2005 Suspension issues

[BillM]

another place to find the lateral links is NAPA. Had to replace mine, will be doing all suspension when I can slow down a bit. I agree $4000 is a lot but it has been my experience that all older sports cars new $ put into them to put the sport back into them when they get some age on them. it's worth it to me drive mine everyday down here in the south

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[eh2653]

Entire front and rear suspension needs to be changed on my 2005. I have under 60,000 miles. Two dealerships can not explain why. Has anyone had this problem? I’ve spoken to people with 03 and 04 models, they have never had any issues. Any suggestions?

Ihad the same issue with my 03'. Took it to a Ford dealer and they said all the suspension needed replacement. Took it to a front end shop and found out that the reason Ford said it need ed replacement was that all the dust cover boots on the joints had dry rot and split and the joints were exposed to getting dirt and grit in them and could cause premature failure. My bird is an 03' with 40k miles and its hardly driven. You can't replace just the boots. It has a jaguar suspension system in it and the only way is to replace all the parts. I left mine alone you have to make the call replacing all the parts and not driving it a lot will result in the same problem.

 

[eh2653]

Ihad the same issue with my 03'. Took it to a Ford dealer and they said all the suspension needed replacement. Took it to a front end shop and found out that the reason Ford said it need ed replacement was that all the dust cover boots on the joints had dry rot and split and the joints were exposed to getting dirt and grit in them and could cause premature failure. My bird is an 03' with 40k miles and its hardly driven. You can't replace just the boots. It has a jaguar suspension system in it and the only way is to replace all the parts. I left mine alone you have to make the call replacing all the parts and not driving it a lot will result in the same problem.

 

[booty_malone]

The most worn out part on my 2004 suspension was the rear lateral links. There had to have been a lot of slack in the rear end. Much improved after all the suspension work.

 

[edward301]

I believe the dust boots, and fluid bushings were simply made
with a inferior rubber material. My Bird was always garaged and
only had 12k miles, yet all were cracked, or seriously detoriating.

My second Bird which I have not had long, but was well cared for
had the exact same issues.

 

[RUBY ICE]

While we are on the suspension issue, has anyone had the cowl shake at about 70 mph?? I hit 70 and sometimes get this really heavy cowl/steering wheel shake. No, it is not tire balance as this only happens on semi-rough paving. Smooth roads and all is good. I have checked the chassis braces and they are correctly torqued but am wondering if when being torqued if the chassis needs to be pre-stressed, wheels on the ground and simulated passenger weight on the seats. Any comments on this is appreciated.

 

[Mach5]

Ihad the same issue with my 03'. Took it to a Ford dealer and they said all the suspension needed replacement. Took it to a front end shop and found out that the reason Ford said it need ed replacement was that all the dust cover boots on the joints had dry rot and split and the joints were exposed to getting dirt and grit in them and could cause premature failure. My bird is an 03' with 40k miles and its hardly driven. You can't replace just the boots. It has a jaguar suspension system in it and the only way is to replace all the parts. I left mine alone you have to make the call replacing all the parts and not driving it a lot will result in the same problem.

You can replace the boots. My ASE Certified Master Mechanic replaced all the boots on my 2004 last summer (except a pair in the upper rear that are impossible to get to unless you pull everything apart, greased them and left them be for now). He found all the joints to be fine and well greased, just failed deteriorated boots. Edward301 is correct - inferior quality rubber boots are the entire problem.

 

[BillM]

Mach5 where did he find the boots?

 

[Mach5]

Here's the part numbers.
Dorman 13566 Tie Rod Dust Boot kit 1/2-9/16 x 3
Dorman Help! 13562 Tie Rod Dust Boot 9/16" x 2
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001HZICSY/?tag=thunderbirdforum-20

(The rear upper ball joints and stabilizer links were the ones we skipped for now because they are so hard to get to. He greased them up and said just run to failure then replace them.)

 

[edward301]

When I replaced all the suspension parts with ball joints, I found that some ball joints were still
tight, some were loose because they had been exposed to the elements longer. However the
biggest observation was the fluid filled bushings were very worn, and the rubber was peeling off,
and had already lost the fluid. Once you are in there, it is best to replace everything all at once.

 

[Dynorafter]

Entire front and rear suspension needs to be changed on my 2005. I have under 60,000 miles. Two dealerships can not explain why. Has anyone had this problem? I’ve spoken to people with 03 and 04 models, they have never had any issues. Any suggestions?

I have replaced virtually my entire suspension, to include new K&W coil-over shocks & struts, and I still experience a post-bump shimmy. I'm hoping someone out there can help us with this problem.