Ford Mustang Forum banner

S197 Clunking/rattling sound when accelerating and turning right?

6K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Dingo7222 
#1 ·
Alright I have been chasing the cause of this noise since I got the car 5 years ago. The noise started showing up when I would be turning right with the car in 3rd gear at about 1800rpm. If I were to push the clutch in, the noise would go away. If I revved the engine to ~1800 rpm in neutral while turning right the rattle/clunk would come back. I can feel the clunk in the pedals as a slight tapping underneath the gas pedal, I don't feel anything in the steering wheel. 5 years later I have replaced lower control arms, wheel bearings, inner tie rods, tie rod ends, and the upper strut mounts, all of this was slightly worn so I figured I would replace it and if the noise went away, great! It hasn't. The noise is happening more often, normally under the conditions above as well as any sort of acceleration while turning right or going straight. No noise when turning left. Heck, now I will feel/hear the clunking sometimes when I start the car in a parking lot if I am facing upwards on a hill, when that happens if I don't move the car yet and rev the engine to ~1000-1200rpm I will hear/feel the clunking sound.

So here are some videos of the noise and play I found in the steering rack, you guys think that play in the steering rack could be the cause or is that normal and I am barking up the wrong tree?

Noise-


Rack and pinion play-



Current mods-
Ford Lowering K springs
Maximum Motorsports camber/caster plates
JLT 110mm intake and Bama tune
Ford Racing Shorty Headers

Car was rear ended and then rear ended the car in front of it back before I got it and the shop that fixed it and got it reinspected cut quite a few corners as I am finding strange stuff all the time.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!
 
See less See more
#2 · (Edited)
What year is your GT and how many miles?

It's a little odd the noise disappears when you push the clutch in and it only happens on right hand turns. Even though you originally noticed the noise in third gear making right hand turns, you said you now observe this at at stop while revving the engine. The video really shows the issue being in the steering.

However, given the whack the car took I would take a good look at all the mounts securing the engine and transmission. And I will assume the car alignment was performed when all the suspension components were replaced. I would also double check all of the suspension hardware that was replaced for tightness and spend a little time on the steering rack hardware. About two years ago I had similar work done on my GT and the Ford Tech did not tighten the tie rod end on the right side and it almost came off. They even aligned the car like that. I only noticed it because of a clunk sound. Also the front wheel lug nuts for tightness. And are tires in good shape (no bubbled or hidden damage on inner sidewalls).

Honestly, just from the videos I think its the steering rack.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 5.0 Coyote
#3 ·
2005 and roughly 161,000 miles. The alignment is good however the strut towers were definitely tweaked in the accident as I am adjusted as close to zero camber as possible on the left and stuck at -0.875deg while -0.875deg on the right is in the middle of the adjustment range. I checked the suspension hardware and will go over the engine and transmission mounts while I am replacing the steering rack this weekend. I tried adjusting the rack and pinion mesh but any tighter and the wheel get considerably more hard to turn and the play is still present anywhere from lock to lock. Thanks for the advice! I will update after I swap the rack!
 
#4 ·
Car was rear ended and then rear ended the car in front of it back before I got it and the shop that fixed it and got it reinspected cut quite a few corners as I am finding strange stuff all the time.
The motor mounts may be cracked, the steering rack may have been damaged, and the left front tie rod end or left front ball joint could be damaged/worn as a result of the front end impact.
I'd check those areas first.
 
#5 ·
Alright, rack and inner tie rods replaced and all the play in the steering is gone! However the noise is still there... I inspected the engine mounts and they look fine? No visible cracks that I can see and when letting the clutch out with my foot on the brake the engine doesn't move at all. Also I got a good video of it making the noise while sitting in my garage.

Rattle sound while parked-



Doesn't make the noise at idle so I have to rev it to 1000rpm. I am going to try and have a friend hold it at 1000 rpm next time it makes the noise and poke around with a stethoscope.
 
#8 ·
SOLVED!

Alright first let me go through the list of what it wasn't:
Lower control arm bushings
Front wheel bearings
Steering rack (Although the new rack did get rid of the play in the steering wheel so that's nice)
Upper Strut Mounts
Inner Tie Rods
Rod Ends

What it was:
Engine Mounts

After being thoroughly confused and frustrated I jacked the car up and started checking everything around the engine. After looking and checking every exhaust hanger I noticed that my driver side shorty header was suspiciously close to my steering shaft. Sure enough I saw a band on the steering shaft where the paint had been rubbed off. At first I thought it was just a shorty header thing and that I would take the "Roadkill" approach and clearance the header with a hammer. I got about a quarter inch of clearance between the header and steering shaft and the noise went away! for about a day.... When the noise came back I decided to swap engine mounts to an adjustable poly kit from American Muscle to really hold that sucker in place.

I ended up swapping the engine mounts with the BMR Adjustable Poly Motor Mount Kit from American Muscle, Item #391006. I used the large spacer and one of the thin spacers included in the kit to get about 5/8" clearance between the header and steering shaft. While I was at it I replaced the transmission mount and let me tell you, the car feels sooo much better. Shifts are crisp, engine response is MUCH improved, increased vibration from the poly mounts is not bad at all, barely noticeable to me and not noticeable to anyone who doesn't drive my car everyday.

Thanks to everyone for helping me out! Until next time...
Matt
 

Attachments

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top