turboman38 Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 About a month ago I put on new KYB stock struts with Epic Engineering springs (05 LGT). My front suspension now makes all kinds of noise. Here are my observations. If I turn the wheel all the way to the right while the car is idling in the driveway it becomes difficult to turn after 3/4 of a turn and makes the squealing noise, Now this probably is the power steering pump (hopefully not the rack) since the fluid is full. Now here is the weird thing. After turning the wheel all the way to the right I took the car for a ride on the highway. It pulls hard to the right. Same thing happens if I turn the wheel all the way to the left at idle...it will pull hard left. Now in either case if I pull over to the side of the highway and turn the wheel (while car is not moving but at idle) 3/4 of a turn opposite of the way the car is pulling the car will go straight down the highway. What is causing this? One other thing I noticed. I had the car on the rack at a repair shop to try and determine where the noise is coming from. What I found was when the steering wheel is turned the spring is turning inside the strut to a certain point, then binds up and "releases" making a load bang. I followed the instructions on a post here for putting the strut and springs together. I also put new OEM tophats on. Did I do something wrong? The car handles better with these springs but the noise is driving me nuts. No noises when the car is at speed. It has 124,000 miles on it and I am ready to trade it in because of these issues. Anybody have any ideas on what is wrong? Any help is appreciated. Have a great day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soloz2 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Sounds like the springs aren't installed correctly, but I personally haven't installed suspension before (just reading up before I attempt this install myself) On a side note... How do you like the handling? Do you find the KYB struts to be underdampened? Current: 16 Crosstrek Premium w/ Eyesight & 05 Outback XT 5MT Past Subies: 14 FXT Premium, 14 WRX hatch, 06 Legacy 2.5i SE 5MT, 98 Outback wagon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboman38 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 Handling is much better than stock and retains a good ride quality. The springs are progressive rate springs so bump and dips in the road don't make the ride harsh. However, when you get into a turn hard there is less body roll. Turn in is better and it seems that I can get on the gas a little earlier coming out of the turn. I have not had the car on the track since the spring install but the car seems to handle much better over all. When you say springs are installed wrong what do you mean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Did you re-install the conical washers that go between the strut top and the upper perch? I'll bet dollars to donuts they are either flipped or not re-installed after the spring install. Disassemble them and make sure they are there and you should be good to go. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 28, 2011 Share Posted June 28, 2011 Springs upside down? Upper spring perches backwards (rotated 180 degrees)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboman38 Posted June 28, 2011 Author Share Posted June 28, 2011 I didn't know the spring perches could be rotated 180 degrees. Could you tell me how I can tell if the are rotated? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 29, 2011 Share Posted June 29, 2011 There's a strut/spring install walkthrough thread here: http://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/koni-shock-strut-epic-engineering-spring-install-145744.html The second post talks about the upper spring perch orientation. Here's the picture: http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/6233/springseat.jpg If you go look up under your front fender (perhaps with a flashlight), you should be able to see the two holes on the outboard side of the strut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turboman38 Posted June 29, 2011 Author Share Posted June 29, 2011 I read that entire post and admit that I overlooked the positioning of the strut...probably because it didn't make sense to me. Why does the position of the strut assembly make a difference? What part are the two holes in the diagram from ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 The spring fits better one way than the other. The holes are in the upper spring seat, "G" in the photo above the diagram in the Walk-through post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCwagon Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 Did you re-install the conical washers that go between the strut top and the upper perch? I'll bet dollars to donuts they are either flipped or not re-installed after the spring install. Disassemble them and make sure they are there and you should be good to go. -mike You should check these washers. They can EASILY be re-installed upside down or even forgotten when re-assembling the struts. That would explain the difficulty in steering after a certain point. (the washers allows the the strut to move - i.e. "turn") If they are not installed correctly/or not at all, it would allow the force of the compressed assembly to smash the top hat into the strut making it difficult to turn after a certain point. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/lgt/IMG_0389a.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimsleeper Posted June 30, 2011 Share Posted June 30, 2011 I read that entire post and admit that I overlooked the positioning of the strut...probably because it didn't make sense to me. Why does the position of the strut assembly make a difference? What part are the two holes in the diagram from ? Having the top drain holes face outward ensures that the cupped area on the bottom of the perch seats correctly on top of the spring to keep it in place. It also puts the drain holes on a downward angle so they are able to work as designed. Take the struts apart and reassemble them. Also as previous posts mentioned make sure the conical washer is positioned properly, above the perch with the small tapered end facing up. When the washer is flipped it's unable to make proper contact with the bearing. The strut won't return to position without having to correct for it in the steering - also known as memory steer. If your car is getting 'stuck' in a direction after turning, the washer is either flipped, not there or in the wrong position. If you've really been driving like that for a month there's a good chance the strut bearings are shot. I'm going to guess that you'll need new strut mounts in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZP Installs Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 You should check these washers. They can EASILY be re-installed upside down or even forgotten when re-assembling the struts. That would explain the difficulty in steering after a certain point. (the washers allows the the strut to move - i.e. "turn") If they are not installed correctly/or not at all, it would allow the force of the compressed assembly to smash the top hat into the strut making it difficult to turn after a certain point. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y156/Cypher0117/lgt/IMG_0389a.jpg Great picture! We've fixed this issue on countless customer cars after they attempted a self install. -mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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