Boulderguy Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Wheel could be falling off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted December 14, 2007 Author Share Posted December 14, 2007 I had trouble torque-ing the spring seats with those little wrenches and they came loose several times, but more a problem with the front height adjustment for me. Ended up using large channel locks, much better results. I know that sound can also come from the top nut on the top hat, the one that attaches the tophat to the strut. If that sucker's loose it'll rattle that way when it's extended. Th wrenches work ok. I just put one on the lock ring and the whack the end of the wrench with a big hammer. 95% of the time clunking is the lock rings being loose or the top nut being loose. It is very rare that the top nuts loosen on the rear though. Check the lock rings first, it's easy to check and tighten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 OK thanks for the ideas - am going to throw it up on lift at the installers this week to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbigunit Posted December 15, 2007 Share Posted December 15, 2007 ^^+1, i use the supplied wrenches and then use a rubber head mallet or a dead blow hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Went to shop today & everything checked out OK - no loose bolts/lock rings etc. Tech is a pretty savvy guy who used to wrench on pro teams, formula Fords & stuff. He's at a loss, as am I. Are the MR units and coilovers in general a bit "loose" sounding in cold weather? I get the noise even at very low speeds on uneven or washboardy pavement, only in the rear - front is solid. At least I confirmed nothing is self destructing back there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 My MRs have not moved since the install. All is quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urfsin Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 After a track day at Buttonwillow, an Auto-X and a Rally-X, mine are still good. No problems. Slide It Sideways Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 Running stock tires, but the trunk is filled with some other "junk" (photo).. I have confirmed by riding in the back while wife drove (she LOVED that) that it is not the amp/box in rear because it is solidly in place there and the noise comes from the shock towers, not the trunk floor. It's so obvious that I hear it in my driveway while barely moving. It really sounds like the top nuts are loose. I'm going to take it in to re-recheck things next week after cleaning all the salt/slush/ winter schmuckus from under the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 You can check the top nut yourself by pulling the bottom of the side panel up and look or feel the top of the nut. It takes a couple minutes to confirm. Or jack it up, pull the tire and shake/tap on the strut to see if it is moving....or have your wife drive you around the driveway while you sit in the back with your head against the floor or panel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 We re-checked the coilovers are tight & everything looks solid on the lift. I Did discover that if I rock the car front to back in the garage I can duplicate the clunking/clank. I crawled under the car as best I could while someone else rocked it but could not feel the clunk while grabbing various suspension components & certainly there was no play in the coilovers. I could definitely hear it though. Boostjunkie suggested that I check the subframe, which I can't see really well lying under the car - I'm not that skinny. Noise sounds like it's coming from the whole rear end rather than the left or right. Its to the point where I don't even want to drive it, its really that bad. Anyone had any loosening or failures of rear suspension components? This truly sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forestir Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Did you check if the rear hatch is causing the noise? There have been reports of this (along with various "fixes" by adding rubber molding). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdkobe Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 Also check your tolarences on your rear swaybar to your exhaust... Raising/lowering car will change how close your sway comes clanging on the pipes coming into the muffler... when you go over bumps, the rubber hangers allow the exhaust to move back and fourth and produce a nice clang heard through-out the backend if there is less then 1 cm of clearence with it just sitting in the garage - I know this from experience jdkobe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 OK - here is the latest chapter in the sad saga... I just finished driving my mechanic around town - with him in the way back with a stethoscope (of course it's freaking 58 degrees here today & the noise is nowhere near as bad - but besides the point). Anyhow, he does hear what he considers "normal coilover noise" coming from the rear units - he thinks just some inherent movement between the spring, the top hat & the little noise prevention shim. Things may be exacerbated by cold weather, salt sand etc. because things have been pretty darn quiet up until recently. BUT, he also says that there is a fair amount of noise coming from my tailgate (Forestir), which I had initially had my local dealer check out. All the dealer could manage to do was inform me that the gate could not possibly be loose, my AFTERMARKET amp was "bouncing around back there" and by the way did I know that I had a lowered AFTERMARKET suspension on my car??- well that was the end of all discussion between me and the "service" advisor, who essentially told me to talk to the hand & started shuffling papers around while I was still standing there trying to tell him about the Subaru tech bulletin on tailgate noise. "I never heard of that bulletin" was his reply. So I will order the tailgate parts and do the TSB myself. Hope that at least takes away part of the 3 piece percussion section that has taken up residence in the back of my car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 thanks for the update. there is a tailgate TSB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for the update. there is a tailgate TSB? http://www.thel7.com/TSB/12-98-07.pdf Says for 06 and newer, but I want to see if parts can retrofit my 05... I think I am running 1/2" preload + or - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for the link. I have similar or less preload. I did over preload the springs the first install and it was noticable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLStormin Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 thanks for the link. I have similar or less preload. I did over preload the springs the first install and it was noticable. Noticably quieter or noticably stiffer? The roads in these parts are so heaved up b/c of the frozen ground I want to keep it as "supple" as possible. The whole rattling thing is being aggravated because the pavement in my town is in shambles. Not like we don't pay enough taxes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 noticably firmer. I have the worst street around that they can still called paved and mine never makes a squeak. When installed my second set of coilovers I reread all the instructions and determined that the preload did not need to be very much. Hope you get yours sorted out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted January 10, 2008 Author Share Posted January 10, 2008 1/2" of preload is quite a bit and will make for a notably stiffer ride. Think of it this way, 8kg/mm is roughly 450lbs/in. Preloading a spring of that stiffness by 1/2" means that any bump will have to exert a force in excess of 225lbs to get the spring to move. That will increase the perceived harshness of the ride. Unless you have a specific purpose for running that much preload, I suggest keeping it somewhere between 1/8"-1/4". That is plenty to keep the springs seated and quiet without making the ride stiffer than it needs to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eVoMotion Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 I used an email from B.J. to set my preload the second time...worked like a charm! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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