Same drop and rate as the GT version) - Part Number : 555-8207

Strange Engineering 10 way adjustable struts(2005-2010 Mustang) - Part Number : S6009LM

Strange Engineering 10 way adjustable shocks(2005-2014 Mustang, for cars lowered 1" to 1.5") - Part Number : S6008LMS



Here is my problem:

Whenever I go over bumps I hear a creak/ pop/click it's hard to describe, but here's a video of it : http://youtu.be/VjVR7MVFq_E?t=14s. It definitely sounds metallic. I have checked everything multiple

times, every bolt is tight. Originally I thought it was the swaybar endlink, I disconnected both, and it's still there. I can move and shake the car while it's stationary and I can't reproduce it, I only hear it

while driving over bumps. Now I am led to believe it's the strut itself, the noise isn't present when stationary and turning the wheel. The noise is directly related to the movement of the strut, as I turn

up the stiffness in the strut, the noise seems to get worse(not necessarily an issue with the strut, more stiffness, more stress, more bounce, could be exaggerating another issue idk). Any insight would be

helpful. Are there any known problems with this and the GT500/05-10 Strange strut combo? From what I read, this setup is pretty reliable/issue free.

Thanks,

Trent

 

[wickedsvt2002]

I get the same noise on mine. I have strange struts, shocks, GT500 mounts, but with BMR springs. Haven't been able to find the source yet.

 

[Jabooh1]

I have Steeda springs Boss struts and steeda HD CC plates. I am starting to believe that there is a little play between the OD of the strut shaft and the ID of the mount. Essentially under high load (bumps or dips in the road) there is a little side to side noise. I stood on my radiator support and jumped up and down getting the car rocking. Can't reproduce it.

I did read somewhere that some S197 struts have a slightly smaller shaft and can cause some metal noise if the nut isn't greatly over tightened.

 

[AKDMB]

How far should the upper strut nut be tightened on the strut shaft itself? This is the only other thing I suspect, maybe it's slapping the mount or something else. Thank you for the insight guys.

 

[Jabooh1]

It should touch. Ford says 46 ftlb of torque I believe. The whole shaft is threaded so the nut should go all the way down.

Last time I took mine apart (yesterday) I found a good amount of play as stated above. I wrapped the bottom of the threaded shaft (below the nut; the portion covered by the mount) with Teflon tape. Then put theoubt on and tightened the nut. Haven't got a chance to try yet.

 

[Torchy]

I get the same noise on mine. I have strange struts, shocks, GT500 mounts, but with BMR springs. Haven't been able to find the source yet.

Exact same combo and problem. Still haven't figured it out either.

 

[AKDMB]

I emailed Strange, and I am hoping to get a reply back from them tomorrow. I just wanted to see if they know of any inherent issues that people are having with this combo or it's installation. The rear end is awesome with the Steeda sports and Strange Shocks, the car doesn't even feel like it has an axle any more. This really has me bummed, the car sits so nice, and I really don't want to have to get a new set of struts. There seems likes a lot of people with this strut/mount combo, so hopefully more will chime in and we will get this thing figured out. Thanks for the replies :rockon:

 

[AKDMB]

Sorry to bump this one again guys, but if anyone else has Strange 10 ways Struts and GT500 upper strut mounts that has either had issues or success, please try to chime in.

 

[djclark]

Sorry to bump this one again guys, but if anyone else has Strange 10 ways Struts and GT500 upper strut mounts that has either had issues or success, please try to chime in.

I'd hit up BMR, they might be able to help you out.

David

 

[lindermant]

I'm running strange single adjustable struts/shocks, gt500 strut mounts, and cobra jet drag springs (M-5300-Q) on my 2005 GT - with zero clunks/noises.

ford strut assy manual

strut/spindle instructions

any chance you can mount a gopro to see what might be moving around up front?

 

[86Fbody]

Did you make sure to swap the rubber isolators from the stock springs to the new springs?

 

[AKDMB]

I'm running strange single adjustable struts/shocks, gt500 strut mounts, and cobra jet drag springs (M-5300-Q) on my 2005 GT - with zero clunks/noises.

ford strut assy manual

strut/spindle instructions

any chance you can mount a gopro to see what might be moving around up front?

I don't have a gopro, wish I did, that would be a great tool to diagnose this. How far is your strut nut down on your strut shaft (How many threads are showing)? I didn't torque the strut nut to 46 lb/ft, I have a torque wrench that could do that, but not sure how I would keep the strut shaft from turning.

Did you make sure to swap the rubber isolators from the stock springs to the new springs?

By the rubber isolators I'm assuming you mean the small foam/rubber sheath that fits over the spring, Yes I swapped them over to the new springs along with the dust boot and dust boot retainer from the stock strut.

 

[lindermant]

I don't have a gopro, wish I did, that would be a great tool to diagnose this. How far is your strut nut down on your strut shaft (How many threads are showing)? I didn't torque the strut nut to 46 lb/ft, I have a torque wrench that could do that, but not sure how I would keep the strut shaft from turning.

I did it by hand as tight as I could; and if I recall I the number of threads showing below matched up with the OEM units. My OEM pieces are still together, but they're buried in the garage attic...

pass side

drivers side

 

[AKDMB]

I have around 4/5 threads showing, that's what OEM was. I will mess with the upper strut nut some and see if anything is wrong with it.

 

[BMR Tech]

That noise definitely sounds like something is loose, somewhere.

A common issue is people not ensuring that the nut is properly torqued. Did you use a spring compressor when assembling?

If you do not use a spring compressor, there is a chance that you can have slop within the upper mounting point, between the actual strut shaft and the upper strut mount. This is fairly common.

The only REAL way to tell if this is done properly, is to compress the spring and ensure the strut nut is tightened properly, without tension from the spring playing a factor in the TQ.

If that is done properly, you may have an issue with the travel of the strut. Not specifically with Strange, but, I have seen on several occasions, aftermarket struts that have a "dead spot" within their travel. Basically, imagine an inch or two of free play within the strut shaft movement, vertically. It is not common, but I have seen this a few times over the years. In that case, it would be a defective strut.

Other causes that could duplicate this noise are defective A-Arm bushings, defective ball joints (fairly common), defective Upper Strut Mounts, defective Sway Bar End Links, camber plate slop, camber plate design, loose strut mounting bolts, etc. ------ the possibilities are just about endless.

Some other things that can cause noise up front would be coil bind, and also coil contact on some springs. For example, a dual rate spring can make a noise if one of the dead coils rests within the coil down from it...or if the last dead coil is contacting the first portion of the linear working coils. This is sometimes present in our spring.

 

[AKDMB]

That noise definitely sounds like something is loose, somewhere.

A common issue is people not ensuring that the nut is properly torqued. Did you use a spring compressor when assembling?

If you do not use a spring compressor, there is a chance that you can have slop within the upper mounting point, between the actual strut shaft and the upper strut mount. This is fairly common.

The only REAL way to tell if this is done properly, is to compress the spring and ensure the strut nut is tightened properly, without tension from the spring playing a factor in the TQ.

If that is done properly, you may have an issue with the travel of the strut. Not specifically with Strange, but, I have seen on several occasions, aftermarket struts that have a "dead spot" within their travel. Basically, imagine an inch or two of free play within the strut shaft movement, vertically. It is not common, but I have seen this a few times over the years. In that case, it would be a defective strut.

Other causes that could duplicate this noise are defective A-Arm bushings, defective ball joints (fairly common), defective Upper Strut Mounts, defective Sway Bar End Links, camber plate slop, camber plate design, loose strut mounting bolts, etc. ------ the possibilities are just about endless.

Some other things that can cause noise up front would be coil bind, and also coil contact on some springs. For example, a dual rate spring can make a noise if one of the dead coils rests within the coil down from it...or if the last dead coil is contacting the first portion of the linear working coils. This is sometimes present in our spring.

Thank you for the reply Kelly. So for clarification, have the spring compressed to the point that the mount can slide all the way down on the strut shaft and naturally stop , like in this video http://youtu.be/Y9LEV5CtMV8?t=4m29s I definitely didn't do that on my install. I will do this the next time I am under the car, I'm going to wait until I have some adjustable endlinks to swap out though. I think this is definitely it.

 

[BMR Tech]

Thank you for the reply Kelly. So for clarification, have the spring compressed to the point that the mount can slide all the way down on the strut shaft and naturally stop , like in this video http://youtu.be/Y9LEV5CtMV8?t=4m29s I definitely didn't do that on my install. I will do this the next time I am under the car, I'm going to wait until I have some adjustable endlinks to swap out though. I think this is definitely it.

Bingo. You want the strut mount to come to a natural stopping point, without the spring providing any tension.

Keep us posted. I would love to see that be the issue, and see it resolved asap!

Good luck!

 

[AKDMB]

Bingo. You want the strut mount to come to a natural stopping point, without the spring providing any tension.

Keep us posted. I would love to see that be the issue, and see it resolved asap!

Good luck!

:rockon:THANK YOU KELLY:rockon: AND EVERYONE ELSE ON SVTP THAT OFFERED INSIGHT INTO THIS SITUATION:rockon:

MY PROBLEM/SOLUTION

My GT500 Upper Strut Mount was TOO HIGH ON THE STRUT SHAFT, the mount was not bottomed out on the strut shaft like it should be. Look at this video (http://youtu.be/Y9LEV5CtMV8?t=4m29s), see how the strut mount naturally stops on the strut shaft, that's the way it should be. I ASS-U-ME-ED that the strut mount should be at the same height on strut shaft as stock (4 threads showing), I was wrong... MAKE SURE YOUR STRUT MOUNT IS BOTTOMED OUT(WON'T TRAVEL FARTHER DOWNWARDS ON THE STRUT SHAFT) ON YOUR STRUT SHAFT! Even though there was only a TINY...TINY bit of play in the strut mount/shaft, I got a crapload of NVH.

Backstory...

I did a lowering spring install on a freinds car only a few weeks ago, and I felt really comfortable with the install, I wouldn't have done my own install otherwise. His car was an 06 'vert so it had GT500 style mounts stock. We did the exact same thing on his install, we counted 4 threads before we took the struts off, then when we put the mounts back on, we did the same thing, counted 4 threads and tightened the strut nut. THE DIFFERENCE his springs were for a 1.5" drop (the ones on my car were just 1") so when we pushed the strut mounts back down on the strut shaft there was a lot less spring pushing against us, his mounts bottomed out on the strut shaft anyways. ON MY INSTALL, I did the same thing, but had more spring pushing against me, so MY STRUT MOUNTS DID NOT BOTTOM OUT ON THE STRUT SHAFT


I contacted Strange Engineering and they told me that their late model struts should be just as quiet as OEM. I knew these struts had been on some Frickin' Quick cars and that they wouldn't have held up in those applications unless their design was really squared away. Anyone else that is having any issue with NVH/clunking/clicking, this is one more place to check for play. This was the solution to MY problem, I'm not implying this is the solution to yours. As Kelly said, the causes are nearly endless, but in MY situation the NVH was MAJORLY LOUD, so I knew it had to be something big, metal on metal. What you heard on my video was nothing compared to what this noise was like with the struts' stiffness turned up, It literally sounded like someone was taking a small hammer to my inner fender.

I really feel retarded now...:nonono:


Kelly I think you just earned a panhard bar purchase in the near future.

 

[BMR Tech]

There is nothing more about my job, that I love, than helping a fellow hobbyist out.

I am very happy to see that you got this resolved.

As for the BMR panhard bar purchase, that is excellent to hear! At the end of the day, we need people to buy our parts to keep doing what we do. I am happy to know that you will be adding a BMR piece to your car.

Enjoy your car again, and happy modding.

 

[AKDMB]

Bringing this thread back from the dead, but my noise returned yesterday. After several thousand miles over some of the worst roads in the country it was bound to happen. This time it is very slight, but you can still hear it, nowhere near as bad as last time, but as soon as I heard it, I knew exactly what it was. I bought this strut nut socket so hopefully I can pop the hood, tighten the nut some, and be on my way http://www.ecstuning.com/ES2652181/. The nut didn't appear to have moved at all, compared to the driver side one (which is noise free), but that doesn't necessarily mean it hasn't loosened up. I will post my results over the weekend.