Suspension Having Issues...cant Locate Cause?

rabidscoobie

10 Year Member
Jun 21, 2007
616
12
48
College Station,TX
I have an 04 Mach 1 that is feeling really loose while driving.
The issue is while under acceleration,just normal the front of the car pulls to the left and feels as the rear pulls to the right and the front seems to lift slightly.
At the same time this happens I have to slightly pull the steering wheel to the right,when I lift off the throttle it returns to normal position.This is even more pronounced under heavy acceleration.
I am suspecting possible worn rear shocks,but I really dont know and see nothing wrong under the car when on stands.
Any ideas?

Additional car info.
Has about 80,000 miles.
Has original shocks on it and suspension.
around 2010 Ford install a complete rear end,housing gears.Re-installed my original brakes,rotors, calipers etc...but with 4:10 gears.Also used the original suspension parts.

During the summer I had an odd squeaking sound coming from the rear just behind the driver seat on driver side.I tried several times to locate it but was never able to since it would only do it while driving and sporatic at that.Was more noticeable under acceleration and when letting off throttle.It has then stopped but thats when the current issue seemed to produced itself,and I think it may be slowly getting worse.

I have checked everything I could but found nothing that stood out.I put wrenches on all the bolts I could find to make sure nothing was lose since the local Ford Techs are just awful here,they can do some really stupid things that make no sense.
I actually got into an argument with one when they did the rear,he was trying to tell me that the wheel sensors controlled the speedo and that while he was going 70mph all 4 wheels were turning the same speed so nothing was wrong.....WTF!
 
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So I understand correctly, if the front isolators are worn I get spring squeak in the rear of the car?
Also I forgot that the rear seems to squat more under throttle.
At say 60-70mph if I lay into it, suspension feels really loose. Recently a car pulled out in front of me and had to evasive maneuvers and the car felt like it had more body roll than normal.
 
No...spring isolators in the rear will give you a squeak in the rear but that shouldn't cause the suspension issues you describe. I thought you were having issues in the front as well since you said the cars drifts under accel.

Wouldn't hurt to take it to an alignment shop and see what they tell you. They can check the front to rear angles and see if there is anything amiss. Some places will check it and not charge if there is nothing out of sorts but that is hit and miss.
 
If the suspension is feeling really loose and you're on the stock setup, then it's possible that you've got worn shocks, which will make the stock suspension feel more bouncy and likely very loose. Push down on the front of the car and see if it just comes back up or if it bounces and do the same with the rear. If either bounces, it's worn shocks or struts (sounds like it might be shocks). You could replace the shocks or struts and that'll probably fix your issue or you could get a set of lowering springs and some koni or tokico shocks and struts and I guarantee that you won't have a problem with loose suspension again :nice:

As for the front end, as COramprat said, get your alignment checked, sounds like the front end alignment might be off somewhere.

For the squeak, go to your car, open the trunk and stand on the edge of it and jump up and down. If you hear a squeak then it's your rear isolators, if the squeaking is more consistent and doesn't have to do with suspension travel, it could possibly be a worn axle or axle bearing that is causing your problem. I currently have a bad axle seal and bearing so I get some squeaking on the driver side when driving.
 
Ok makes sense,it does feel a bit more bouncy especially at hwy speeds.Speed limits here are 75mph,so at 75-80 small bumps in the road does give it a bouncy feel.
I know the shock on the driver side rear looks as if it has been leaking and thats the reason I suspected the shocks.

It is the stock mach 1 suspension,Tokico shocks. After the holidays i already have plans of replacing them,most likely the struts also.I may just get a kit with springs and lower it just a tad while Im already under there.But first I have to pull the damn tranny again to replace a TOB that squeals like a stuck pig.

Its really irritating since I did the entire clutch just over 2yrs ago.Replaced with a RAM clutch and a FRPP TOB.And that bearing squeals.
Which brings me to another question.
I have a Steeda firewall adjuster installed,are these known to cause TOB's to wear faster?Couple mustang owners I know here claim that they do.1 guy said when he had his installed his TOB would start squealing about 1 1/2 after installed,but he says since he went back to stock cable its now been 3 yrs since he replace a TOB. He has a 97-98 GT that he bought new
 
Yea, that sounds like worn shocks/struts. Oh yea, sorry, I forgot we were talking about a Mach for a sec haha. Either way if you replace them I'd go for some Koni shocks and struts, couple guys I know are running Konis and say they are definitely worth the expense.

I have the whole steeda adjustable cable, FWA, and quadrant setup as well and I haven't had any problems, knock on wood, and I haven't heard of anyone having problems with the TOB as a result of that setup either, if it's adjusted correctly. I have heard that if you tighten the cable too much it can wear out your TOB, but as long as you have it adjusted anywhere between barely touching the fingers of the pressure plate to about 1/4" away, it should be alright. The TOB can get worn out if the cable is adjusted too tightly and the TOB rides on the fingers of the pressure plate even when the clutch is engaged.

The only reason why I've heard people go back to just the stock cable is because they think that the double adjustability of the cable and FWA is pointless and that it can create a high clutch petal engagement or something to that extent. Some people have said that you get a smoother engagement with the stock cable and FWA combination IIRC, but personally I like it better with the shorter engagement.
 
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Thx for the help.
As for the cable, mine sometimes will feel like it's lost it's adjustment, I barely let off the pedal and the clutch starts to grab. Only way to fix is to lift the pedal up and pump the clutch to reset or adjust.
My 01 gt had the same setup and never needed this done.

I have almost decided just to go back to stock cable.
 
No problem at all man. Do you still have that crappy stock plastic quadrant? If you do, that may be your problem right there.

I can imagine that the stock self adjusting quadrant would throw off the adjustments of the FWA quite a bit.
 
I had a similar problem with mine. My question is if u put the car in reverse and mash on it does it tend to wheel hop? Mine did. I replaced shocks, struts, isolators, added bigger front and rear sway bars, eibach springs, mm caster camber plates and a monty carlo bar.....still did it. Lower control arm bushings were worn. So i replaced both upper and lowers. They will squeak to. Swap em with poly bushings but remember to grease them good they make a lil more noise but are worth it.