front suspension creaking noise Options

[lagos]

I just replaced my struts and springs on the car.
Everything went well, but now a few weeks after driving the car, the front left is making a creaking/popping noise when turning the wheel.

Any idea why it would be doing that?
Did I align the top strut mount in the wrong position, or could it be cause by the top nut coming loose ?

[jordisonjr]

Yea there's an arrow on the mount, that I believe is supposed to be pointing towards the outside of the car.
If it's not allign properly it will create a popping sound.
I'm not sure where it is but this has come up a few times in other threads, and Azian_Advanced has posted a diagram of what has gone wrong.

If you do a quick search I'm sure you could find it, or maybe he will chime in here and post it up for you.
But that's most likely your problem, I had the same issue when I did mine.

[lagos]

The odd thing is, I labeled mine with tape before taking it off and it didn't initially make any noises for a few weeks after the install. But maybe I made a mistake on that strut somehow.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 4, 2012 - 10:31 AM

[jordisonjr]

Hmm thats odd.
I can't remember if mine was right away or not.
Maybe tighten the top nut with the car sitting on the ground first to make sure you didn't miss something.

But I'm pretty sure its that mount thats not alligned properly.
Maybe before you rip the whole thing apart again, wait till someone can confirm this as well.

[xxgetbackupxx]

This happened to me look for my thread, for me it was the arrows as pointed out and the fact is I had no bump stops.is your car lower now?

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...mp;#entry958483
Here ya go

[marinos]

Yes I had the same issue on the left side I had placed the upper spring holder wrong as the xxgetbackupxx said and it was really noticeable when I was turning my steering at one side and even more when the car was entering my garage which has a small pavement. The creaking was louder when the one wheel was on the pavement, the 3 others on the road and I was turning my steering wheel at this point when I was trying to enter my garage.

You can find is this is your problem if you lift your car turn the steering until you hear this and check if the upper plate is scratching the plastics under the front fender.

[xxgetbackupxx]

Yea my spring was what was rubbing against itself, I have pix but don't know how to upload it lol

[lagos]

Yea my spring was what was rubbing against itself, I have pix but don't know how to upload it lol

Upload them to a photobucket.com account and post the links with the IMG tags in the thread.

This happened to me look for my thread, for me it was the arrows as pointed out and the fact is I had no bump stops.is your car lower now?

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...mp;#entry958483
Here ya go

My car is lowered on TRD springs and the bump stops are in place.
When you fixed your upper strut mount, did you just simply rotate it or did you have to remove the whole mount and reseat it? I don't want to have to rent a spring compressor again just for this quick fix.

[xxgetbackupxx]

Acutally I never used sporting compressor. I took the tie off obviously car is on jack stands. Jack up the car under your rotor all the way up so spring is really compressed, unbolt the top nut and SLOWLY again SLOWLY let the car back down on the stands and the spring is decompressed. I took out the can bolts first then took the top 3 nuts out to release the whole assembly. you have to take the top off to rotate it I believe. Make sure your bearing is on the right side I know I installed mine upside down the first time on the first one I did.not sure if it makes much of a difference.

This post has been edited by xxgetbackupxx: Jun 4, 2012 - 8:32 PM

[xxgetbackupxx]

So I try uploading photo and it dynamic pages in img not allowed?

[lagos]

So I try uploading photo and it dynamic pages in img not allowed?

copy and paste the links in the section called IMG. It might say IMG for message boards (full size) or something like that.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 4, 2012 - 9:52 PM

[jordisonjr]

I don't think you need a compressor for lowering springs.
There was next to no force on my s techs when I had to do it.

[Xander_X]

also check your ball joints and CV joints. If you just replaced both struts and put lowering spring on, that's a lot of new pressure on your old worn out joints. jack each side up, jam a decently large pry-bar up in there and try moving the ball joint area. If it's loose or you hear a knocking (no more rubber, just metal to metal) you might have found your problem ... either way you need ball joints if this happens. The CV joints are a usually a little more obvious ... see if you have ripped boots or leaking grease, move them around with your hand and see if they're loose or making noise.

This post has been edited by Xander_X: Jun 7, 2012 - 8:40 AM

[lagos]

So I took the strut out, and here is what I found.


So thats obviously the issue. Now the odd thing was that the metal mount was pointing in the correct direction.
After thinking about it and further inspection I noticed that the very top portion of the mount (with the studs) was kind of on there crooked due to it not being lined up with the two notches that hold the upper mount inline with the strut rod. So I took everything apart and lined it up again and zipped it down really well with an impact gun.

So far the problem appears to be gone, but I have yet to take the car out for a full test drive.
And yeah, there was no need for a spring compressor. At least not for the fronts as they were easy enough to push down by hand.

[xxgetbackupxx]

Nice man, glad u fixed it. Still can't post an img lol

[lagos]

Nice man, glad u fixed it. Still can't post an img lol

did yours rub in the same spot?

[xxgetbackupxx]

Nice man, glad u fixed it. Still can't post an img lol

did yours rub in the same spot?

no it was rubbing on the actual spring

[lagos]

Oh! I actually noticed that on mine as well but didn't take a picture of it.
I guess the top part gets stuck from not having enough space in the strut tower to move freely (hence why mine looks damaged) and then doesn't let the strut turn freely so the bottom part of the springs start to rub.

Good job on the pic posting!!!

[lagos]

Actually here is another pic. You can see everything was lined up but there was still rubbing at the bottom of the springs.

[xxgetbackupxx]

looks like mine, make sure if these are lowering springs to cut some of the bump stop off so you will have more room between your springs so its not compressed

[trdproven]

i guess i read on late.

I guarantee, its dealing with your top mount and the alignment between your springs to it. thats exactly the symptoms of an incorrect assembling or a top mount that was installed wrong and got damaged or an already bad mount. I went through that through two lowering springs brands, before i went coilovers. its a easy fix, disassemble the suspected side. take of the top mount, look at it from the underside, make sure you match the groove on the strut stem to that when you align it between the grooves and the position of where the spring needs to sit. if you do that, its fixed. also make sure you point the top mount in the correct direction from the top side. i know some mounts dont have these markings.

if the mount groove is already damaged, you have to replace it. if you keep on turning with it, it would eventually wear out and round itself out, which i guess won't make it have a sound anymore, but thats not the correct way to handle that situation. just inspect the bottom of the groove, if its semi-damaged, thats your pop sound wearing out the groove, and then the creaking is the misalignment making your springs twist or parts of the assembly components are twisting, and im sure this happens only on turns and not anything else. im guessing when you turn the steering wheel a certain way, you already expect it and perhaps you do not hear it at all if any when you only turn slightly. its hard in this case to sound technical or correct but really, just install the spring correctly to the top mount and it will be fixed. sit the spring correctly top and bottom.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 10, 2012 - 9:01 AM

[jordisonjr]

I couldn't find the words to describe this lol.
Good job TRDproven.

[lagos]

So after like 10 days, the creeking noise decides to return! WTF!
Is this a sign of a strut mount that needs to be replaced?

[trdproven]

IDK if strut mount has creaking, it more has like the pop sound or thump sound. creaking sound to me is from a loose bolt thats on a bushing type.

[lagos]

IDK if strut mount has creaking, it more has like the pop sound or thump sound. creaking sound to me is from a loose bolt thats on a bushing type.

It actually is more of a POP kind of sound.
Its just odd that everything is back in place correctly... the problem goes away, and then comes back after about a week.

Also if I go over a bump in the road, I hear a loud clunk and it almost feels like the suspension on that side is not doing its job.

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 20, 2012 - 4:15 PM

[jordisonjr]

Hmm this is odd.
Sounds like your describing the sound that TRDproven talked about on the first post of this page.
Maybe it is something non strut related and is just a coincedence that it started happening after lowering?

[lagos]

Hmm this is odd.
Sounds like your describing the sound that TRDproven talked about on the first post of this page.
Maybe it is something non strut related and is just a coincedence that it started happening after lowering?

The popping noise is very much strut related. You can hear it coming exactly from the left side upper strut area when just tuning the wheel.
The loud clunk on the other hand might not be from the mount as it seems like its almost coming from the center of the car. But as they say, fix whats broken and then see whats left.

As I understanding it (correct me if Im wrong), the upper mount has rubber inside of it that is supposed to dampen any impact that your strut didn't take care of. If that center rubber section is damaged, I'm guessing it could stop the strut from freely turning causing the springs to rub and make that noise.

[lagos]

BTW Amazon has a killer deal on the front KYB strut mounts. 22$ each! Tirerack sells the same thing for close to 40$ (plus 10 for shipping!) and OEM ones are in the 80 range w/ discount.
So for twenty bucks, its worth a try.

Anyone know if the KYB ones come with a new bearing?

This post has been edited by lagos: Jun 20, 2012 - 5:10 PM

[lagos]

I found a really good video on KYB's site that describes the function of the strut mount. It's starting to make sense that this is the real cause of the repeated issue with this.

http://www.kyb.com/videos/index.php

[trdproven]

I'm pretty sure its how the strut was assembled back and how good the parts are still whether it already got damaged. do you get binding?

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 21, 2012 - 4:00 AM

[lagos]

I'm pretty sure its how the strut was assembled back and how good the parts are still whether it already got damaged. do you get binding?

You mean when the steering wheel gets stuck in a certain position? Yes, I can feel something like that going on. And last time I disassembled and fixed everything I noticed that the steering feel was TONS more smoother and better. Then as soon as the problem came back, the binding returned as well.

[trdproven]

how do the grooves on the underside of the mount look? these are new mounts yea?

[lagos]

I'm reusing my old mounts. Those notches under the mount looked like they were a bit beat up, but they were still able to lock in place when I torqued them down.

[jordisonjr]

What about the notches on that bottom of the strut itself where the spring seats into the strut? Did you line that up properly?

[lagos]

What about the notches on that bottom of the strut itself where the spring seats into the strut? Did you line that up properly?

Yup.

[Followtheornghat]

I just replaced all of mine with new KYB products. It could be that your upper mounts even though they looked good are actually wearing out and thats the creaking that you are hearing. have you un hooked the bottom of your strut (the 2 bolts) and tried to move it back and forth/ rotate it to see if the top mount is making the sound?

[lagos]

I just replaced all of mine with new KYB products. It could be that your upper mounts even though they looked good are actually wearing out and thats the creaking that you are hearing. have you un hooked the bottom of your strut (the 2 bolts) and tried to move it back and forth/ rotate it to see if the top mount is making the sound?

I didn't try that yet, but I have a new mount on order.

[marinos]

Are the mounts comes with bearings?
If not IMO you should replace those too, just in case since you gonna disassemble everything there.

[lagos]

Are the mounts comes with bearings?
If not IMO you should replace those too, just in case since you gonna disassemble everything there.

Yeah I think they do come with new ones.

[lagos]

Looks like I found the problem. Took everything part to find this...
I replaced the bearing and the mount and all seems to be well again.

[trdproven]

its either the top mount or bearing of it or the shock bump stops are gone.

[lagos]

its either the top mount or bearing of it or the shock bump stops are gone.

Did you see the pic I posted ?
The bearing was bad and fell apart into pieces.
I replaced it with an oem bearing and a new kyb strut mount.

[trdproven]

yea i saw it, i was mentioning what could have been wrong, those balls come out into pieces especially when you remove the mount. its good to always buy new ones.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 29, 2012 - 1:52 AM

[jordisonjr]

Damn so problem solved?
Howcome it only fell apart this time and not when you lowered it?

[trdproven]

maybe he reused the old bearing. IDK, old bearings get busted, then the balls fall out.

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jun 29, 2012 - 1:53 AM

[lagos]

Damn so problem solved?
Howcome it only fell apart this time and not when you lowered it?

Yeah, the problem is solved. Seems the bearing was damaged inside and eventually busted open.