Hi all, had my Cougar for 2 weeks now and generally very happy with it. She's a year 2000 V6 auto 'X' pack and so far nothing has broken or fallen off.....yet! I wouldn't normally own a car such as this but it was an emergency buy to get me to and from work after my dad totalled my comfy old Omega. Very impressed with the mechanical quiteness of the car but i find the suspension especially the rear to be very noisy, not knocking in any way but very thumpy over rough roads, which is 90% of the roads around here. I've always had big softly sprung barges in the past so I'm guessing it could be just me not used to such a firmly sprung car. is this bumpy thumpiness (new word?) normal for a Cougar or are they normally quiet? I must add that my route to work is mostly on very poor, rutted, potholed 'b' roads which my old Omega just floated over without a murmer. Car feels tight and secure on the road and handles large undulations brilliantly, it's just that small ripples and ruts and especially dried mud deposited by tractors seem to make the car rumble and thump as if the shockers are welded together. Just wondering if all Cougars are like this or could there be something wrong?
Noisy suspension?
- Thread starter Catface
- Start date
Yep, or bushes, both cheap and easy to do... just be careful with the bolt that holds are ARB on as they have a tendency to snap in the sear sub frame.. spray it with plus gas a few days before you decide to do them and then again just before..
Thanks, I'll have a look underneath tomorrow. Got a bill with the car for it's last service which was 3000 miles ago, according to that it had a full suspension/wishbone and bushes check and all was ok. I accept that it's a more firmly sprung car than I'm used to but it's tiring over rough roads.
It may be the ARB drop links need doing but you normally get a distinctive knock when they need replacing. Sounds like what you are experiencing may just be the normal harder ride (dull thud) - but the droplinks are cheap bits and if you can do them yourself it's maybe worth doing anyway.
Enjoy your cougar!!
Enjoy your cougar!!
Yeah, thanks, I guess I'm just not used to firmly sprung cars. I even find my Dads bog standard Mondeo a little harsh compered with what I am used to, all modern cars seem to biased more towards handling at the expense of ride comfort.
Probably also worth mentioning that compared to the omega, the cougar actually has springs and shock absorbers for suspension and not soggy sponges but yes, most likely the ten bob swap.
but yes, most likely the ten bob swap. 
I like soggy sponges
Would love to see that
love a bit of old skool Welcome btw
You're possibly the first person to grace this OC that owns an ACTUAL Mercury and not a European counterpart/rebrand/equivalent etc. Kudos to you mate!!
I like soggy sponges
Very nice. Why don't we have bench seats anymore?
welcome to the club. Definitely sounds like drop links doesn't it?
As kully says, would love to see pics of the Mercury
As kully says, would love to see pics of the Mercury
Thanks all, ordered some drop links, hopefully be here tomorrow. I'm pretty sure it must be the problem, I heard a distinct knock today as I backed over the dropped kerb from the drive and onto the road, sounded exactly like the old Omega used to do when it munched it's drop links. I will post some pics later when I work out how to do it, I'm new to all this forum stuff and still feeling my way around.