Clunk from top hat after installing lowering springs

[treyk]

I installed the front half of the eibach pro kit a few days ago and during the initial test drive there wasn't any sounds that immediately jumped out at me. But the next day when I went to drive I noticed a clunk from the drivers side but up by the steering wheel towards the top hat. So I jacked up the front again made sure everything was torqued back down to spec including the nuts at the top hat that require the hex key in the middle to tighten all the way.

The noise is still there and now I am wondering if it is possibly the strut bearing since it comes greased and on the driver's side I had a tougher time taking it off so now I think I may have accidentally wiped too much of the grease off of the bearing.

Anyone know what the issue could possibly be? I'm 99% sure everything is tight.

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[Victorofhavoc]

What spec did you tighten the strut nut to? What about the mount nuts? Paint pen them to check for slippage.

When you jack up just the side that's making the noise, is the spring tightly in place and if you grab it and give it a good jerk, it's all staying put an making no noise?

 

[treyk]

What spec did you tighten the strut nut to? What about the mount nuts? Paint pen them to check for slippage.

When you jack up just the side that's making the noise, is the spring tightly in place and if you grab it and give it a good jerk, it's all staying put an making no noise?

I did the top one at 48 lbs
the 3 nuts holding the strut at 55 lbs
the end links at 47 lbs
and the bolt that holds the strut in the knuckle at 58 lbs

I didn't wiggle the spring when I had it up in the air to check just checked the tightness on everything else. When I have time next weekend I am going to fully reinstall them and grease up some new strut bearings since that is the only other thing I've seen people have issues with other than everything being loose.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I did the top one at 48 lbs
the 3 nuts holding the strut at 55 lbs
the end links at 47 lbs
and the bolt that holds the strut in the knuckle at 58 lbs

I didn't wiggle the spring when I had it up in the air to check just checked the tightness on everything else. When I have time next weekend I am going to fully reinstall them and grease up some new strut bearings since that is the only other thing I've seen people have issues with other than everything being loose.

Before you start tearing it apart it might be worthwhile to knock around with a rubber mallet and jack up that side to shake that spring.

Torque specs all seem fine. The end links seem a bit high to me compared to other cars, but I haven't looked at the exact bolt size on these cars.

Is it a crashy/sloppy clunk or is it the more hollow/plasticky kind of "clonk"?

 

[treyk]

Before you start tearing it apart it might be worthwhile to knock around with a rubber mallet and jack up that side to shake that spring.

Torque specs all seem fine. The end links seem a bit high to me compared to other cars, but I haven't looked at the exact bolt size on these cars.

Is it a crashy/sloppy clunk or is it the more hollow/plasticky kind of "clonk"?

Its more of a thud from in the car and I really only hear it turning at low speeds. Drove it on the highway and other than needing an alignment the car drives fine. But I'll check it to see if its loose in there once I get it jacked up.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Its more of a thud from in the car and I really only hear it turning at low speeds. Drove it on the highway and other than needing an alignment the car drives fine. But I'll check it to see if its loose in there once I get it jacked up.

Sounds more like endlink. Assuming torqued with no preload?

 

[SocalDE5]

Torque when the car is sitting on the ground.
Top hat & wheel lug nuts

 

[treyk]

Sounds more like endlink. Assuming torqued with no preload?

Yeah I didn't torque the endlinks with any preload. In videos of installs I didn't see them do it like that so I assumed I didn't need to.

Here is a better video:

Torque when the car is sitting on the ground.
Top hat & wheel lug nuts

I made sure to do that.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Yeah I didn't torque the endlinks with any preload. In videos of installs I didn't see them do it like that so I assumed I didn't need to.

That's correct. Tires should be on ramps or on a flat lift to load the suspension, endlinks should be adjusted so the angle of the bar is even and won't rub, then tighten the nuts. Bolts should slip in and out easily with the suspension loaded.

 

[StingertimeNC]

OP, keep us posted on what you find out. Curious.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Yeah I didn't torque the endlinks with any preload. In videos of installs I didn't see them do it like that so I assumed I didn't need to.

Here is a better video:

I made sure to do that.

And I just listened to the video. Not an endlink. Sounds like coil bind, but a tad hard to tell over video.

Are these progressive springs? Did they come with sleeves/silencers?

 

[treyk]

And I just listened to the video. Not an endlink. Sounds like coil bind, but a tad hard to tell over video.

Are these progressive springs? Did they come with sleeves/silencers?

They are progressive and have sleeves like this:

After looking around online and seeing similar issues some people said they fixed it temporarily by spraying WD-40 at the points of contact for the springs and strut bearing.

I'm definitely not going to use WD-40 and will use some sort of silicone lubricant next weekend and update if it fixes it.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

They are progressive and have sleeves like this:

After looking around online and seeing similar issues some people said they fixed it temporarily by spraying WD-40 at the points of contact for the springs and strut bearing.

I'm definitely not going to use WD-40 and will use some sort of silicone lubricant next weekend and update if it fixes it.

Make sure the sleeve is all the way up and didn't slip down. Lube, as always, helps.

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