Macpherson strut replacement?


J

Jed Gardner Drake

New member
Oct 8, 2018
3
I recently purchased a late 2005 Ford GT, (blue w/stripes). I have owned several Ford GT's in the past ,(including first ownership of a blue 2005 car and a 2006 black no stripe car.). This new car drives very well on smooth roads, but once it hits any bumps, it sounds and feels very rough, "Kah-klunk". It is significantly rougher than any of my previous GT's.

Question: Has anyone experienced the same? The tires are 2014/2015 date coded Goodyear Eagle OEM tires, correctly inflated.

I'm considering replacing the MacPherson struts, at considerable cost...with no guarantee that this will improve the ride. This would also void the factory paint marks on those bolts.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

-JD
 
The tires are causing the grief IMO. Changed my shocks/Macpherson struts at 77000 miles. Rides a bit smoother but not much. I replaced with OEM and prices were not that bad. Just my thoughts Bridgestones are the way to go. 345 on back
 
You guys have MacPherson struts? Well, there's your problem!
 
Jed - you have 'coil-over-shock double A-Arm type suspension'... Not to be confused with a McPherson strut suspension .
Anyway, I would try the tires first. they cleaned up my car nicely.
But , if the Goodyear's are in good condition and they are only 3-4 years old, I would wear them out and put up with the noise.

This all assumes the shocks have not leaked or failed and that the upper and lower mount (bushings ) are in good condition.
andy(ajb)
 
Thanks Andy.

I appreciate your insight. I'll follow up on your suggestions. Have you had Bridgestone's on your car? A good number of people seem to swear by them. I am trying to keep the car OEM, but not if it's going to ride like a NYC cab with 250K miles.

-Jed
 
thanks for the input. i greatly appreciate it.
 
OEM Goodyears are the salvage title dealers’ dream tyre.
 
The factory OEM coilovers are very quiet unless they are leaking or worn out. Go for a ride in another GT and compare.

Chip
 
Also check the front sway bar bushings. Being rubber these do deteriorate with age irrespective of use we've found. We have developed a polymer replacement which is both cheaper and more durable.
 
Start with the cheap stuff and work your way up:

Starting with free: check all latches(doors,frunk, clam-shell, etc) are tight; a loose latch can make any car sound terribe

Workshop manual: extensive "noise" section with Clonk, Klunk, Clatter, Spluronk etc and sources

Bushings and mounts: when gone, lots bangs, few bucks $ to fix

Last any good Ford dealer w. GT tech can test the coil overs (ride height may be clue...in #mm)
 
I remember the Multimatic OEM dampers when accelerated hard (IE a pretty good bump) would make a clunk. I have since swapped to Ahlman Engeneering's shocks (note Scott Ahlman was one of the primary engineers on the GT). This shock package totally eliminated that clunk.

http://www.ahlmanperformance.com/products

As mentioned, your issues might be elsewhere.
 
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