Did another run with different test points, but the results weren't as expected. Had thought that the steering gear casing would show some knocking. It didn't.

Based on the previous run where I had a sensor on the steering gear casing mounting bolt and heard some knocking coupled with there not being a resilient bushing there that there would be some knocking on either of the two mounting brackets on the subframe. No knocking.

So will do another run with different sensor points.

The knocking was clear on the strut at its midpoint and that has fixed the major knocking issue.

It appears that Rock Auto will make good on the return of the strut I removed. It had about 35k miles on it. Will let you know how it works out.

 

An extended run (80 miles+) last night.

There were two problems kicking my behind across this drill.

First was the failed MacPherson Strut on the drivers side. Because I didn't believe that it could fail I easter-egged with other things: wheel bearing, Lower engine/transaxle mount, sway bar link, lower arm, sway bar bushings.

Each item individually was less expensive than a replacement strut, yet clearly I'd have gotten off cheaper if I had (1) bought the ChassisEar sooner and (2) listened to what it was telling me shortly after I got it.

In the end the ChassisEar system told me the truth in the middle of my trouble shooting and I didn't believe it for awhile. The noise on the strut midpoint mounting for the sway bar link was the give-away. That was always noisy and everything else was not as loud. Once I replaced the strut this noise disappeared. It just vanished.

Still I had a knocking, albeit somewhat different and only in a small left turn, but there. I suspect the new strut changed the geometry somewhat and allowed another problem to surface producing a somewhat similar sound on the pax side.

I've had a longstanding issue of front caliper interference with the OEM wheels since I first replaced brake pads and later installed rebuilt calipers. I had ground down the calipers a bit to clear this but it somehow didn't go away.

So in this drill I spent a considerable amount of time on this with a Dremel Moto-tool to eliminate any interference from the caliper. That paid off as last night there was no audible noise on my trip of 80+ miles. There was some noise to be heard on the ChassisEar, so I suppose some more time with the Moto-Tool is in order...

But in the end what fixed things was the strut replacement then getting down to business on the caliper interference thing.

Having to work through two similar symptoms could not have been done without the ChassisEar. That was a good investment.

Note that I did look into the Ford Tech Note on subframe pins & alignment but the symptoms didn't really match.

Second Note: RockAuto did not hesitate to make good on the Monroe Lifetime warranty for this strut. They're some of the good guys along with my local NAPA folks.

Buried in this caliper issue had to do with the grease being used on the caliper guide pins. It appears that the regenerative braking heats up calipers far more than I have ever seen on any other car. So I obtained some really high temperature caliper grease.

The previous grease would burn up & coke on the guide pins causing the calipers to mis-align. So when you rebuild calipers or change brake pads use a really high temp grease on the guide pins such as:
Permatex "Ceramic Extreme Brake Parts Lubricant" (Item #24125).

This caliper lube may seem to be overkill as its rated to 3000ºF, but it's not that expensive (an 8 oz bottle was maybe $15...) and that one bottle amounts to a lifetime supply for me.

 

PS While I'm noting those folks that were the good guys in helping me.

SilverStateFordparts.com which is Gaudin Ford in Nevada worked with me identifying engine mounts and such. There were very responsive, courteous, and just plain helpful.
Their prices are among the best I can find on the internet. You'll see an entry like this on the MECS pump discussion.

So they're some of the good guys too.

www.silverstatefordparts.com

 

Bill, thank you for taking the time to document and share this fix with us. I think I will eventually have to replace my struts, as my clunking is just as mysterious. I second Rock auto as a parts source as they have warrantied two sets of Moog stabilizer links for me (even though the second one was probably a bad call on my part.) I'll buy strut assemblies frorm them. The whole assembly with spring and mount is only $150 for Moog premium grade.

 

I think the Monroe's were like $127 & change...

Part of my quandary in fixing things was I just couldn't see anything wrong with the strut and just couldn't reason through how it could have been bad. After I got the ChassisEar I very quickly had evidence that the strut was bad... and didn't believe it.

Essentially the loudest knocking sounds were on the mid-strut sway bar link attach point. Other places sounded distant, maybe not muffled, just not as sharp & clear as the strut mid-point. ...And because I couldn't reason through how the strut itself could be bad, I went on to other things.

I was writing down what I did at each step and a couple of weeks ago did a Sunday Night Football game read it all over again and see what pops out. The answer was then clear: the knocking was always loudest and sharpest on the strut. So I replaced it and guess what...

One can only say: "Duh-uh... why didn't I think of that sooner?"

PS The return UPS charge that you get through the RockAuto website was only $10.31 so in effect I'll get most of my money back on this one.

 

Rock Auto just made good on the return credit. I was pretty sure they would after all of the troubleshooting I did before asking to return it. Still there are some companies out there who make life difficult.

Rock Auto is not one of those bad guys.

Rock Auto is one of the good guys. Well done.

 

A follow up on my clunk problem.

After exhausting all the usual causes of clunk, notably the sway bar links, and having an independent mechanic look in vain for a solution, I replaced the front struts with Monroe Quick Struts. This was a piece of cake job. If I hadn't had to also replace a (second) cracked tone ring (thanks Ford), I could have done the job in an hour. With the assemblies, you just unbolt eight bolts and a brake clip and swap them out.

Monroe has a $90 rebate on struts + shocks right now, so I also bought rear shocks and did them at the same time and came out ahead $30.

The constant clunking is gone. On big pot holes I still have a deep thunk noise, which may have always been there - in any case I can live with it.

Bottom line - mechanic's estimate - $1000, my actual cost after rebate - about $250.

While I was under there I noticed the replacement Walker flex pipe has shed the entire stainless woven mesh on the pipe, so that is next.

 

Thanks for the report. You know, I think the noise I'm getting is the front struts. They have that persistent rattling noise like loose shocks. The noise is not there on smooth roads, but rattles even with tiny bumps like formed lines in poured concrete. Rough gravel roads produce a symphony of rattles. The noise seems to be coming from the dashboard, but the strut towers are pretty close to the dash. I was thinking it was the tie rod ends, but the struts are far more likely. Hmm, a visit to the mechanic is in order.

One nice thing about equipping a car with Monroe shocks/struts and keeping a car for a long time, is that you can get a replacement pair for free when they eventually wear out. But be sure to keep proper documentation of the purchase. I had to fight for months one time to get the warranty covered.

 

I buy from Rock Auto. They keep a record of all your purchases.

 

Our very first FEH was a retired illinois state car with 170000 miles. It looked nice and ran well so we bid on the auction and won! 5500 bucks😄😄. So we have had it 2 years and it just broke 200k! This little SUV sold me on the FEH. I learned about the blend door after a couple of shut downs and I put brakes and tires on it. It is a BEAST!!!!! Solid, sound and drives like it has 70k miles. That led to another auction purchase out of Wisconsin for another exact copy 2008 green fwd FEH for 5500 with only 110k miles, it needed nothing and we drove it for 4 months until my youngest driver rolled it into a ditch. But the silver lining is, airbags!!!! She didn't have a scratch on her! So we bought a 2006 4wd with 70k miles that had the notorious left rear wheel well rust issue on the shock mount for 4450 and I bought a welder and learned how to weld and repaired it. My oldest got that one and absolutely loves it, and the 32mpgs!!!!! And I just bought an 09 that I'm currently having some issues with but yeah, I love this FEHs!