rattle up front
 

it seems to me i have a loose something or other in the front suspension/steering assembly.
I really dont put much stock in it being the steering assembaly because the cornering is as tight as a
(fill in the blank__) but around corners too the suspension is firm. the knock/rattle primarly presents itself
when the front tires travle straight up or down in an abrupt motion such as hitting a small ppothole or
uneven road surface.
any thought/past problems??


Thanks in Advance,



oh yea its a four door 2002 focus standard 2.ltr engine w/ 68 thousand miles



"now seeing delaware "in focus"

RE: rattle up front
 

I have an 04 Frackus and have lived with the noise. It's the front control arm links to the sway bar. They click and rattle like a mo-fo. I've changed them and within 1k miles, they've gone back to clicking. It's just something I've learned to live with. I tell my customers the same.... We didn't buy a Mercedes for... whatever we paid on our Focus. It isn't a luxury car so don't expect it to be so.

RE: rattle up front
 

Right on, thanks for the responce.

Your saying there is no real danger its just acoustically asthetically unpleasent
for the next 5k miles till i learn to live with it.

RE: rattle up front
 

In a nutshell, yeah. At some point Ford may come out with an updated part for it to make it better. Aftermarket companies may have already. If it's too annoying, you may want to try that route and lemme know how it works.

RE: rattle up front
 

will do

RE: rattle up front
 

I just had a mechanic friend confirm it is the swaybar connectors makeing the noise

rattle up front
 

So I have yet to address the problem. Planning for the worst but hoping for the best. If I continue to do so whats the worst that could happen?

yes honey...............Its on my list.

RE: rattle up front
 

we have this going on right now, too. it almost sounds like a worn out strut - a hollow knock i visualize to be at the drivers side front corner. it's been to ford 3 times, and it still does it. first, it was the rack and pinion. then the steering coupler, and then, some stabilizer bushing. it still does it, although not as bad. if this is going to be a chronic problem, we won't be keeping this car much past the warranty period. this and the ignition tumblers!![:@]

RE: rattle up front
 

mucho time has passed since my original post. Two things.... I did some work on the car (kinda had to).

One my initial problem turned out to be sway bar connector's both sides went bad one broke the other rattled so much I took it off. Its a focus not a sports car. I don't need sway bar connectors. I'll save the $80.00.

The second problem might be related to not driving with sway bars but I'd guess not. last week I heard a horrendous noise up front. thought it was ball joints, then U-joints. the car drive straight as an arrow. it was suspension thought it was a strut. nope it was the coil spring. I was going to initially just replace the broken one, something told me to do them both at once. good thing I did. the passenger side was obviously broken but the driver side was broken too!!! It was broken real close to the beginning of the spring and still rested in the plate.

To fix my noisy farcus removed both sway bar connectors and replaced the coil springs and strut bearings/bushings. I should have replaced the struts too but didn't have the Dough. but atleast I know how to do the job next time.

RE: rattle up front
 

Have the same feeling with my 95 f-150 4x4, maybe i'll check my springs and bushings out...............