How loud are your aftermarket control arms?

[GT_Rich]

I have Pro 3i lowers with spherical bearings at one end (they mimic the MM design), and Ford Racing uppers. New bushing in the rear axle. Welded torque boxes. B-springs.

At low speeds, especially stop, go, reverse maneuvers, I get a light thunk/clunk sound. I can't weld, so I payed to have the boxes reinforced and the same guy put in the upper and lower arms at that time. Is this normal for aftermarket arms with spherical bearings instead of bushings, or should I be under the car looking for something?

 

[Darkwriter77]

FWIW, my stock control arms make the same noise because the bushings are all wallowed out. Maybe things ain't tightened down enough and you're getting some slop in the rear end arms? ... which is scary, because what happens when that bolt comes out of place...?

From what I've read, most aftermarket arms will squeak and groan without proper lube, and spherical bearings will be kinda noisy no matter what. But I can't honestly say I've ever been in a Fox with a set of 'em, so I can't confirm that, myself...

 

[niklid05]

FWIW, my stock control arms make the same noise because the bushings are all wallowed out. Maybe things ain't tightened down enough and you're getting some slop in the rear end arms? ... which is scary, because what happens when that bolt comes out of place...?

you better ****ing find out quick if theyre loose. On my other car, I was testing out the suspension and brakes I just put on, I just drove around my alley and up my street. Turned back on my alley, doing about 5-10 mph and the wheel whips to the left then back to the right, coming to a DEAD stop. If i was holding on any tighter I prolly would have disloacted something.

Anyways, the axle was torn out of the tranny, and the culprit was the balljoint came out. I guess the threads were crushed on the bolt and when I was tightening it, I thought I had it completely tight. Obviously not. So double check everything.


Most of the time you can force something to work with a hammer, but sometimes beating on something just doesnt cut it(Im so patient ).

 

[cenok is family]

from what i'm told, spherical bearings are noisy.

 

[pistonhead351]

mine arent any louder than my stock ones were with poly bushings. i have UMI's.

 

[onefstsnake]

My Pro3i with the spherical bushings on one end are really quiet, ive yet to hear them.

I thought they were making noise but it turns out my C clips are worn and the axle moves in and out a bit when turning...

 

[NKau]

My Pro3i with the spherical bushings on one end are really quiet, ive yet to hear them.

I thought they were making noise but it turns out my C clips are worn and the axle moves in and out a bit when turning...

You should be happy; it takes all of a half hour at the most to pull the rear diff cover, replace the c-clips, and refill the diff. I'd much rather deal with that than messed up control arms.......

 

[5spd GT]

A loud exhaust can often mask the sound...

 

[GT_Rich]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm wondering if it could be my C-clips too? When the rear tires are off the ground, I can move the wheel in and out enough to make a thunk (maybe .100" of play). Time for new C-clips?

 

[tunedin302]

I would double check all the control arm bolts (upper and lower) The rear suspension should be torqued to spec when under load, i.e. compressed. That clunk could be a loose bolt on the control arms, a worn bushing (but I assume you replaced all of them) or a loose driveshaft bolt. Did the guy remove your driveshaft for any reason? Did you replace the bushings in the rear prior to replacing the uppper control arms? If you had any worn bushing and did not replace them then any noises may have been amplified due to less movement in the newer suspension parts.

 

[GT_Rich]

All bushings are new - bushings in the rear were replaced when new arms were put on. Driveshaft was just bolted back up by me b/c I replaced a pinion seal two weeks ago - the noise was there before and after that repair.

What is the torque spec for the control arms bolts?

 

[BlooDReigN]

I have MM arms with spherical bearings on one end....I didn't notice any difference in NVH from them....but my car is pretty loud/rumbly from the engine.

 

[Darkwriter77]

Honestly, I wouldn't drive that car AT ALL until you've verified that you don't have something really important coming loose and about to fall off. If that thing comes apart while you're rolling down the road, you'll be lucky if the thing only buggers up the rear fender(s) and some suspension bits when it comes slamming down.

 

[GT_Rich]

Update - I went through every control arm bolt. They were all WAY under the torque spec. I torqued them all to 85 ft-lbs and thought for sure I had fixed the problem.

NOPE.

Still there - clunk-clunk. I'm starting to think it's driveline related. Now that I'm driving EVERYWHERE with the radio off listening intently, I've come to realize it conincides with clutch DISengagement in the first couple gears. Normaly when cruising around and NOT getting on it.

Any thoughts? I checked the drive shaft and there isn't any play in the u-joints, but there is slop between the shaft/tranny and shaft/rear end. Not sure what's normal there.

 

[5spd GT]

Are you sure your mufflers are a good distance away from the top of the car, or the bends over the axle are plenty, etc.

Just look for overall clearance of your exhaust from every piece under the car...

 

[Casey4s]

I have BMR upper and lower control arms and ajustable panard all with spherical bearings. They are very noisy. After 10K miles (3 days ago)I had to re-Torq all the bolts because it was starting to be excessivly noisy. Now it just clunks a bit at low speed on bumpy surfaces and when changing from drive to reverse.

I contacted BMR a few days ago to see if this is normal, and they said it was normal and the only fix would be to replace the parts with ones with poly bushings.

 

[onefstsnake]

what kind of nuts did they give you?

I just got all my hardware from McMaster and got some Nyloc Nuts that wont loosen up over time.

 

[FoxRod87]

It will probably be noisy with the suspension setup you have.

 

[GT_Rich]

Wow - that's two votes for noisy suspension components. I can live with that.

THe nuts are locking. I used the Edelbrock kit that Summit sells. They have the oval shaped end for locking.

For exhaust, I run dumps, so the number of spots it can be hitting on is pretty minimal, and I have the mufflers centered up in the car really good.

 

[snowman23]

I have a similar sound when in OD with my AOD and the shift from 3-OD it clunks (like the tranny just decided to dump into gear). I have had it checked NUMEROUS times and the U-joints. 3 different shops have said that it is not the tranny but a rear end issue. The backlash has been checked multiple times and the u-joints were replaced too. 2 of the 3 shops claim that the aftermarket rear upper and lower control arms with poly bushings are to blame b/c the shift is "felt" through the car rather than absorbed by the rear end.

I am not sure if I truly believe this, but I have no idea what else to do / check.