Help 1100 Worth Of Damage?

[jbro27]

hi, everyone. This is my first post. I really need help. When I'm driving my nice 06 mustang gt the front end sounds like ****. lol When i go over speed bumps, potholes and cracks my passenger side tire sounds like its hitting harder the the rest of the car. I've taken my car to two different pepboys and they recommended new struts and shocks because 82000 miles. I even pointed out the busted rubber around the outter tie rods on both the driver and passenger side and pepboys said the rods are fine that everything is tight and snug. So, i take my car to vannoys and they said i need new struts ball joints and tie rods which comes to $1100. I'm worried that fixing all this and it still make the noise and im worried all that doesnt need replacing. My only complaint is that thudding noise other then that my car drives newest other then pulling a lil here and there but not much. What should
I do?


When I go over a hundred my front end feels loose, to the point where I have to slow down. like im going to loose controll

 

[07 GTCS]

Do some internet searching on checking ball joints and tie rods. It's not too difficult but basically jack up the front of the car so the tires just leave the ground. It's easier with help but push the tires like you're turning and look for movement in the tie rods. Then stick a long pry bar under the tire, pry up and look for movement in the ball joints. It shouldn't clunk and shimmy going down the road. If you don't work on your car find a mechanic you can trust and stick with them.

 

[ChipChipokas]

Check to see if there is a tear in the boot over the CV joint.

 

[streethorse]

CV joints are on front wheel drive cars which mustangs are not.
You probably do need ball joints, its a common issue with these cars.
My 06 needed them at 60k. Tie rods probably too, as for the struts
thats easy to check yourself. My struts are still fine at 68k.

 

[specialbill]

I'm new to forums, but I'm fully aware of ball joint problems. My '07 GT required replacing entire control arm to pass inspection at just 18K. Dealer charged over $400. That's just the one side, and the other side's supposedly toast too. Somone on another site has a big list of existing discussions within this link.
http://www.teamshelby.com/forums/index.php/topic/74699-lower-control-arms-fail-33k-miles/

Anyway, the above posters are likely on the right track. Seems there's conflicting views on replacing ball joint as opposed to replacing entire control arm. I definitely would have replaced with non-ford control arms if it wasn't already on the dealer's rack for inspection , but at the time just needed the sticker.