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Ford Focus annoying front-end creak

My 2003 Ford Focus TDCI has developed an extremely annoying creak/ groan that's driving me batty.

It creaks/groans loudly from the front end under certain conditions, mainly during left-hand turns and on heavily-cambered roundabouts. Bouncing the suspension turrets while stationary doesn't replicate the creak, but grabbing hold of the top of the A-post and rocking the car does. It will also groan while turning the wheel at any speed to the left while (almost) stationary, but not when turning right. The creak doesn't seem to have any definite source on either side of the car - it's just as loud on both sides to my ears. Interestingly, the noise disappears if I leave the car for a couple of days, but returns after approx 15-20 mins driving.

It's on 54k, and so far has had no parts replaced apart from general service items. I suspected that it was something to do with the ARB drop link bushes, but I've done the old trick of smearing some light grease on them and it doesn't seem to have made the sightest bit of difference. It's almost as though the noise is coming from the ARB itself. Anyone got any suggestions?

Cheers

Jack

Reply to
churchoftheblessednose
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either the arb to subframe bushes or the bottom ball joints, fiesta and escort used to do this a lot

Reply to
Mrcheerful

Cheers for that. Having listened to where the noise is coming from, I'd suspect the ARB to subframe bushes. Any idea if it's possible to change these without dropping the subframe?

Cheers

Jack

Reply to
churchoftheblessednose

you will have to look, but fwiw the last escorts had a problem with the bushes, it was possible but hard to change those, you need a slender spanner, remove one bolt, slacken the other and bend the bracket a little to release the bush, I would hope the focus is similar

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I had the same on a 2001 Mondeo. It was an upper anti roll bar bush.

:-)

Al.

Reply to
Al

It's the drop links. £13 each, but they might be seized - have the warm spanner handy.

Reply to
Neil McD.

Cheers Neil (and Al who suggested the same). I changed the ARB drop links this afternoon. While they looked OK when they were in situ, once they were removed it was easy to see that the top bush was split on both sides and oozing copious amounts of grease.

They were a bit of a bugger to remove to say the least. There was a tiny 17mm lip on one sie of the nut to stop it turning as you were undoing it. Fine in theory, but it was too narrow to get any of my

17mm spanners to engage. In the end of the nut there was an internal hex, so a jammed an allen key in there to stop it turning. The bolts themselves were so seized I ended up stripping this hex on one of the sides. I eventually got it off with the aid of my plumbing tap spanner (one of the self gripping sort for undoing the nuts on the bases of taps).

A quick spin around the block and the suspension is once again completely silent.

Cheers

Jack

Reply to
churchoftheblessednose

You want a rattle gun. Does that sort of thing without any messing around trying to grab hold of the central doobry.

Reply to
Doki

Sometimes. Or thin a spanner down with a grinder/sander. Or be charged an wxorbitant amount for a thin spanner by a bike shop

Reply to
Duncan Wood

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