I purchased my fully loaded 2004 Bonny SLE near Boston MA, in 2014 w/ 72,000 miles on the odometer.
The car has been pretty much trouble free, however earlier this year I started getting rough shifting between 1&2 and 2&3d gears after driving for 20-30 minutes. So last week w/ 118,000 miles on the odometer, I had the tranny overhauled by a local tranny shop ($2400) which included the replacement of the front engine mount.

Now she runs & shifts as she did when i bought her, however I am getting a creaking noise when I stop or start moving the car and sometimes when I turn the wheel ... The shop tells me that the noise could be due to worn or failing cradle bushings. So monday she goes back to the shop.

My question is, shouldn't the cradle bushings have been replaced when the tranny was being overhauled ?

Looking forward to getting to know all Ya Bonny co- owners ...

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Cody (Old Army Nickname)
First car: 1949 Ford Police Coupe
Daily driver: Fully loaded (stock) 2004 Bonneville SLE - 116K miles
Toys: 2002 Thunderbird Convertible w/Hardtop - 36K miles; 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - 45K miles
Recently Sold: 1966 Thunderbird Convertible; 1966 Bonneville SSE; 1989 Chevy G20 Camper Van

Welcome to the club! It would be easy to overlook the cradle bushings if they didn't have conspicuous issues. Are they your issue source now? I don't know.

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WHITE WHINE - 1992 SSE Supercharged 236.26 ci (.040 Over) 15.090 at 90.2 MPH on old engine w/ slipping trans & melted O2 sensor - Gen 3 M62 and matching TB, Gen 2 Pully, Zillamotorsports Ported LIM, YT 1.72 Roller Rockers, SII FPR & Injectors, Hypertech Thermomaster chip w/ 160 Thermo, TransGo Shift Kit, Infinity/Pioneer Speakers & a 10" Alpine Type R Sub, all the watts, 140 amp Alternator, Ricepipe CAI w/ heatshield, Pilot Angel Eye Foglights, Clear Corners, '02 17" Chrome Bent 5's, Magnaflow F-Body Muffler and Hi-flo Cat, Ceramic Coated Ported Exhaust Manifolds, Fan Override, Monroe Reflex struts, red calipers
2009 G8 GT - Sport Red Metallic, loaded, SOLO Axlebacks, Rotofab Intake, Tuned, autodim mirror, removed intake manifold cover, HSV GTS triple gauge pod, two tone red-hot shifter and HSV SuperSport steering wheel, GXP rear sway bar and diffuser, 3.45 diff and various Camaro suspension bits, LED Taillights

Thanks for the response & guess I'll find out Monday when car goes back to the shop ...

_________________
Cody (Old Army Nickname)
First car: 1949 Ford Police Coupe
Daily driver: Fully loaded (stock) 2004 Bonneville SLE - 116K miles
Toys: 2002 Thunderbird Convertible w/Hardtop - 36K miles; 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - 45K miles
Recently Sold: 1966 Thunderbird Convertible; 1966 Bonneville SSE; 1989 Chevy G20 Camper Van

Welcome!

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but a $50 shift kit would have cured your harsh shifting issues.

My car has cradle bushings that are toast and they creak a lot when going over uneven surfaces.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

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Too late now, but I got a 2 year, 24K mile warranty and a new mount. Also, tomorrow they are installing new cradle bushings ...
She shifte beautifully now and hopefully the creaking and clicking will be gone tomorrow ...

_________________
Cody (Old Army Nickname)
First car: 1949 Ford Police Coupe
Daily driver: Fully loaded (stock) 2004 Bonneville SLE - 116K miles
Toys: 2002 Thunderbird Convertible w/Hardtop - 36K miles; 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - 45K miles
Recently Sold: 1966 Thunderbird Convertible; 1966 Bonneville SSE; 1989 Chevy G20 Camper Van

Let me know how the cradle install goes and how the car feels afterwards! Got 180k on my original bushings and likely will finally swap them out this Thursday.

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Ok, so I took the car back to the tranny shop this morning and they confirmed that the Tranny overhaul included a complete front to back rebuild.

Later I got a call that 4 of the 6 sub-frame bushings have to be replaced and that they were ordered and should be installed tomorrow. The total additional cost was estimated at around $350 (including parts and labor) ... Ouch!

_________________
Cody (Old Army Nickname)
First car: 1949 Ford Police Coupe
Daily driver: Fully loaded (stock) 2004 Bonneville SLE - 116K miles
Toys: 2002 Thunderbird Convertible w/Hardtop - 36K miles; 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - 45K miles
Recently Sold: 1966 Thunderbird Convertible; 1966 Bonneville SSE; 1989 Chevy G20 Camper Van

I would replace all 6. $350 for that job doesn't sound too bad. Got quoted over $600 at a few local shops!

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Well, we ended up replacing two cradle bushings and the creaking is gone ... Now i will get an alignment and hopefully I'm done ...

_________________
Cody (Old Army Nickname)
First car: 1949 Ford Police Coupe
Daily driver: Fully loaded (stock) 2004 Bonneville SLE - 116K miles
Toys: 2002 Thunderbird Convertible w/Hardtop - 36K miles; 1994 Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon - 45K miles
Recently Sold: 1966 Thunderbird Convertible; 1966 Bonneville SSE; 1989 Chevy G20 Camper Van