Issue after getting rear axel and hub replaced. Dealer refuses to diagnose.

[n_123]

So a couple weeks back I posted this thread about excessive play in the rear wheel along with a clicking from the rear end. Come to find out there has been a TSB out for quite some time on this and they replaced the rear axel and wheel bearing free of charge. I pick the car up and the noise is gone, great!

A few days later I finally get the chance to hammer the throttle a little bit. As soon as I accelerate, the cars rear end feels completely disconnected, it feels like the subframe is moving side to side independent of the body. Mind you this only happened AFTER the dealer replaced that side. It was very unsettling.

I take it back to the dealer to which they tell me they can’t replicate it because they can’t drive it like that (understandable) and they insist that they rechecked torque and everything was good. They also ended up replacing the other side’s wheel bearing and axel as that was making noise too.

Obviously, since they didn’t do anything the car is still doing it. My question to all of you is what could be causing this? Alignment get screwed up somehow (I asked this and they insisted it wasn’t possible)? Should I go under there and check torque myself? At a loss.

Sponsored

 

[DarkMatterGrey]

Could it be from the sloppiness in the rear suspension?

Best video on this is from Steeda with their "stop the hop" solution:

https://www.steeda.com/Steeda-S550-Mustang-Stop-The-Hop-Starter-Kit-555-4455

That may also explain the alignment as Steeda recommends this (alignment) being done as well after install of a stop the hop kit.

The dealer may be right in that they don't have a solution from Ford for this.

 

[n_123]

Could it be from the sloppiness in the rear suspension?

Best video on this is from Steeda with their "stop the hop" solution:

https://www.steeda.com/Steeda-S550-Mustang-Stop-The-Hop-Starter-Kit-555-4455

That may also explain the alignment as Steeda recommends this (alignment) being done as well after install of a stop the hop kit.

The dealer may be right in that they don't have a solution from Ford for this.

Funnily enough I have a stop the hop kit hopefully being shipped to me in a week or so, we’ll see if it fixes it. The only reason I’m attributing this to them is it never behaved like this prior to the fix.

 

[DarkMatterGrey]

Funnily enough I have a stop the hop kit hopefully being shipped to me in a week or so, we’ll see if it fixes it. The only reason I’m attributing this to them is it never behaved like this prior to the fix.

Well you should be able to get in there and see if something doesn't seem right at least with respect to the IRS. While it's up in the air, may help to check play in all the flexible connections (control arms, links, subframe, differential carrier, etc.). I can't offer advice on Mustang rear ends (I've only done that kind of work on solid axle Jeeps).

I think there's kits to solidify the differential to subframe as well, LOL.

 

[smurfslayer]

Funnily enough I have a stop the hop kit hopefully being shipped to me in a week or so, we’ll see if it fixes it. The only reason I’m attributing this to them is it never behaved like this prior to the fix.

For the LOVE of all things HOLY.. Do NOT modify a vehicle with a known problem.

Fix problem
Then modify.

If you modify and the problem remains, you’re no better off AND the stealership will immediately point to the aftermarket parts regardless of whether they were on there before, or not.

If you modify and the symptoms improve but do not go away, you are masking the problem, but now the stealership will be even less inclined to fix or even research.

If you modify and the problem gets worse, then what?

Or, you could luck out and modify and completely eliminate the problem. These are 4 likely scenarios. 3 of them are bad.

Something is not right, engage the service manager and get a test drive with a tech. if you don’t get good results, call ford CS and open a case for assistance. Seek out another service department.

 

[n_123]

For the LOVE of all things HOLY.. Do NOT modify a vehicle with a known problem.

Fix problem
Then modify.

If you modify and the problem remains, you’re no better off AND the stealership will immediately point to the aftermarket parts regardless of whether they were on there before, or not.

If you modify and the symptoms improve but do not go away, you are masking the problem, but now the stealership will be even less inclined to fix or even research.

If you modify and the problem gets worse, then what?

Or, you could luck out and modify and completely eliminate the problem. These are 4 likely scenarios. 3 of them are bad.

Something is not right, engage the service manager and get a test drive with a tech. if you don’t get good results, call ford CS and open a case for assistance. Seek out another service department.

I understand where you’re coming from. But my perspective is I’ve given them 3 chances. This is also my only car and I obviously have to go to work every day. I can work from home but having it gone for a day once a week essentially just doesn’t work for me. Same with going back and fourth with customer service. I’m not trying to be difficult but there comes a point when I’m just sick of dealing with it on a brand new car.

I’m also willing to bet the MINUTE I mention to another dealer that the issue started after they changed something they’ll tell me to take it back to them.

 

[Snakebyte]

I understand where you’re coming from. But my perspective is I’ve given them 3 chances. This is also my only car and I obviously have to go to work every day. I can work from home but having it gone for a day once a week essentially just doesn’t work for me. Same with going back and fourth with customer service. I’m not trying to be difficult but there comes a point when I’m just sick of dealing with it on a brand new car.

I’m also willing to bet the MINUTE I mention to another dealer that the issue started after they changed something they’ll tell me to take it back to them.

Lemon law?

 

[RLE55]

if you don’t get good results, call ford CS and open a case for assistance. Seek out another service department.

What he said.

 

[smurfslayer]

I understand where you’re coming from. But my perspective is I’ve given them 3 chances. This is also my only car and I obviously have to go to work every day. I can work from home but having it gone for a day once a week essentially just doesn’t work for me. Same with going back and fourth with customer service. I’m not trying to be difficult but there comes a point when I’m just sick of dealing with it on a brand new car.

I’m also willing to bet the MINUTE I mention to another dealer that the issue started after they changed something they’ll tell me to take it back to them.

I’m fortunate to be a multi-vehicle owner with multiple garages, an adequate set of tools for most handyman level stuff and access to the internet... So I’m not exactly in your position.

But... I have been.

Please take this in the manner it’s intended, not as a personal criticism or throwing shade your way, but, a life lesson from someone who’s lived your reality - the single vehicle part.

If you go forward with modifications to the suspension at this point, you are complicating the troubleshooting procedure at the very least because you’re introducing another set of variables that Ford dealer techs are almost certainly unable to account for.

Suggestion: Go to Ford customer service and explain what you’ve said here. Tell them you’ve been in multiple times for this issue and you believe there’s a new problem. Ask them to coordinate with the dealer to get Ford Engineering involved and troubleshoot the problem. ask them to get coverage for a rental car while this is done. At three repair attempts, this shouldn’t be a big deal and is certainly not going to hurt Ford’s bottom line -- you did drop scores of thousands of dollars on your Mustang...

My ’90 GT had developed a persistent front end vibration; steering wheel oscillation. It was annoying AF. The only suspension mods were wheels and tires - then subframe connectors, rear control arms. I had an absolute b!tch of a time troubleshooting it - there’s no amount of wheel replacement, tire replacement balancing, road force balancing that would affect it. I went through a new set of wheels and tires, another set of tires, multiple re-balancing and none of it had any effect. I had struts replaced, that also did nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, because somewhere along the line it became “not as bad” but not gone. I was outside of warranty but went to both dealer and independent mechanics. I drove it for a while in the ‘not as bad’ state and eventually traded on the ’97 SVT Mustang. That GT was my only ride at the time, so it hurt when I had to take off work, go sit in a tire, shop, or drop off with a mechanic and wait impatiently.

Don’t put yourself in a position of being car poor here. Get it fixed first.

 

[DevilDog]

I take it back to the dealer to which they tell me they can’t replicate it because they can’t drive it like that (understandable) and they insist that they rechecked torque and everything was good. They also ended up replacing the other side’s wheel bearing and axel as that was making noise too.

Let me get this straight. Ford builds and hypes the Mustang GT as a "performance" car, but the dealer won't "hammer" it to see if there's a specific problem? If they design and build a car, they should have a way to diagnose or reproduce a problem. If they don't want to take on the responsibility of testing your car in that manner, I'd offer to take the tech for a ride so that you can duplicate it.

 

[steveo1960]

I’m fortunate to be a multi-vehicle owner with multiple garages, an adequate set of tools for most handyman level stuff and access to the internet... So I’m not exactly in your position.

But... I have been.

Please take this in the manner it’s intended, not as a personal criticism or throwing shade your way, but, a life lesson from someone who’s lived your reality - the single vehicle part.

If you go forward with modifications to the suspension at this point, you are complicating the troubleshooting procedure at the very least because you’re introducing another set of variables that Ford dealer techs are almost certainly unable to account for.

Suggestion: Go to Ford customer service and explain what you’ve said here. Tell them you’ve been in multiple times for this issue and you believe there’s a new problem. Ask them to coordinate with the dealer to get Ford Engineering involved and troubleshoot the problem. ask them to get coverage for a rental car while this is done. At three repair attempts, this shouldn’t be a big deal and is certainly not going to hurt Ford’s bottom line -- you did drop scores of thousands of dollars on your Mustang...

My ’90 GT had developed a persistent front end vibration; steering wheel oscillation. It was annoying AF. The only suspension mods were wheels and tires - then subframe connectors, rear control arms. I had an absolute b!tch of a time troubleshooting it - there’s no amount of wheel replacement, tire replacement balancing, road force balancing that would affect it. I went through a new set of wheels and tires, another set of tires, multiple re-balancing and none of it had any effect. I had struts replaced, that also did nothing. Well, maybe not nothing, because somewhere along the line it became “not as bad” but not gone. I was outside of warranty but went to both dealer and independent mechanics. I drove it for a while in the ‘not as bad’ state and eventually traded on the ’97 SVT Mustang. That GT was my only ride at the time, so it hurt when I had to take off work, go sit in a tire, shop, or drop off with a mechanic and wait impatiently.

Don’t put yourself in a position of being car poor here. Get it fixed first.

Good advice. In the engineering world we call this "restore to to a minimum configuration". So in other words, remove all of the parts not needed to bring the system up. Then start troubleshooting. The same idea applies here. If feasible, return the car to stock and start from there. And the golden rule is to never change too many things at the same time because if something goes sideways it may be difficult to diagnose.

On a side note, difficult to diagnose vibrations and uneven tire wear seem to find me far too often. I once had a car that would vibrate at any speed above 65 mph but it was intermittent and it drove me crazy. I finally determined it was a highly intermittent sticking caliper even though there were no other symptoms like overheating etc. Best wishes and keep going until you get it fixed.

Sponsored