"sounds like a thunk...a clunk...no its a popping"

[WJN333]

After running the TRD RSB and tokicos with stock springs for 6 months with no problems last month I installed a set of H-techs, you may have seen the posting. (I know "first mistake", aint broke...) Love the drop, but now when i pull in and out of parking spots, or slow speed manuvering, I hear/feel very light thunking from the front. Not every time, but enought to cause concern. I searched and found some having had similar problems with lowering and the TRD RSB in the rear. I know this sound is not from any part of the car making contact with parking stones, curbes..... I really dont want to go back to stock springs, but this has got to stop. Im afraid of what damage i might be doing.

Thank You

[StockSolara]

Maybe the struts on tight enough or the spring wasn't put on the struts right

[hskrsolara]

or the strut mounts, i need to replace mine too.

[SleeperSolara]

Could be that the struts and the springs aren't tighten enough?????

[WJN333]

I dono the mechanic and I were very meticulous when we put these on. The strut mounts looked ok. The spring aligned with the struts fine, but the top of the spring didnt align with the rubber indentation from the stock springs, so we rotated the spring upper seat and the susension support until they did, making sure at the same time they looked stock. Originally i thought the car was just settling, but its been amost a month now. Anyway this could be screwing up the steering, cause that is primarily when I hear the noises?

[cdeez]

i hope you get an answer cause thats exactly what im going through right now. i don't know how many shops i have been to, but they all tell me its nothing, and they can never duplicate it, but i duplicate it all the time. btw, is it the driver side? cause thats where my noise is coming from. it only occurs when i go slowly over dips or up drive ways.

[DatSRBoi]

Hmmm is this only with tokico, H tech teins, and RSB setup only?

[hskrsolara]

i hope you get an answer cause thats exactly what im going through right now. i don't know how many shops i have been to, but they all tell me its nothing, and they can never duplicate it, but i duplicate it all the time. btw, is it the driver side? cause thats where my noise is coming from. it only occurs when i go slowly over dips or up drive ways.

same here!

[WTF??]

Ive had this before.... youre going to have to pull out your struts and check out the strut mounts for any cracks.... also you will have to check the bearings


Ive had two cases:
Case#1: I heard the thunking noise everytime i pulled in and out of my driveway slanted cuz im lowered... its only heard when you move less than 5mph WHILE turning the wheel... turns out after a yr of my installation of struts n springs, we popped out the dish with the bearings and the bearings werent lined up properly... in fact some were on top of each other... hence the thunking/popping noise as they try to move while you turn the wheel

Case#2... same noise after another couple months... turns out my upper strut mount cracked... replaced it around $100

Im currently running tokicos and eibach springs... i highly doubt it has anything to do with the quality of these parts... its all in how you drive up and down the driveways/inclines.... as with most lowered cars, we drive up inclines or driveways slanted so we dont scrape... while doing so, with all that pressure on one front strut mounts, somethings bound to go....

so overall, take your time going up them driveways, but make sure you dont go slanted to the point where youre on three wheels due to the TRD rsb (some ppl will know what im talking about on this)... with one wheel in the air, the opposite wheel is holding LOTS of pressure and something will go.... not neccessarily that quick, but over times and times of you goign up and down driveways.....


keep in mind, everytime you remove the struts/springs, youll have to do an alignment again

[WJN333]

Im taking the car in next week for a check-up and my second alignment now that the suspension is settled. Ill tell them to check the front bearings and the front strut mounts. Hopefully that will reveal the problem.

Thanks
Bill

[Fratsgotasolara]

um if you didn't line the strut and the mount up (there is a notch) it makes some serious noise

[WJN333]

Found the noise today. What was happening was the the top of the strut was working its way in and out of the notch in the strut mount, grinding it down. Thats what i was hearing/feeling. Dont really know how long it has been doing that but I made the decision to revert back to stock springs. Thanks for the input guys, led us right to the problem.

[2kSoulara]

That sucks. I want to lower my car but with tein/tokico but withall these problems should i even bother? I live in NJ so some of the roads aren't that great

[DaTwUnKrAziEpInOy]

That's why when you need a drop......bring it to me.

[2kSoulara]

ummm why is that?