Nochance Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 For the past week I've been hearing a clunking, metal-on-metal noise when I go over rough roads. It's coming from the front left tire area. I took my car to a family friend who owns a Subaru dealership and was presented with 2 scenarios. One was noticeable when they got the car on the lift. My Super Pro LCA bushings are torn, and need to be replaced obviously. I'm not sure how many miles I logged since the install, but its been roughly 1.5 years. The other THOUGHT was a cracked strut (I've got Bilstein HD's). But that hit the back burner once they saw the quality of the bushings. He said the car is still drivable but I should get it fixed ASAP. So now I need new bushings... Do I go with Super Pro again, or try AVO/WL? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darkness of Death Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 whiteline antilift kit. i got a new set of superpro..but i am thinking of going with the whiteline ALK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 More details. I doubt the bushing itself is torn, more likely the two little PU spacers. They can be replaced with some piece of PU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nochance Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 The problem just started happening last week. Before I had my Bilsteins installed, I had cracked a factory strut. I can't really remember the "symptoms" off the top of my head. But what I do know is that they're different, it's the first time I heard a noise like this. Kinda sounds like a rusty springy type noise over bumps, like the wheel is going to fall off. I don't have a lift, but I cut the wheel and was able to peak under with a mirror. Most of the blue PU on the drivers side is missing. I just ordered a set of AVOs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atc5 Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 how do you use the car? how did the strut crack? and why the hell are we talking about the whiteline kit when they don't offer this bushing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsleeper Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 More details. I doubt the bushing itself is torn, more likely the two little PU spacers. They can be replaced with some piece of PU. +1.. I was under the car today and noticed that my upper drivers side urethane spacer (from the AVO bushings) was gone:eek: and the passenger side lower spacer was torn. I was going to post today to see if it was a common issue but apparently I'm not the only one. gonna have to fix it this week before I hit Monticello on Friday:spin: ATC5 - they were referring to the Whiteline anti-lift kit, which is the LCA bushing - not the roll center/bump steer kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nochance Posted July 27, 2009 Author Share Posted July 27, 2009 I drive the car normally. How could it have cracked? Probably from rough roads and lots of construction patches in Providence; if you're ever down this way you'll know it's a mess. On the way to work it didn't hear much but I went a different way and roads were smooth. To be honest I don't remember any big bangs... I'd think that the Bilsteins would be able to take more than stock. But like I said, no big bangs or potholes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsleeper Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 Do you ever jack the car up one side at a time? I noticed this puts a great amount of strain on the urethane spacers as they end up getting twisted from the angle/load. I normally jack from the front/back but I'm pretty sure mine cracked from the couple times I had to go left/right. I can't imagine road forces would be enough to pull them apart unless you hit a real deep pothole or somehow got the LCAs into an extreme angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ifbiker Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 You may also want to consider a rubber Group N bushing as a replacement. Rallispec can get them. They are made using the factory molds, fit nicely, improve handling and won't squeak. There is a more detailed post on the subject a few pages back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onesillyracer Posted August 2, 2009 Share Posted August 2, 2009 Another decent option are the lca's from AVO. I just installed them yesterday after absolutely destroying my stock ones after 75k miles of being lowered. Fits great ,turn in response is much improved over stock, and the price wont break the piggybank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OhBe1 Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 Do you ever jack the car up one side at a time? I noticed this puts a great amount of strain on the urethane spacers as they end up getting twisted from the angle/load. I normally jack from the front/back but I'm pretty sure mine cracked from the couple times I had to go left/right. I can't imagine road forces would be enough to pull them apart unless you hit a real deep pothole or somehow got the LCAs into an extreme angle. I would think normal assertive driving would provide about the same load as lifting a side. 20degrees would be about 0.34g ... 06LOB2.5i MT, JDMRSB, GYTTs, HPS, LGT Mufflers & Leather Wheel, SubiMomo Knob, Inalfa Moonroof, Clutch Switch Bypass, DeDRLd, DeChimed, & Straight Headrest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow05gtRI Posted August 3, 2009 Share Posted August 3, 2009 i'm going to say front driver's side end link. mine went recently. is it a "clunking" sound? get under the car and pull on the swaybar near the end link. REALLY push/pull on it, up and down, and you should be able to recreate the clunk if that is your issue. i was getting a clunking sound from the same spot because the end link had some play in it so it would move up, stop+clunk, move down, stop+clunk, when going over uneven surfaces. the movement in the link was not even really visible when pushing/pulling on the swaybar, but definitely audible. i put a set of kartboy's on the car a couple weeks ago and the sound is gone, not to mention the car feels tighter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsleeper Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I would think normal assertive driving would provide about the same load as lifting a side. 20degrees would be about 0.34g ... The stress is caused by the angle of the grounded LCA fulcrum and results in the spacers becoming folded in between the bushing & frame from the load placed onto that angle. If you have urethane bushings jack up one side and take a look at the spacers on the grounded side. I can pretty much guarantee your bushings are not doing that under assertive driving - unless of course you regularly get the car on two wheels around corners:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I still would like Mr. Nochance to confirm it was the bushing itself that fell apart or just the spacer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I've seen one torn avo bushing, and it was the bushing itself that was destroyed. AVO and superpro are the same thing btw. However, the reason the bushing failed was inproper installation. The offset was rearward facing which created additional load on the bushing and provided no caster gain. This, of course, doesn't mean all failures were due to installation; just the one that I personally replaced. Either way I'd recommend the whiteline kit. The motorsport version has a spherical bearing which is offset and surrounded in urethane. The non-motorsport version is all urethane and I have seen them fail as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamal Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I've seen one torn avo bushing, and it was the bushing itself that was destroyed. AVO and superpro are the same thing btw. However, the reason the bushing failed was inproper installation. The offset was rearward facing which created additional load on the bushing and provided no caster gain. This, of course, doesn't mean all failures were due to installation; just the one that I personally replaced. Either way I'd recommend the whiteline kit. The motorsport version has a spherical bearing which is offset and surrounded in urethane. The non-motorsport version is all urethane and I have seen them fail as well. The stress is caused by the angle of the grounded LCA fulcrum and results in the spacers becoming folded in between the bushing & frame from the load placed onto that angle. If you have urethane bushings jack up one side and take a look at the spacers on the grounded side. I can pretty much guarantee your bushings are not doing that under assertive driving - unless of course you regularly get the car on two wheels around corners:) driving down the street put significantly more load on the bushing than just jacking up one side of the car, and hard cornering puts the control arm at a much sharper angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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