Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Rear suspension problem

Hi all... this is my first post. I have a 98 SVT with about 65K miles on it that has a strange problem. There is a scrapping sound from the rear passenger side if I hit any significant bumps at speed, especially if I have weight back there. I had a couple of my larger friends in the back seat and even taking right turns at a moderate speed caused that god-awful noise. I took it to the dealership by me and they said that the rear suspension seemed fine and was within specs. Anybody have any ideas for me?

2 things:

-what size wheels/tires are you running? check to make sure they aren't rubbing on the fender lip or on the inner fender liner (plastic).

-read this from the ceg faq.

How large are friends???????????? :rolleyes: You might need a truck

Welcome to the site I'm an Old Fart and alittle off. "Agent Orange" or 29+ years at the Phone-zoo!

I have 98 Mystique Ls Not much reserve load capacity in these springs. When wife & I load the
trunk for a 3-5 day visit to our grandson, the back-end squats more than I like.

This is one sweet heart of a vehicle to drive, I prefer it over my ole mans Lincoln LS.

I had this same problem. It started at around 27K miles on my car with the stock tires. It would happen even when I only had 1 person in the back seat as light as 135lbs. I had noticed that my SVT had settled a bit and was a bit lower that they rest of the NorCal group out here that were stock. I took it to the dealer and they reported that the hight was in spec and they could not get it to make the scratching noise that you described. I found the that the rear passenger tire sidewall was rubbing on the edge of the fender under corning. I took it back and test drove it with them and made sure that I had three people in the car, and it rubbed. They said I had too much weight in the trunk (I have about 150lbs of stereo back there just two amps and 1 12" sub.) It got much worse when I got my 215x45x17 tires. I believed that the springs had settled a bit too much and the dampers were shot, so I replaced them with Koni struts and even lowed the car with H&R's. Even now that the H&R's have settled in and are much lower than stock, I never rub any more, even with two 200+ guys in the back.

you shouldn't be rubbing in the back like that. especially on stockers (and btw, the 17s u have are equivalent in size if not a tad shorter than the stockers so u shouldn't rub with them either). make sure your properly aligned. you could have a bent control arm in the back or something that's knocking your wheel off. i had a bent one for a while and it rubbed the shizzle out of my inner fender liner til i replaced it.

SVTour98 yeah, I know I shouldn't and I know ford should have replaced the springs when I brought it in, but you know ford dealers... In fact, when I brought the car in the 1st time, they asked if I had an aftermarket suspension because the wheel well gap was noticably smaller in the rear than the SVT should be, then after looking at it they tell me it is in spec.

The new tires are a tad larger (about 1/4 inch or so, so not that different.) I did have the car 4 wheel aligned 1 month before the upgrade to koni's and H&R and then again, when I did the upgrade. The shop did not charge me for the second alignment since they had done the 1st. Like I said the stock springs and struts were just shot. When I had my brother and dad in the back of the car, the rear end sqatted so much the my tire actually tucked into the wheel wheel. Once the new springs and struts were on, even with both of them in the car, the rear only drops about 3/4 of an inch. I am very happy the the suspension work fixed it.

That's exactly it! I guess I'm going to have to look for a bent control arm as SVTour98 suggests then just replace the rear suspension components. How sad that the dealership couldn't figure that out. *******s! Thanks a lot guys!

I'm firmly convinced that dealer is not allowed to think outside of Ford's guidelines. I would not be a dealer even if I was given a dealership free and clear. Unbelieveable the control Ford has over the owner?

Paul

No dealer has any control over the owner...we all have choices,just depends on the cost or how much we care to educate ourselves on our cars.....'Stephen Covey...'we ALL have choices...I took the road less travelled.......

I have had the exact same problem. Mine started at about 60k. I have had it alligned and checked out by the dealer and private shops. Stock tires. I guess i will also have to look more into this. I hate the noticable difference in height in the back.(and the truck is empty)! Every now and then I really hate this car!