A creak-free, clunk-free economy car at 140k miles: A fool's pursuit?

My aging 2003 SVT Focus has had its fair share of creaks and suspensions noises. When buttoning things back together last year after taking care of long-overdue clutch system maintenance (not to mention plethora of other front-end services), the car developed a really loud clunk upon acceleration/deceleration/motion changes.

I come across a post last week that implied that ball joints can wallow-out the mounting points when the wrong (aftermarket) bolts are used. I was already planning to refresh the suspension, and I could replace the knuckles while I was in there.

The OEM SVT replacement suspension was $350 completely assembled. Not bad. The knuckles, however, would be another $450 on top of it, and I haven't yet determined whether these already have bearings installed. With a few other miscellaneous parts, this little job refreshing the suspension can approach $1k for a car that's worth $3k. To what end? The exterior and interior are still 140,000 miles old, not to mention all of the other wear items.

Let it go and put up with the noise or replace it all in hopes that it transforms the car?

That's one of the reasons I chose a 99 Golf TDI for my economy commuter. It currently has 275,000 miles and no creaks, clunks, or groans. The car is not perfect, but it still feels very tight, it's quiet, and returns 53 mpg on the highway.
I won't even start to talk about the horrible, terrible, horrendously poorly engineered Focus I had.

Saturns are easily as clunky as a Focus.

On several of them I've replaced the suspension, bushings, motor mounts, and end links, and all those noises go away. As a bonus its a lot nicer to drive afterward as well. At far higher age & mileage as well.

IMHO, find the highest milage new car you can.

High miles on a young car generally means freeway- which is states other than Michigan means a gentle life.

I can't think of a modern car that isn't durbale to 250k miles anymore.

Age wears parts as much as rough miles.

And then the car won't start the next morning. Just what I want, another puzzle to solve!

Well, car finally started. No idea what the issue was, which is a fun feeling. I think that this horse is ready to be put to pasture.

Mitchell wrote: And then the car won't start the next morning. Just what I want, another puzzle to solve!

Maybe it sensed your hesitance to spend money on its 'refresh'.

DrBoost wrote: That's one of the reasons I chose a 99 Golf TDI for my economy commuter. It currently has 275,000 miles and no creaks, clunks, or groans. The car is not perfect, but it still feels very tight, it's quiet, and returns 53 mpg on the highway. I won't even start to talk about the horrible, terrible, horrendously poorly engineered Focus I had.

I'll go ahead and state the exact opposite. My 00 Jetta is clunking and creaking like no other. Typical window/door lock issues and I'm ready to accept the fact that I may have to break the sunroof in order to gain access to my car. Ok maybe it's not that bad but it's funny to see the car play musical doors as to which door will open/lock that day.

I'm currently looking for a Focus (feel free to tell me that's a bad idea...i'm all ears).

Fiance's 03 Corolla with about 120k is creak and clunk free in anything over about 25*. But it still has a lot of road noise. And it is pretty miserable to drive.

We'll i'd get in there first and see what the clunk is actually coming from. I wouldn't assume you need two new knuckles.

How are your sway bar endlinks? cheap and easy to replace and can make quite a racket if bad.

My '97 Civic would be random noise free if the previous owner hadn't removed the entire interior behind the front seats "because racecar". I saved it from it's ricer status. Sometimes I wish I hadn't because he is a complete and utter hack at repairing anything.

You sure the holes in the knuckles are wallowed out beyond repair, and its not just the aftermarket ball joint/clamp bolt moving around (and starting to wallow)?

Did you see the recent "dont buy cheap parts" thread where a guy had the ball joint fall out of the knuckle on his focus?

I checked one of my plugs this morning, and it was pretty oily. I changed it out with an old plug I had laying around (just one, because I have already had to helicoil one of the spark plug holes). It then started hesitantly; whether this was the issue or not, I just picked up some new plugs on the way to work. Doesn't fix the root cause, though.

Regarding the clunk, I changed out the end links with aftermarket units last year, along with the ball joints. I ordered new Moog ball joints and Ford end links, so I will test those, assuming I don't trade the car in first, hah. My commute is 60 miles and my support network is 2500 miles away, so an unreliable car really isn't an option.

My SVT sounds and drives like a new Focus–and it has 254,000 miles on it now. You can do it!

Sounds like you are just looking for justification to get rid of this Focus. You have presented us with a worst case scenario with inflated prices (I checked!). Did this clunking begin immediately after you serviced your clutch or come on later? I would suggest that something didn't get tightened properly. I had a legitimate clunk that I discovered was inside my steering rack..."while I was there" I did the ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends of course and upgraded my sway bar. Still had a clunk so I found the problem to be the wrong ball joint that was smaller than the hole in the knuckle. I know yours are riveted to the lower arms but check all the bolts.

Still had a clunk! My ball joints bolt to the arms and they were just loose enough to move under power or braking, but not when I got it on the lift and wiggled stuff. a recheck cleared it up.

Another bad clunk that I knew was the end of my car was just loose lug nuts!

Did you replace the pinch bolts with aftermarket?

You said "Let it go and put up with the noise or replace it all in hopes that it transforms the car?"

I suggest actually finding the problem first. Then fix that problem!

I daily drive a 400,000 mile Ford Escort and found the suspension easy and economical to keep tight and quiet. My problem has become buzzing dash plastic and hardened weatherstripping.

Bruce

Mitchell wrote: I checked one of my plugs this morning, and it was pretty oily. I changed it out with an old plug I had laying around (just one, because I have already had to helicoil one of the spark plug holes). It then started hesitantly; whether this was the issue or not, I just picked up some new plugs on the way to work. Doesn't fix the root cause, though. Regarding the clunk, I changed out the end links with aftermarket units last year, along with the ball joints. I ordered new Moog ball joints and Ford end links, so I will test those, assuming I don't trade the car in first, hah. My commute is 60 miles and my support network is 2500 miles away, so an unreliable car really isn't an option.

Check the valve cover gasket... Mine wasn't leaking externally, but was leaking into the spark plug recesses. You can check by just pulling the plug wire and looking down at the plug with a flashlight. if you see lots of oil around the plug, you likely need a new gasket.

Sounds like your end links are likely good. What about motor mounts?

Honda, especially Accord.

I came here to suggest the Accord as well to fit this requirement. Wife's 2002 is at 181k and besides having to replace sway bar end links last year has been silent.

egnorant wrote: Sounds like you are just looking for justification to get rid of this Focus. You have presented us with a worst case scenario with inflated prices (I checked!). Did this clunking begin immediately after you serviced your clutch or come on later? I would suggest that something didn't get tightened properly. I had a legitimate clunk that I discovered was inside my steering rack..."while I was there" I did the ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends of course and upgraded my sway bar. Still had a clunk so I found the problem to be the wrong ball joint that was smaller than the hole in the knuckle. I know yours are riveted to the lower arms but check all the bolts. Still had a clunk! My ball joints bolt to the arms and they were just loose enough to move under power or braking, but not when I got it on the lift and wiggled stuff. a recheck cleared it up. Another bad clunk that I knew was the end of my car was just loose lug nuts! Did you replace the pinch bolts with aftermarket? You said "Let it go and put up with the noise or replace it all in hopes that it transforms the car?" I suggest actually finding the problem first. Then fix that problem! I daily drive a 400,000 mile Ford Escort and found the suspension easy and economical to keep tight and quiet. My problem has become buzzing dash plastic and hardened weatherstripping. Bruce

Am I sounding dramatic?

The prices I checked for steering knuckles were for Motorcraft replacements on rock auto, about $215/side for knuckles with ABS. The suspension was $340 shipped for M-3000-ZX3A.

Ball joints are aftermarket, so they are bolt-in instead of the stock riveted units. After discovering the clunk, tightening everything I touched with the clutch job, changing out front and rear sway bar bushings and end links, and all three motor mounts, I haven't had any improvements yet.

If the spark plug problem is just a valve cover gasket, that should be easy--I have one of those floating around somewhere.

Trooper at 205k was quiet and clunk free except tires. Xterra at 175k is solid and quiet, Michelin tires help with that. Ex's '94 Accord was clunk free at ~250k miles, it had an appetite for outer CV boots and the drivers' door power lock actuator would go nuts. '03 Saturn ION, 161, reliable as the sun but has various rattles etc.

hmmm, do you notice any change in attitude of the car when you hear the clunk? like if you are turning when you hear the clunk does the car move in a slightly different direction than before the clunk? Is the clunk associated more with accel/decel or with turning?

OR - did you leave a set of vice grips locked onto a component? (Sounds dumb but my dad complained of a clunk for a couple months after I changed sway bar end links on his taurus - I crawl underneath to look and, there were my vice grips. DOH!).

My 03 Golf is as solid as a bank vault. I purposely stayed with the 2.0L 4-banger and have enjoyed driving it. It's no power house but the gearing gives it pretty good acceleration in town.

Honda Accord holds up well. Take a look at some of the W210 Mercedes. 300k-lifespan, and some of the best assembly and quality of materials I've seen in a long time. I had a 99 E300TD with 240k on it and I couldn't find a single squeak, rattle, buzz, clunk, or shimmy. Since they are a luxo marque, they bottom out their value quickly, so you'll pay little and recoup little. I was also daily amazed at its lack of wind noise. The 4-banger version gets over 30 mpg, as does the diesel.

Toyota and Kia/Hyundai econoboxes are pretty squeak-free, but the lack of sound-deadening tends to make for an overall loud road-noise experience. On the Korean side, newer Optimas and Genesis have a real Mercedes-like feel to them, but Rios and other little cheapies sound like a small jet on the highway.

Avoid Saturn, GM, Dodge, Volvo, and Suzuki for noise issues. (at least the ones I've driven)

FYI: On a Focus the first place to check for suspension clunks is the swaybar endlinks. Noted that you ordered OEM Ford parts. MOOG K80066 end links that are stronger and greaseable.

Also check the swaybar bushings. If they are worn or do not fit the bar properly, the bar can shift sideways and clunk against the frame.

Hal, I am actually replacing the Moog units installed last year with OEM Ford units.