Ford Mustang: '03 Vert noises?

In article <3f4ceb5d$1_3@newsfeed>, Ken <com>
wrote:
 

I have a 6 week old GT convertible that doesn't have any of the
symptoms you describe above, and certainly no visible gaps! I get an
unpleasant grinding noise raising the top (just for the last few
inches) and it's tough to pull down and lock, but once latched down I
get very little wind noise. But as you say, it is noisier than than a
coupe, but that's acceptable. No window squeaking at all, and no
whistling at all even up to about 100 mph.

My only irritation (noise-wise) is a rattle that comes from the
passenger headrest, but I jammed a toothpick into the support and
that's fixed.

And, of course, the whole car rattles and clunks like an old tractor if
the road surface is anything but smooth, but on good road surfaces I've
been very surprised how solid and quiet the car is.

IMHO, the noises you describe above are absolutely not normal. Sounds
to me that your whole top needs some adjustment.

Scudder <hotmail.com> wrote in message news:<280820031200222385%hotmail.com>... 

Same here. I have a 6 month old GT 'vert with absolutely no problems
with the top up or down. There should be no space between the header
and the front of the top when it's up. Could it be the you front rail
is bent?

I did have one annoying rattle that was coming from the passenger seat
behind the lower portion of the dash board. SOme of the wiring in one
of the harnesses had come loose. A little electrical tape did the
trick.

Joe
03 Premium 'vert

Make sure that the guide pins on the top of the windshield are completely
tightened, on my old 99 vert the one on the driver's side had a habit of
working itself loose, which would cause a gap.

--
-
'02 GT Black
-
We are born naked, wet, and hungry. Then things get worse.

..
"Ken" <com> wrote in message
news:3f4ceb5d$.. 
and 

Thanks to all for your comments ... fortunately, the trip the dealer
resulted in about an 90% successful repair. The gap is gone, and most of
the noises. There's still something coming from the area of the passenger
seat/door .. but since it's faintly audible with the top down as well as up
.... they suspect something in the door or seat.

You know, it occurs to me, that when I look back over my paperwork on a 1997
Thunderbird and 2000 Mustang coupe I had previously, the 2002 Explorer
Limited we currently have, plus the new 2003 Mustang convertible, none of my
warranty repairs have been for "mechanical" stuff. It's all been rattles,
noises, loose items on doors, things falling off or missing, etc.

Maybe I am too picky.

But then again, maybe it's just plain sloppy workmanship at the factory.
Clearly most of you have not had similar problems with your top so it must
be engineered pretty well in the first place. Sometimes I wish they'd start
deducting warranty repairs from the worker's paychecks who mess them up on
the line by not paying closer attention to what they are doing. Betcha the
number of complaints about stuff not fitting well would drop considerably!!

<end mini rant>

Thanks again.

Ken

Driving around with the top down ... just another sunny day in
Seattle/Tacoma!!

Ken <com> wrote in message news:.. 
It may be worth checking the hydraulic cylinder mount. If you reach down and grasp the cylinder
(with the top down), there should be no rotational movement. If there is some play present, the
lower mount is loose and may produce a sporadic rattle in the area of the door/seat/rear trim
panel. It was hard to pinpoint this particular noise in my car.....until the cylinder mount let go
completely.

--

John C.
'00 GT Convt.
'03 Cobra Convt