Rattling Front End

I have had a rattling in my front end since i have had it. Its a 98 windstar. I bought it at 50k and it is now 128k and its at its worst moments with the clinging and clunking. (I had struts and springs and links done about 1 1/2 yrs ago & align, they look to be fine). I bought new tires the other day and WalMart said I had uneven wear and it appeared (They said off the record) I had bad Tie Rods? I actually had to sign a waiver releasing them of any liability stating they told me something is wrong and i needed to bring it to a shop that specializes in front end stuff! The other thing that I get is a vibe between 55 and 65 mph and it slightly pulls to left (drivers) side. Thanks, VM

I have had a rattling in my front end since i have had it. Its a 98 windstar. I bought it at 50k and it is now 128k and its at its worst moments with the clinging and clunking. (I had struts and springs and links done about 1 1/2 yrs ago & align, they look to be fine). I bought new tires the other day and WalMart said I had uneven wear and it appeared (They said off the record) I had bad Tie Rods? I actually had to sign a waiver releasing them of any liability stating they told me something is wrong and i needed to bring it to a shop that specializes in front end stuff! The other thing that I get is a vibe between 55 and 65 mph and it slightly pulls to left (drivers) side. Thanks, VM


I had to replace the front wheel bearings on my 98 windstar at about 65000miles. The front tires were wearing badly & I couldn't set toe although the tie rod ends were ok. I found the wear when I had the front end jacked up with the jack as close to the wheel as possible & felt some wobble by grabbing top & bottom of tire, pulling bottom out & pushing top in. If you wind up changing these as I did (I had access to an arbor press) do be VERY VERY carefull to think ahead to the possible consequenses of your every move as the struts will at some point be fully extended and the vehicle will be up on stands. If you have any uncertanty, let a shop do it. There is lots of opertunity for disaster & dammage.

Good luck, Regards , Weaselgeezer

Not sure if this will help... I would guess it may be the tie rod ends.. jack each side up about 6 inches off the ground... one side at a time.. grab the front and back of the wheel and try shaking it... it if moves allot.. then your tie rods are most likely shot. If it is just a clunking while hitting bumps... you may want to jack it up enough so you can lay under it... make sure you use jack stands to hold it up not just the jack. Slide under it then take a GOOD look at the sway bar bushings. Grab ahold of the sway bar and try sliding it back and forth.. left to right... if it moves at all the bushings are warn out and will cause a clunking noise when hitting bumps.

I have a 99 windstar and also have a rattling when I hit bumps. I replaced the springs, struts, all ball joints, and lower control arm(bushings and ball joint). Still rattling. Last time I was under the van, I noticed that the motor mounts were really really bad. I have 155,000 miles on the van. That's most likely my problem and could be yours also. I also have a slight pull to the right with no unusual tire wear, it could be the wheel bearings. As far as I know, there is noting else to change.

Hello

My 95's rattle was coming from the lower control arm brace (for lack of a better term) that goes from the lower control arm to the front of the subframe. The subframe is produced with a bushing cup that is rivited/swaged in a hole in the front bar. Over time this cup loosens up and starts making noise. you might find the van pulling different ways depending on acc. or slowing. This cup should be welded if it's loose.

By the way, the same thing happened to my 93 Taurus.

Regards

Dan

Hello

My 95's rattle was coming from the lower control arm brace (for lack of a better term) that goes from the lower control arm to the front of the subframe. The subframe is produced with a bushing cup that is rivited/swaged in a hole in the front bar. Over time this cup loosens up and starts making noise. you might find the van pulling different ways depending on acc. or slowing. This cup should be welded if it's loose.

By the way, the same thing happened to my 93 Taurus.

Regards

Dan


Are you talking about the body bushings? I haven't checked those.

I maybe way off,but our 1999 had a real bad knock or virbration in the right front. I was convinced that it was the cv joint,because it wont do it when the motor wasn't pulling,as soon as i put a little throttle to it it stopped
The ford dealer talked me into checking the codes and it turned out to be missing so bad that it felt like the cv joint was going out. I was the code for the intake problem. I did the intake repair and now i have now more rattle or knock.

I have a picture of the bushing on the front that needs welding in my pictures at....


http://community.webshots.com/album/201931518cScpNK

It is in the picture titled "Bushing" on the first page of pictures.
You see it by looking from the front of the vehicle, underside, just under the oil filter. Of course there is another, identical one on the driver's side.

I paid $700 to have them welded at one dealership......and they were clunking again in less than a year.
Paid $150 to have them welded again at another dealership, and they have been good for 5 years.

Are you talking about the body bushings? I haven't checked those.

NO....the body bushings are not connected to the lower control arm. Please reread the post, and then take a look at your van.

NO....the body bushings are not connected to the lower control arm. Please reread the post, and then take a look at your van.

Sorry about that, I have a 99 and don't have the same setup. Looks/sounds like the bushing is bad. I cannot tell from the picture,but if it is changable or revisable, then there should be no need to have the cup welded.

It has been quite a while since I had the repair done.....was before I had a digital camera. I don't think that a back side view would show much, as it is kind of recessed in, as I remember.

This past spring, I sprayed much of the stuff underside with under coating, so I am certain that you would not see more detail now.

Also, when it comes to welding...... It is a job for someone with the equipment and the know how....and I am out on both counts there.

There are a number of posts on this forum where other people have also had this repair done.

There are a LOT of things that can cause a rattle on most any car.
Last year, at this time, I replaced my "Y" pipe, due to the insides of one of my catylitic converers being loose.
This is why you see the straps on my cat's in some pictures....and in other pictures, the cat's look a little smaller.
The straps are a fix for loose heat shields. There is a TSB out from FORD on this....and that is the fix. I bought my clamps in the plumbing department at the hardware store. My heat shields were still tight.

It has been quite a while since I had the repair done.....was before I had a digital camera. I don't think that a back side view would show much, as it is kind of recessed in, as I remember.

This past spring, I sprayed much of the stuff underside with under coating, so I am certain that you would not see more detail now.

Also, when it comes to welding...... It is a job for someone with the equipment and the know how....and I am out on both counts there.

There are a number of posts on this forum where other people have also had this repair done.

There are a LOT of things that can cause a rattle on most any car.
Last year, at this time, I replaced my "Y" pipe, due to the insides of one of my catylitic converers being loose.
This is why you see the straps on my cat's in some pictures....and in other pictures, the cat's look a little smaller.
The straps are a fix for loose heat shields. There is a TSB out from FORD on this....and that is the fix. I bought my clamps in the plumbing department at the hardware store. My heat shields were still tight.

WisWind

I'm planning on pulling my subframe on my 95 and welding it up soon. If I take pics would you be willing to post them on your web site?

Regards

Dan

More windstar pictures for people to refer to would be great.
The only problem here, is that I am on dialup, which is slow with high resolution pictures. Low resolution pictures are not nearly as good.
I do not know if a paid membership is required to post pictures on webshots or not.
I would take the pictures....and, somehow, between us, and maybe others, we will get the pictures posted.

We had the same clunk when going over bumps, yesterday we had the sway bar bushings replaced and the noise is gone.

If I take pics would you be willing to post them on your web site?

Regards

Dan

Feel free to post them here as well: http://groups.msn.com/FordWindstar/

We just had to have our transmission replaced on our 99 Windstar. Only 90k miles, and it died at a stop sign. Maybe strange coincidence, but after the repair, we had a rattle in the front end. My wife thought it was the brake pads again, as they previously made a noise when going over bumps, before I replaced the clips. But when I drove this weekend in the country, I noticed a very different rattle than before. (Dirt roads are a good test for rattles.)

Back to the Goodyear shop, and they replaced the Sway Bar.
All seems to be quiet again.

By the way, the shop in our area has been top notch.
I would highly recommend them.