thumping noise near convertable top storage

[scriv]

kinda miffed at this forum right now. my original post was removed have no idea why and I'm a life member. only had one answer to my question early on so will ask again and hopfully my question will not be deleted again. even going to my profile it doesn't show it


I post a question a few weeks ago concerning a thumping noise on my 2005 Bird. I experience over mildly bumpy roads. it appears to come from the storage area for the convertable top. it only occurs when the top is up so it seems like when the top is down pressure is applied and therefore no rattle. have tried everything to find the culprit but no go so far.

has anyone had a similar problem

[hwt03]

Something happened to the site because I posted some replys and they dissappeared also.

As for the thumping noise, just drive with the top down all the time. Just kidding, but, there are noises in my car that I can't hear with the top down too. There could be something loose in the spare tire area, like the tool for the hardtop, that thumps all the time but you just can't hear it with the top down.

Does the top mechanism make any strange noise when the top is moving up or down? Does bouncing the car in the driveway produce the thump?

Harold

[George]

scriv: Please don't get miffed, that's very unusual. Allow me to contact the administrator to see if there was an upgrade or something else that may have caused this - Hang in there!! Possibly there's been an upgrade.

As for the noise, bounce the rear of the car up and down to see if you can hear it while parked. If so you may be able to trace it. A strut of shock absorber??? Something in the soft top well?

[tbird]

Originally Posted by scriv

kinda miffed at this forum right now. my original post was removed

You should never ASSUME anything. There was a security patch the other day that was applied that messed up the forum, we had to restore the data from the previous day. As George said, this happens here about once every five years. :-)

[00mustng]

....I'll repost my lost post....I wonder if it could be something as simple as a loose spare tire...or, as in my case, a spare hardtop wrench rattling around...

[scriv]

thanks for the feedback. I'll be patient.

I already tried all the easy stuff. removed spare tire drove it, still hear it. again on mild bumpy roads its a thump. bouncing on the car and flexing shocks doesn't cause any noise. only thing that has an impact is lowering the top and then going over the same road there is no thumping. so in my miniscule mind I'm thinking it's related to the top going into the storage area and putting pressure on what ever is loose. just can't find what is loose.

good for summer but no so much in winter and rain.

next step is to get my wife to fit into the area behind the passenger seat when we are moving and see if she can isolate the area. haven't been able to convince her yet but working on it, after all it is her car seems only fair. right now it appears to come from the area behind tha passenger seat.

guess no one else has a similar problem. just my luck. maybe I'll just have to continue to drive my corvette where the only thumping is when I get on it and my tires breakloose.

appreciate the effort and ideas though

[jetbird]

I had the same problem on my 03 T-bird. It drove me nuts for several weeks. George provided an old post that discussed noise caused by failure of the rear stabilizer pins. It was fixed under warranty and no problems since. The dealer tried retorquing and that didn't work.

Good Luck,

Jim (jetbird)

[George]

Thanks Jim for posting that.
On another note, if that's not the problem, I recently read where an owner had a clunking noise and Ford dealer couldn't find it.
Then one day it happend when he was passing the dealer and going at slow speed. He pulled in and took the mechanic for a ride. He knew immediately what to do. He put it on the computer and reprogrammed the transmission - He now claims he hasn't had a clunking noise in months since they did that. Here's the TSB:

BTW, this may not resolve your particular issue but it's always good to have these posted on site for others. Let us know...

[scriv]

thanks george and jetbird. I appreciate your feedback. Since we have kept the top down lately it has been quiet so I'll play it by ear.

The stabilizer pins seem to make the most sense, but can't figure out the connection to having the top stored in the boot. if that top puts that much pressure on the suspension stabilizer bar when being stored just shoot me.