Pop and Creak From Suspension

[ricerokets4life]

i just got H&R springs and bilstein sport shocks installed.

whenever im driving over a large bump, taking a hard turn, or going up my driveway, the rear right of the car seems to make this creaking and popping noise. does it have to do with the bushings, shocks, springs, or some other suspension component?

[KWiK]

I would start by checking that the shock bolts are tight

[ricerokets4life]

Originally posted by KWiK
I would start by checking that the shock bolts are tight

anyone in particular (i.e. top, bottom) or all of the bolts? would overtightening those bolts be another possible reason?

[C280 JR]

my car did the same thing...what they said, make sure the shock bolts are tight, otherwise they will have a loop and it will make noises

Elvir

[Tump43]

I had a similar noise after changing my springs. Sounded like metal on metal, slight clunking -- I thought wheel would fall off. A friend and I inspected the area and found all suspension bolts, so we thought, to be nice and tight. We secured some loose under carriage plastic (the wheel well covers) and did not solve the clunking problem.

Two weeks later an expert mechanic friend of mine found that the lower bolt conecting the shock to the driver's side, front control arm was either 1 mm too thin or had not been tightened enough, because this bolt had moved (wiggled) enough in the control arm bracket under load to elongate ("egg") the bracket holes. We are talking 1 to 1.5 mm! This slight deviation produced enough noise to worry me to death and ruin the ride.

The solution was to weld two sizeable washers drilled to the exact bolt size to each end of the bracket holes, reinsert the shock and the bolt, and tighten the nut properly. The worrisome sound disapeared and the ride evened out.

Finally, I could enjoy my evosport pulleys. Amazing things. Punch the gas at 60, 70 or 80 and you'll be slammed back in the seat and hit triple digit speeds so quick that the cars speeding at normal rates on the hightway will appear to be standing still.

Really check those shock bolts and check carefully under each nut. The mater mechanic saw slight evidence of rubbing under the nut securing the bolt to the lower control arm. I looked right at it and did not see it until he explained in detail what this slight discoloration (a little shinny crescent under the nut) meant.

Good Luck!

[ricerokets4life]

ok cool thanks! i'll take a look as soon as the weather clears up here...

is it me or does the car feel faster when its lowered lol?

[Superpnoy]

Originally posted by ricerokets4life
ok cool thanks! i'll take a look as soon as the weather clears up here...

is it me or does the car feel faster when its lowered lol?

i think its just you...lol im messin:D ...it might have to do with gravity since your car is lower to the floor...and the oem springs are more heavy and quite bigger than the H&R springs if you take a look at em

[ricerokets4life]

ok i jacked up the car to take a look, everything looked OK while i was under the car but the funny thing was, the noise only happened while the car was being jacked up (load taken off that spring) and not while it was lowered back down. this makes me think it has something to do with the spring.

[KWiK]

Originally posted by ricerokets4life
ok i jacked up the car to take a look, everything looked OK while i was under the car but the funny thing was, the noise only happened while the car was being jacked up (load taken off that spring) and not while it was lowered back down. this makes me think it has something to do with the spring.
it's possible the spring isn't seated properly, but more likely it's the lower shock bolt

[MBATF]

Originally posted by KWiK
it's possible the spring isn't seated properly, but more likely it's the lower shock bolt Yeap that happened to my car once, and you just ahve to double check to make sure the spring is sitting correctly in the bed of LCA

[ricerokets4life]

can i still drive it around? its not gonna pop out right?

[J Irwan]

this is going too sound funny...
but have you check if they didn't forget to put the spring pad back..


without the spring pad, the spring and the spring perch (car metal body) will be in contact and will likely to make some noises..


Keep in mind in the front the spring pad has a black plastic spacer that goes in the center of the pad.

Make sure your car has the pad not just that black-plastic part ;)



Regardz,

[ricerokets4life]

Originally posted by J Irwan
this is going too sound funny...
but have you check if they didn't forget to put the spring pad back..


without the spring pad, the spring and the spring perch (car metal body) will be in contact and will likely to make some noises..


Keep in mind in the front the spring pad has a black plastic spacer that goes in the center of the pad.

Make sure your car has the pad not just that black-plastic part ;)



Regardz,

aight cool thanks ill take a look at that as soon as i can.

also, the front makes a clunking noise now (lol all these problems...) i dunno if its the rebound effect of the bilstein shock but it - or something down there- creaks when bouncing back from a bump in the road.

-edit- that noise was caused by the rubber bushing by the anti-sway bar mount which slipped out of the mount clamp.. so whenever the car went over a bump, the shock acted on the anti-sway bar and all you can hear is that clunk. but now the thing is back into its home