Anyone familiar w/front struts?

[rficalora]

My son's 2006 Mustang makes a clunking sound in the front when going over a speed bump or in/out of the driveway.  Jacked it up & don't see signs of warn bushings or bad bearings, etc; everything seems tight -- except when moving the wheels to see if the bearings had any play, I noticed the struts rotate slightly (maybe 1/8 to 1/4") as I push on the wheels.  Is that normal?

I searched some boards & seems like a lot of people hear what sounds to be the same clunking sound but there doesn't appear to be any clear cause -- just lots of speculation by lots of people.

[rficalora]

Ok, it was a dumb question -- have looked at it some more & realized the struts turn with the wheels.  Still no idea what the clunking is.  Everythng seems tight.  No signs of anything hitting or rubbing.

[ex-tyke]

My experience with front end noises........the prime suspects are sway bar end links or sway bar bushings (if your car has them).

[rficalora]

Thanks Graham - it does have them.  Will double check them tonight.  We're going to take the Mustang to OK so we're making sure it's ready for the trip.

[flitner]

What I have found when the noise is strut related is the coupling / mount to the top of the strut tower, I believe it is similar in construction to a trans mount as it is a rubber impregnated disk that has a failsafe. I would try changing those out.
http://www.1aauto.com/1A/shocks_struts/Ford/Mustang/1ASFK00316/532212

[mgbreis]

Echoing what Graham and John posted, we used to have a ford product (Taurus) and it had clunking that we cured by replacing the sway bar end links and the strut plates. Seemed like it needed it every three years or so. Not a good design, but maybe your Mustang is different.

[Dan B]

Let us know what you find.  My TR7 was clunking, so I will need to fix that once we get it running again.

[MGBV8]

Seems the problem is that you two just bought a couple of clunkers!     Sorry, I couldn't resist.  

[rficalora]

Everything seemed tight so we drove it.  Made it to Stillwater w/no problems except driving through heavy rain the whole way.  We hit one spot on the highway where there was what must have been a deep puddle at the bottom of a hill under a bridge.  It was already dark out so when we hit it the water spray was like a white sheet in the headlight reflections and hydorplaned at the same time... luckily I was driving & had slowed down to about 50 before we got to the bridge.  Was an exciting few seconds though!

[robert.milne]

The top strut mounts are the problem. There is a bearing with plastic races. These wear out and leave to much space between the plates causing the clunking noise. It is a cheap fix but you have to remove the struts in order to replace the mounts.

[rficalora]

I've also read the sway bar link bolts loosen up.  Meant to check them when we changed the oil last weekend but forgot.  Will check both this coming weekend.