Suspension specialist

[dartfork]

OK,
I've had these Roush springs in now for a month or so, and I can't figure out why they suck so bad. The car rattles at low speeds (strangely, especially when it is cold). It handles worse than with the SVT springs. The steering shakes above 65mph. I've had the car aligned by "Jeff the alignment guy" and the tires rebalanced, and still, it sucks! I've checked and rechecked everything to make sure the bolts are torqued to spec. Could it be the camber adjusters are rattling?
Does anyone have any idea of what to do, or know of someone I can take the car to that knows a thing or 2 about modified suspensions?
I would like the car to at least handle well. I think our escort wagon could beat it in its current form.

[FocusMech.73155]

OK,
I've had these Roush springs in now for a month or so, and I can't figure out why they suck so bad. The car rattles at low speeds (strangely, especially when it is cold). It handles worse than with the SVT springs. The steering shakes above 65mph. I've had the car aligned by "Jeff the alignment guy" and the tires rebalanced, and still, it sucks! I've checked and rechecked everything to make sure the bolts are torqued to spec. Could it be the camber adjusters are rattling?
Does anyone have any idea of what to do, or know of someone I can take the car to that knows a thing or 2 about modified suspensions?
I would like the car to at least handle well. I think our escort wagon could beat it in its current form.

As far as the steering wheel shaking that would only be something with the wheels/tires balance. As far as the rattle goes....is it a car rattle or a spring rattle? you can tell the difference because the spring rattle will kinda echo. If its a car rattle.....well tough. lowered cars make so much more racket than most cars. if you want me to take a look at it I am usually free on sundays after noon. I live over in afton, but if thats a hike then i could probably look at it after work some time. I am at tousley ford. let me know
David

[Steve@Tasca]

It does sound like an installation issue, I've had mine on two different aftermarket suspensions and have had no rattles.

I do know if you don't have the rear shocks properly installed they will rattle and if the front struts aren't completely tight they will rattle as well.

Sway bar end links are another culprit when it comes to low speed clunks.

[tgnorman]

Sway bar end links are another culprit when it comes to low speed clunks.

I'll testify to that, and they're a cheap fix to try. About $30 and a half hour and you're set.

[dartfork]

[quote="
Sway bar end links are another culprit when it comes to low speed clunks.[/quote]
The front sway bar end links are less than a year old and the rears are brand new.
The noise doesn't reverberate so, its not the springs. As said before, i think the culprit seems to be the camber adjustment plates. Has anyone else noticed that these things make noise at low speeds?

[tgnorman]

Checked the torque specs?

[focinite]

how low is the drop? did you replace the dampners as well? are the springs in upside down( trust me on a progresive spring it matters). if the handling is bad its possible the drop is too aggresive and a camber plate should be installed. also what shape are the tires in? for most 215/45/17s and 205/50/16s i have found 34 psi to work perfectly. as for the clunking my money is on the washers in the strut mount are wrong or the strut nut its self is loose, i have also seen where the bearing plate is damaged due to improper assembly. also if the align is set with the old spec.

[dartfork]

how low is the drop? did you replace the dampners as well? are the springs in upside down( trust me on a progresive spring it matters). if the handling is bad its possible the drop is too aggresive and a camber plate should be installed. also what shape are the tires in? for most 215/45/17s and 205/50/16s i have found 34 psi to work perfectly. as for the clunking my money is on the washers in the strut mount are wrong or the strut nut its self is loose, i have also seen where the bearing plate is damaged due to improper assembly. also if the align is set with the old spec.

The front drop is less than an inch lower than the SVT springs. I wasn't sure which way the progressive springs were supposed to go in but I've seen the tighter coils on the bottom in other cars. So thats how I installed them.
There already is a camber adjustment plate installed; and I had it aligned, and the camber set by "Jeff the alignment guy". This plate is what I suspect is making the noise. I can't tighten the main strut bolt anymore because you have to leave it a little loose to be able to adjust the camber plate, and then tighten it after installation in the strut tower after the camber is set. Though it is very hard to get a wrench on the bolt because there isn't much room because the plate offsets the bolt. I've tightened as much as I can. Considering how low other cars are on this forum, they must have these Focus Sport camber adjustment plates too. Do you guys using them have noisy rides that handle badly?
It could be that i've installed the adjustment plate incorrectly, as the directions were horrible. I have no previous experience with these (who does?).
The tires range from about half of their tread gone to almost new. ( I had one replaced under warranty).
The struts/shocks are "stock" SVT that I installed few years ago.
I've checked the torque specs more than once.
Steve, when you say "completely tight", are you referring to the center bolt or the 3 strut tower bolts. If you mean the center bolt, how do you get it really tight with the camber adjustment plate installed? Do you set the camber, then pull the strut back out to hit it with a pneumatic wrench and just hope the setting didn't change? (and then reinstall it?)

Thanks for your guys suggestions

[o2designs]

I've had camber plates on Chromie since 05', and i've never had an issue with clunking. totally sounds like a install iss.

[Deagle50ae]

tighter coils go on top, not bottom. they become dead springs because of how close they are together.
at least, that's what I've been told.

[grocerygetter]

tighter coils go on top, not bottom. they become dead springs because of how close they are together.
at least, that's what I've been told.

After googling "how to install automotive progressive springs" I have confirmed Deagle50ae's response. All of the pictures I saw had the tighter winds towards the top of the strut/shock. Although I am not sure of the actual impact on performance there could definitely be an impact on the proper seating of the component which could create ride and noise issues if the mating surfaces did not fit together properly.

B

[dartfork]

tighter coils go on top, not bottom. they become dead springs because of how close they are together.
at least, that's what I've been told.

I just went out to swap these around and found my memory is worse than my mechanic skills. ...as I HAD installed them with the tighter coils to the top. I re-torqued all the bolts to spec again, but the mysterious noises continue.
I'm still wishing there was some Suspension Specialist I could take this to.
Thanks again fro everyone whose put some thought into my dilemma here.

[Steve@Tasca]

How are you torquing the center strut nut on the front end?

The only way to get that nut tight (that I've found) is with an offset boxend wrench on the nut and another wrench on the center stud to stop it from spinning.

If you try to tighten the nut without holding the stud it will never get tight.

[dartfork]

How are you torquing the center strut nut on the front end?

The only way to get that nut tight (that I've found) is with an offset boxend wrench on the nut and another wrench on the center stud to stop it from spinning.

If you try to tighten the nut without holding the stud it will never get tight.

To tighten the main bolt, I use the proper allen head socket on the center part and use a "crow foot" on the nut. Though I have to tilt the wrench/crow foot to even get it on there, so I can't torque very well/accurately. Though it is torqued enough that you can't spin the camber adjustment plate.

The directions from Focus Sport says to torque them to spec before install and then back them off a half turn to allow the plate to turn (to set the camber). And then turn them back a half turn after setting the camber.

Though this doesn't really work because the plate has rubber on it so that once its too tight to spin its like trying to torque a rubber washer, it just spins back. (torsional twisting/bounce back)
02designs - have you encountered this problem?

[o2designs]

I don't remember having any issues installing the plates. Altough that was acouple years ago. I'm actually pulling my struts out in the next couple days, so I'll check it out and let you know...