Suspension Problems---help!!!

1992MustangGT · Jun 3, 2013

I have a 1992 Mustang GT 5.0 and I have some front suspension problems I need help with. At 116,000 miles I installed new inner & outer tie rods, struts, ball joints and brand new tires. After installation I had the car aligned.

I'm now at 132,000+ miles and there has been a clunking noise when I drive over a bump or hole in the road (similar to when a wore out shock; sounding like it is slapping the floor board). This noise has been going on for a while. Also, the inside edge of the new tires are wore out. The passenger tire is showing the steel and the drivers side tire is almost as bad. The car vibrates when driving, most likely from the worn tires.

There's only 16,000 miles on these new parts and the tires are already garbage and there's obviously something wrong somewhere in the suspension with the clunking noise I'm hearing. I know camber can cause the worn tires, but with the clunking noise I'm hearing I presume this is the cause of the worn tires also.

Does anyone have any idea what the clunking noise could be coming from. What suspension part is worn out? I can't believe any of these new parts would be worn out with only 16,000 miles. There's got to be another problem somewhere. It just doesn't make logical sense. Any ideas? Anyone, anyone???

bird_dog0347 · Jun 3, 2013

Is the car lowered? If so, do you have aftermarket caster/camber plates? The shop that did the alignment, do they have a written guarantee of how long it's good for? Have you crawled underneath to ensure it's all still connected and nothing is obvious? Pics?

1992MustangGT · Jun 3, 2013

bird_dog0347 said:
Is the car lowered? If so, do you have aftermarket caster/camber plates? The shop that did the alignment, do they have a written guarantee of how long it's good for? Have you crawled underneath to ensure it's all still connected and nothing is obvious? Pics?

The car is not lowered. It's all stock. No I don't haven CC plates. Not sure if the alignment shop has a guarantee. I will be talking to them tomorrow. Yes, everything is still connected and nothing is loose. What exactly do you want pics of?

bird_dog0347 · Jun 3, 2013

1992MustangGT said:
What exactly do you want pics of?

Everything behind the wheel... as much detail as possible unless you'd just like us to use the SWAG method?

For example, I just replaced pretty much everything on the front end of my fox, here's what it looked like when I Did it.

1992MustangGT · Jun 3, 2013

Can the A-arm bushings cause a clunking noise (similar to worn out shocks and ball joints)? That's the only thing I can think of that I didn't replace when I replaced everything else. Would it also cause a tire to wear on the inside?

elarm1 · Jun 4, 2013

When you replaced all suspension pieces, how did the bushings in the stock cc plates look? If they are worn, you would get knocking

1992MustangGT · Jun 4, 2013

elarm1 said:
When you replaced all suspension pieces, how did the bushings in the stock cc plates look? If they are worn, you would get knocking

Uuumm, well....I don't remember how the bushings and stock cc plates look. I replaced them in 2/2010. I just purchased some bushings tonight. Will replace this Sunday. I pray this fixes my problem.

Hawkeye_306 · Jun 4, 2013

A broken sway bar end link causes a clunking noise. The bolt can be broken inside the sleeve, which makes it hard to see. I seem to break one every 15k-30k miles if I'm driving hard, so that's the first thing I check when I hear a clunking noise.

bird_dog0347 · Jun 4, 2013

1992MustangGT said:
Uuumm, well....I don't remember how the bushings and stock cc plates look. I replaced them in 2/2010. I just purchased some bushings tonight. Will replace this Sunday. I pray this fixes my problem.

You're doing it wrong! Not trying to be an ass, but buying parts and "praying it fixes your problem" is the wrong approach. Any good troubleshooting starts with discovering root cause. Period, end of story. You might get lucky, but I recommend you actually figure out any future problems "root cause" issues before you spend money, unless you're rich in which case why are you posting here and not telling your local shop to just fix it.

Sharad · Jun 5, 2013

A thorough inspection is needed, but I'll speculate that it's either the strut mounts or swaybar end links. (or all of the above)

The bearings in the front rotors could even cause some issues.

1992MustangGT · Jun 5, 2013

Thanks guys for all your advice. I will definitely do all of the things you mentioned.

Question....do I need caster/camber plates with a stock suspension (not lowered & no modifications done to the suspension). I only have 16,000 miles on the tires (and the rest of the suspension components except for a-arm bushings) and there is steel showing on the inside of the tires. That tells me there's a huge camber issue.

Shouldn't the stock camber adjustments allow for proper adjustment as to not wear out the inside of the tire? I know cc plates help a lot, but this is a budget issue for me also and if I don't NEED cc plates with a stock suspension, then I'm not going to purchase them.

bird_dog0347 · Jun 5, 2013

If all the components (bushings included) are in good shape, you can be fine at stock geometry with the stock C/C setup. While the aftermarket pieces will give you more range, you *shouldn't* NEED it.

7991LXnSHO · Jun 6, 2013

1992MustangGT said:
Can the A-arm bushings cause a clunking noise (similar to worn out shocks and ball joints)? That's the only thing I can think of that I didn't replace when I replaced everything else. Would it also cause a tire to wear on the inside?

Yes to the clunking, and there is a way to test them . They would have to be really bad to trash your tires though.

7991LXnSHO · Jun 6, 2013

1992MustangGT said:
Thanks guys for all your advice. I will definitely do all of the things you mentioned.

Question....do I need caster/camber plates with a stock suspension (not lowered & no modifications done to the suspension). I only have 16,000 miles on the tires (and the rest of the suspension components except for a-arm bushings) and there is steel showing on the inside of the tires. That tells me there's a huge camber issue.

Shouldn't the stock camber adjustments allow for proper adjustment as to not wear out the inside of the tire? I know cc plates help a lot, but this is a budget issue for me also and if I don't NEED cc plates with a stock suspension, then I'm not going to purchase them.

Usually you do not NEED CC plates for a stock suspension, but the bushings can be shot and the extra adjustment can be a good thing. Also, the body could have issues after this many miles. My Cougar was bumped and I hit a pot hole (in the slush) hard enough that the body shop needed to pull things back into place. My 79 Stang was stock, but benefited from the extra adjustment. I say get it checked out. Tires are not cheap, and this does not sound safe.
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Suspension Problems---help!!!

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