Creaking/Popping during turns

[liljonson]

i have the same noise and its coming from the front diff. i'm just going to ride it out till it completely blows and do a 6sp swap

[PhilT]

i have the same noise and its coming from the front diff. i'm just going to ride it out till it completely blows and do a 6sp swap

 

I went the same route, except I wussed out thinking it might fail in the middle of nowhere

[Boulderguy]

The bearing surfaces in the USDM tophat are different than the JDM. You need the washer because the plate that sits directly on top of the spring rotates with the steering but the tophat doesn't. Since the top of the spring plate is about 2" across, it needs something to focus the force onto the small rotational part of the USDM tophat (the small silver ring in center of 1st pic). Without it the spring plate is grinding on the outer part of the tophat bearing (which doesn't spin).

 

I don't know if the washer is needed with the JDM setup but it doesn't look like it.

 

USDM -

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4637.jpg

 

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4636.jpg

 

 

JDM -

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4638.jpg

 

 

Sometimes the washer gets put in upside-down, like "V" rather than "^" - that'll eventually round out the washer as it grinds against the pieces. The friction when the steering is turned sharply will eventually get the spring-popping noise.

[GTLEGACY007]

i have the same noise and its coming from the front diff. i'm just going to ride it out till it completely blows and do a 6sp swap

 

To those with the noise who had front diff. problems, did it make the pop when turning the wheels with the car at a complete stop? Seems like the front diff wouldn't make the noise if the car wasn't rolling. Mine does make the noise when the cars in motion, as well as when the car is hits a bump on the drivers side. I'm thinking more and more its the front drivers side spring perch... we shall see tomorrow for sure.

[GTLEGACY007]

The bearing surfaces in the USDM tophat are different than the JDM. You need the washer because the plate that sits directly on top of the spring rotates with the steering but the tophat doesn't. Since the top of the spring plate is about 2" across, it needs something to focus the force onto the small rotational part of the USDM tophat (the small silver ring in center of 1st pic). Without it the spring plate is grinding on the outer part of the tophat bearing (which doesn't spin).

 

I don't know if the washer is needed with the JDM setup but it doesn't look like it.

 

USDM -

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4637.jpg

 

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4636.jpg

 

 

JDM -

 

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f29/Boulderguy10/IMG_4638.jpg

 

 

Sometimes the washer gets put in upside-down, like "V" rather than "^" - that'll eventually round out the washer as it grinds against the pieces. The friction when the steering is turned sharply will eventually get the spring-popping noise.

 

So essentially what youre saying is that the Spec B (JDM) tophat has a larger bearing surface, the "shrinking" affect (taking the size of the spring perch from 2" down to a smaller size) isn't needed, and therefore, the washer isn't needed?

[katalyst]

from what i've read on the forums, it seems consistent to what other members have said with regards to leaving the washer out

 

could give it a shot and see if that solves your issue? if it's still there, you can just put them back in.

[GTLEGACY007]

thats the plan at this point. When I take it apart tomorrow i'll have a look at it. If it seems to make sense that the conical washer isn't needed, i'll leave it out and we'll see what happens.

[PhilT]

To those with the noise who had front diff. problems, did it make the pop when turning the wheels with the car at a complete stop? Seems like the front diff wouldn't make the noise if the car wasn't rolling. Mine does make the noise when the cars in motion, as well as when the car is hits a bump on the drivers side. I'm thinking more and more its the front drivers side spring perch... we shall see tomorrow for sure.

 

It is most notable during slow turns, hard lock to hard lock. At first i thought it was the front steering links, but after replacing them it didn't change. Then I pulled the suspension apart, again no difference. Finally I took it to Lachute, and they immediately diagnosed it as the front diff.

[Boulderguy]

I can't say whether the washer is needed with the JDM tophat or not, I don't know, but it doesn't look like it is. I can say that the spring-bind-pop noise will occur with the US tophat if you don't use the washer (correctly), it's a result of the spring plate binding against the bearing & suddenly popping free under enough rotational force when turning sharply.

 

Take 'em apart & report back. Does your tophat look like that one?

[GTLEGACY007]

Well, took them apart today and replaced the GT spring perch with the Spec B Perch. The two perches are definitely shaped differently:

 

http://i208.photobucket.com/albums/bb223/0honegt/Legacy/IMAG0158.jpg

 

After comparing the Spec B tophat to the Spec B spring perch, it did not seem necessary to install the conical washer there to my eyes. The spring perch top and top hat both have roughly 2" diameter surface areas, and the top of the conical washer is much smaller than that diameter, so it seems like it wouldn't really work.

 

Anyways, the result of this work was nothing. The noise is still there, so i'm probably going to take the car in to someone who knows what they're doing to look at the suspension/front diff. and see what's going on.

[AZP Installs]

It looks like the JDM/SpecB strut tops have the wider washer essentially built into the strut top. The bearings inside these strut tops are often a cause of noise as a hard pothole can destroy them. Always make sure they spin nice and freely with as little friction as possible.

 

-mike

[GTLEGACY007]

The bearings appeared to both spin freely with no problems. When the strut and spring assembly were all put together, the tophats would spin easily, with very little friction.

[AZP Installs]

Ok so you can rule them out as the issue then...

 

Could be the spring isn't seated properly or internal to the strut itself, I've seen that before.

 

-mike

[PhilT]

 

Anyways, the result of this work was nothing. The noise is still there, so i'm probably going to take the car in to someone who knows what they're doing to look at the suspension/front diff. and see what's going on.

 

Start saving for the 6 speed

[GTLEGACY007]

Start saving for the 6 speed

 

Well, may just have to. How much did it set you back?

[PhilT]

I did it the lazy way, took the car to Lachute and told them what I wanted, they sourced all the parts and did the work. In total it was $6,500.

 

In reading here though, it can be done much cheaper if you source the parts yourself, and can do some or all of the labour.

[GTLEGACY007]

I did it the lazy way, took the car to Lachute and told them what I wanted, they sourced all the parts and did the work. In total it was $6,500.

 

In reading here though, it can be done much cheaper if you source the parts yourself, and can do some or all of the labour.

 

 

Well a 6-spd swap would be great, but I really don't need a 6-spd, nor do I wish to spend several thousand dollars on a swap, when i'm perfectly content with 5-spd. What are the other options here? I assume swapping another 5-spd would be costly as well, maybe not as much but still expensive. Is rebuidiing the diff. an option?

[rowteree]

rebuilding the diff is an option, but then finding a specialist in those fields isnt easy or cheap. Purchasing a slightly used differential will probably save you a lot of money than getting a completely new transmission set up. There is possibilities of the differential going bad again if it is rebuilt so going with one slightly used or a discounted new one is always great

[rowteree]

my bilstein hd set up is currently running with gt perches. Ill go back and get my fronts re-installed with the spec b perches to see if that eliminates the problem. Update: i checked underneath the car and my driver side cv shaft has cv grease escaping the boot. The cv boot is not torn, but will it still need a rebuilt if it is leaking grease gradually over time? The passenger side one is clean with no signs of wear.

 

small amounts of grease is also protruding from the driver side steering rack boot, but tear cannot be found. Would that need to be rebuilt as well?

[PhilT]

Well a 6-spd swap would be great, but I really don't need a 6-spd, nor do I wish to spend several thousand dollars on a swap, when i'm perfectly content with 5-spd. What are the other options here? I assume swapping another 5-spd would be costly as well, maybe not as much but still expensive. Is rebuidiing the diff. an option?

 

The difference in cost between either rebuilding or replacing the existing 5MT versus the 6MT is pretty small. You also have to consider the fact that the diff wasn't up to the task first time around, so how long will a rebuilt one last ?

 

Better to have the security of the much stronger 6MT

[naimouasta]

dam the diff guys? seriously? i'm have the same issue, clunk on the driverside and doing slow to semi slow turns with bump. it sounds like loose endlink or something but i double checked all that. today before trip, i checked for play in the sway bar, endlinks, balljoint, spring, etc. no play. i have koni's so i also checked the lower bolt and it was tight. i need to check the LCA bushing still. i'm at 66k miles so i'm sure they are beat to hell.

 

this all start clunking one day in raining/wet walmart parking lot when i had to do a quick stop because some idiot pulled out quick in front of me. abs kicked in and i was surprised, so i did like 5 more quick stops for the hell of it; then it just start clunking from then on.

[toreadorranger]

Add me to the list of this being a problem.

 

How much side to side movement is acceptable on the CV shafts?

[GTLEGACY007]

To those others with this problem... what is your suspension setup? Maybe there's a similarity between all of us.

[toreadorranger]

Koni's,

Rallitek Coils,

Rallitek Front sway,

MSI endlinks,

SPT front subframe brace,

Whiteline steering bushings.

[naimouasta]

koni's and rallitek springs.