100K on 2002 GT Maintenance Q's

97predator

Member
Aug 18, 2003
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va beach
I am getting a squeking noise coming fro mthe right rear of the car when turning right sharply or over a bumpy road. I am thinking it is either the upper control arm bushing or possibly a squeaky shock?

Can I figure out which one is the culprit without tearing the rear suspension down?

The car has 105,000 miles on it so I am gearing up for maintenance such as shocks, long tubes, and a dyno tune. This is a car I drive everyday so with that said:

I am leaning towards Bilstein shocks based on word of mouth, is this a good direction to go in? I don;t race or anything, I just want a car that runs great on the road and doesn;t beat me to death. I know it's not a Cadillac, but some civility would be nice. I have been hearing good things about the Tokico D-Specs though...?

I keep reading that you shouldn;t go to polyuerethane bushings for non-racing applications...is this true? I was thinking of these:
http://www.stangsuspension.com/store...idproduct=1054
But didn't to waste money on them if it was safe to go to poly-u bushings.

3.73 gears or 4.10's? I drive 20 minutes to work everyday, mostly inerstate. Is the performance gain worth the hit on gas mileage?

I have s et of long tubes and catted x pipe to go on. I have Pypes Violator Catback on now. Once the tubes are on I assume I would need a tune correct?

I want to keep the car responsible and civil since I drive for work a lot and my girlfriend drives it occasionally, but I do want to step the Stang up in the badass department. Thanks for the help in advance.

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As far as the squeek, it's probably a bad bushing. Do a visual inspection first and see what you find. If anything sticks out, there you go. If not then it's not hard at all to remove the shocks and see if they are shot.

Not sure what to reccomend as far as shocks/struts, as I am in the market myself. I am looking at Strange adjustables though. Bilstien and Tokico all have a strong reputation.

I do alot of highway with 4.10 gears and it gets old after a while, but the performance gains are really fun. If I had to do it over again I'd probably go 3.90's. There isnt a BIG difference between 3.73 and 4.10 performance, but 4.10's will give you the edge assuming you have traction. 3.90's are a blend of both.

Longtubes don't require a tune, although it wouldn't hurt.
 
For the squeaking, get some white lithium grease in a spray can and spray the bushings one by one. Drive it after each bushing is sprayed. Do this with all the rubber components on the rear axle and you will eventually find where it's squeaking. Whether it's the first thing or the last thing that you spray that is making the noise it's still a good idea to spray them all so that the bushings don't dry out.
 
I had the exact same problem... squeaking and rattling from passenger rear tire well turned out to be the aluminum "tube" cylinder on the top of the shock. It was rattling around when going over bumps.

+1 on bad bushings. Use some white lithium grease on your bushings if you don't plan on keeping the car for a long time. If you do plan to keep it, get yourself some new polyurethane bushings. I recommend Energy Suspension bushings. Pep Boys can get them special order for a lot cheaper than retail prices you'll find online, plus there's no shipping if you buy it from them.
 
I have been hearing good things about the Tokico D-Specs though...?

I've got the D-Specs on my '03 and they're great. I have them paired with the Ford C-Springs. I really like the ability to adjust how firm you can make them, though I haven't used that much. Took some tweaking initially to feel out how I liked each setting, and have pretty much stayed that way since. Have messed with the settings a few times for different purposes (track, etc) but for daily road use, I'd set them back to the main setting.
 
Everyone pretty much covered the squeek problem pretty well. For the shocks/struts, you are correct, the Bilsteins are One of if not the best. The d-specs i haven't heared too much on but what i have heared was good. Gear wise you're gonna find a huge debate. I love my 3.73's because there are a lot of highways where i live and thats mainly what i drive to and from work. 4.10's gas mileage would probably only be down 2-3 maybe 5 mpg's at most depending on driving style. The tune is not NEEDED but wouldn't hurt:nice:
 
I've got the D-Specs on my '03 and they're great. I have them paired with the Ford C-Springs. I really like the ability to adjust how firm you can make them, though I haven't used that much. Took some tweaking initially to feel out how I liked each setting, and have pretty much stayed that way since. Have messed with the settings a few times for different purposes (track, etc) but for daily road use, I'd set them back to the main setting.

I am running the C springs too. I put them on about a year ago. What I will probably do is get some rear upper control arms and shocks/struts all the way around. When you firmed the d specs up how did the car respond?
 
Everyone pretty much covered the squeek problem pretty well. For the shocks/struts, you are correct, the Bilsteins are One of if not the best. The d-specs i haven't heared too much on but what i have heared was good. Gear wise you're gonna find a huge debate. I love my 3.73's because there are a lot of highways where i live and thats mainly what i drive to and from work. 4.10's gas mileage would probably only be down 2-3 maybe 5 mpg's at most depending on driving style. The tune is not NEEDED but wouldn't hurt:nice:

I think I am leaning towards the d specs for the adjustability. There are some good roads to get out and run on in the country around my place so I wouldn't mind to be able to switch up and play on the weekends.

I think I will do 3.73's. I drive mostly on the interstate for work, about 20 minutes one way. But a few times a week I drive to othr regions and may be rolling for 4-6 hours over the course of the day. 2-5 mpg makes a difference. Plus, the better on mileage, the more $$$ in my pocket after reimbursement.