[Matthew1963]

I posted in another car area but there seems to be two sable areas so I will post it here. Pretty sure other car platforms have the same control arm.

My son got a 08 sable and overall it's not to bad other than lots of plastic junk. It has new struts in the front from the prior owner but it has a clunk from the front right side.

I jacked it up and went through the brakes which have 75 percent left so rule that out....anti rattle clips are in and ok....the lower control arm bushing looks suspect but I couldn't really get it to wiggle.

Anyone have this problem?
Here is a picture.

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

Really need a decent sized prise bar when checking , hard to say from picture but bush looks knackered . Check sway bar bushes also .

 

[Matthew1963]

Really need a decent sized prise bar when checking , hard to say from picture but bush looks knackered . Check sway bar bushes also .

Sway bars look fine....so just use the pry bar and see if it moves side to side?

I couldn't get it to move the old school way by just working everything with my hand.

 

[mrfixr55]

Doesit clunk when applying brakes or accelerating or when going over bumps?

If during braking and accellerating try this:

With the car on the ground, have an assistant put the car in reverse and slightly rev the engine with the brakes on. then go forward. Do you hear the clunk? Watch the wheels in relation to the wheel well. Compare left to right front wheels. If you see one wheel deflect more than the other, then issue is possibly lower ball joint but more likely lower control arm bushing. Frm your pic, the right rear bushing looks worn. the front one is less visible but may be a greater issue. Removing and replacing the lower control arm is not that hard. Also, check the subframe for rust and cracking (this does happen in rust belt cars.

If it clunks but the wheel does not deflect differently from the "good" side, then check your CV Joints.

I own an 03 Taurus (same car), it is a great car IMHO.

 

[Matthew1963]

Doesit clunk when applying brakes or accelerating or when going over bumps?

If during braking and accellerating try this:

With the car on the ground, have an assistant put the car in reverse and slightly rev the engine with the brakes on. then go forward. Do you hear the clunk? Watch the wheels in relation to the wheel well. Compare left to right front wheels. If you see one wheel deflect more than the other, then issue is possibly lower ball joint but more likely lower control arm bushing. Frm your pic, the right rear bushing looks worn. the front one is less visible but may be a greater issue. Removing and replacing the lower control arm is not that hard. Also, check the subframe for rust and cracking (this does happen in rust belt cars.

If it clunks but the wheel does not deflect differently from the "good" side, then check your CV Joints.

I own an 03 Taurus (same car), it is a great car IMHO.

It's an 08 sable so the platform is different than the Taurus on those years but I believe the lower control arms are similar. We also have an 04 Taurus.

Lower ball joint is good, that I know...so are bearings and such. When grabbing the tire off the ground I can't feel any slop.

The noise comes up from the passenger side area where your feet are so it seems like the bushing is the cause.

Even though we live in the northwest it turns out the car came from the mid-west so your right rust is an issue. I will look for cracking.

By the way, on your Taurus had it ever leaked on the passenger side?

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

You may not get any play when checking as described as the suspension will be " hanging " that's why you are better using a pry bar . Another thing to check is the engine / transmission mounts A basic way to check is to look at engine while someone puts it reverse and then into drive ( dont stand in front of car in case of accidents ) and watch engine for excessive " kicking "

 

[Matthew1963]

You may not get any play when checking as described as the suspension will be " hanging " that's why you are better using a pry bar . Another thing to check is the engine / transmission mounts A basic way to check is to look at engine while someone puts it reverse and then into drive ( dont stand in front of car in case of accidents ) and watch engine for excessive " kicking "

Ok, the car only has 85,000 miles and the sound doesn't seem to be coming from there but I'll look.

When checking the bushing with a crow bar what am I looking for? Basically no side to side movement? I'm assuming since it's a bushing there should be some play otherwise it would just be a solid connection.

 

[R.S.LOGAN]

 

[Matthew1963]

To bad they don't show a good one.

 

[mrfixr55]

It's an 08 sable so the platform is different than the Taurus on those years but I believe the lower control arms are similar. We also have an 04 Taurus.

Lower ball joint is good, that I know...so are bearings and such. When grabbing the tire off the ground I can't feel any slop.

The noise comes up from the passenger side area where your feet are so it seems like the bushing is the cause.

Even though we live in the northwest it turns out the car came from the mid-west so your right rust is an issue. I will look for cracking.

By the way, on your Taurus had it ever leaked on the passenger side?

OOps,

I must have thought the 8 to be a 5. Hafta stop being on the computer without my glasses. However, the test works on any car. A car with bad bushings can pass the "tire shake" test, but under load, much more pressure or torque can put on a component than the human can, even with a crowbar. The Person who commented about the engine roll or jump test to test the motor mounts is also correct. I have found many a bad engine mount that way. Newer mounts are designed to still restrict engine movement, even if broken (as opposed to the ones in the 60s that would break and jam the accelerator linkage).

Hope this helps.

Have a Blessed Holiday Season.

Best Regards,

John

 

[Matthew1963]

I decided to have the shop look at it and change the lower left control arm with all their attached parts.

Their report came back that both (even though they are new) struts are bad and missed matched, both control arms are bad and both sway bar rods could be replaced. Over $3000 with some kind of updated bearing bushings on top of the struts.

Son couldn't afford that so he just changed the lower passenger side control arm and still has the clunk.

Mechanic said not a safety thing but needs to be fixed. Alignment was off quite a bit and that is now fixed.

He also said clunk is probably in the front passenger side strut and if money's tight try that next. Sway bar links he would do less.

Receipt I have for the new struts were 8000 miles ago and installed on March of 2020

Anyone ever changed that strut and how many involved is it and what brand would you buy. I saw a video on an older Taurus but I believe their different. Mechanic said these sables are volvos.

 

[mrfixr55]

I have not changed one on a 2008, so can't really comment. The 00-07s are not really hard. Generally, if you are buying a strut, buy the entire strut / spring/ upper bearing as an assembly. This should be installable with common hand tools. Struts should not go bad in 8K Miles. Buy recognized american brand like Monroe, Gabriel, etc. Unfortunately, they are likely chinese, and will be more expensive than the off brand parts, but these are the brands that mechanics buy and (hopefully) these companies want to protect their reputation.

When they replaced the struts, did they replace only the strut, reusing the spring and upper bearing or did they replace a complete assembly consisting of strut, spring and upper bushing ass'y

It will be a long time before I but another Ford. This is because I have 3 now and althoug the newest one is 20 years old, they keep going with minimal repairs, all of which I have done myself. At 85K Miles on the 00 Explorer and 133K Miles on the 03 Taurus, these cars will outlast me!

 

[Matthew1963]

He just recently bought the car but we got all the receipt with the car so the prier owner had it done.

Looking at the receipts they paid $295.67 a piece for the struts but no more explanation on what that was. Labor was extra.

So Monroe, Gabriel ....how about trq? I see those on line. I'll look for the others. We have an 04 Taurus but there a little different. Remember the 08 is the remade Montego and it basically a Volvo S80 so they throw a few more things at you.

Our Taurus has 130,000 as well and I have a 95 f250 that just turned 100,000 I'm hoping ity last truck.

He did mention the bearing/bushing at the top of the strut....I wonder if I should just change those.