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After trying and failing to capture the squeak from the rear while I was driving I was able to capture this clip while the parked and just me giving the rear a little shake and the mic right above the left rear strut bar (with the plastics removed for clearer sound)
Zak nice build you got going on; more parts came in for my car today, new compression arms with Whiteline bushings, a Whiteline front & rear swaybar kit plus a Z1 master cylinder brace, The only thing missing are the coilovers.
PSA: if you drive your car often or drive hard, change your clutch fluid ASAP. I'm not sure what the dealers even checking for when I bring my car in for service every couple months but they completely missed this.
PSA: if you drive your car often or drive hard, change your clutch fluid ASAP. I'm not sure what the dealers even checking for when I bring my car in for service every couple months but they completely missed this.
That looks like poop soup. I'd go to a different dealer
For that rattling, I have a similar one for my passenger side but to be honest I think mine is the hatch strut MOUNT. The strut itself is fine, but lifting the hatch and then pushing up on it I can replicate the sound. Its the clicking of the joint where the hatch strut meets the hatch.
For that rattling, I have a similar one for my passenger side but to be honest I think mine is the hatch strut MOUNT. The strut itself is fine, but lifting the hatch and then pushing up on it I can replicate the sound. Its the clicking of the joint where the hatch strut meets the hatch.
Your sounds may be different however.
thanks for the suggestion. willing to take any suggestions. got my adjustable wrenches in today will start working on it this weekend. hope to have an update by Monday.
Just to be clear the noise that I am hearing can be described like this (in the next couple of days I will find a way to mount my phone to record a clean recording of this sound to share with you all)
1. When I shake the car on its wheels I can hear a click coming directly front the left top corner of my rear strut bar. With all the trunk plastics apart I shook the car and I'm fairly certain that the sound is coming from inside the strut bar. At first, I thought it may be a clip or something loose inside; I shined a light in there and I can see the strut mount right there where the sound is the loudest.
2. While driving the sound can be described as a cross between a loud clicking and the sound when something heavy is compressing a large spring, or some may call this a squeak.
3. The sound doesn't happen only when going over bumps but even on fairly smooth roads I can almost make it happen on demand while I give it good throttle at lower RPM/Speeds
4. I don't recall hearing this much when I turn. Now there used to be creaks and rattles when I turned at a brisk pace but after the bushings, I can really feel the car turn in very flat and stable and I do not think I ever heard this clunk while turning.
5. now if the strut mounts do nothing I will wait for Zak's review on the lower shock mount but per my testing I can tell it is louder from inside the car than it is outside so i'm just guessing the lower mounts should be okay? but i'm willing to try anything; I am contemplating just dynamatting the strut bar in hopes to minimize the interior noise.
Zak does this sound similar to what you're hearing? I will post an audio file if I can get a clean recording soon. maybe we can compare.
I did my shock mounts and it solved my problem, but my noise was different than you describe. It sounded like a bag of empty tin cans rattling in the trunk. Also, the noise went away after driving for a while. Anyway, it wont hurt to try, it's cheap and easy enough.
I'll tell ya the OE gasket is crap, mine looked like a red potato chip and was about as brittle as one.
Homiez - I'll check your vid from home tonight. I was out passing a kidney stone yesterday, so I didn't have a chance to get online until now. As for the hatch strut idea, as far as I'm concerned, anything's possible. My hatch struts were replaced about a year ago, and they never gave me any problems. The thumping problem started a few months ago and seems to be coming from the left rear floor area. I'm going to try replacing the shock mount bushings to see if those do the trick. They're supposed to be arriving today.
Last edited by zakmartin; Dec 15, 2017 at 08:42 AM.
Wow! Yeah, that's pretty bad. Your brake fluid's looking like it's ready to be changed out as well. I recommend Valvoline DOT 3 and 4 Synthetic brake fluid on both reservoirs. The stuff works great.
Last edited by zakmartin; Dec 15, 2017 at 08:56 AM.
Zakmartin - you stay safe now, I hear those stone are no fun to pass.
I agree, it's most likely not the strut mounts for I can tell the direction as to where the sound is coming from. I want to reiterate that the sound clip was captured with the car parked and the rear strut plastic trims removed while I shook the car with my hand grasping the trunk area right around the strut bar.
Because I have been anxious to fix this problem I have also noticed that I can regularly reproduce this sound when going up a hill and giving good throttle like above 50% throttle.
Thanks dude. I pass a stone every 6 weeks or so. One of the joys of being me. This one was the size of a peppercorn. Awesome.
My car makes the thumping sound whenever it's moving, up until you hit about 35 mph, then it goes away incrementally until you hit highway speed, at which point it pretty much goes away. I've tried yanking on parts underneath the car while the tires were sitting on ramps so that the suspension components were unladen, since that's when the issue comes up. I also tightened down the suspension bolts when the car's on ramps so that I'm not dealing with any preload issues. If the shock mount bushings don't do the trick, then I might consider going with a microphone kit to see if I can get this narrowed down completely. Not looking forward to buying one of those, but it's cheaper than a new car.
Thanks dude. I pass a stone every 6 weeks or so. One of the joys of being me. This one was the size of a peppercorn. Awesome.
EVERY SIX WEEKS? Damn dude - As someone who spent many, many years pre-hospital and emergency room care I can tell that a kidney stone is about as painful as it gets for a dude. Do you by chance eat a lot of ice cream and drink tea? Cause that combination will create stones in many people.
TMDZ - Thanks dude. I'm on a pretty strict diet now. I've been seeing urologists and nephrologists for many, many years to try to get the stone production down. I used to pass one every 2-3 weeks. I passed my first one when I was 7 years old and the first time I was hospitalized for one I was 16; I threw up and fell to the ground while I was standing next to a the Commanding General of the US Eighth Army during a formal review of our JROTC regiment. LOL! The stones basically ruined my shot at a ROTC scholarship, so yeah, they've been problematic since I was young. They've ranged in size from small peppercorns to ping-pong *****.
I'm on 8 prescriptions for different familial disorders I've got going on. Back when I was 20, my doctor took a blood test and made me go back for three more because the numbers were so ridiculous that he didn't believe them (900 cholesterol, 3000 triglyceride, etc.) Now my numbers are all in a good range, but I'll be on the meds for the rest of my life. I've given a couple talks to M.D. candidates on the various extremes related to the disorders and the efficacy of different treatments I've discovered over the years. I actually decided a long time ago not to have kids of my own because I don't want to pass this stuff on to anyone. I'm a happy stepdad though.
Last edited by zakmartin; Dec 15, 2017 at 10:05 AM.
@Zak - LOL, we are a lot alike. Im also on a cholesterol med but I'm pretty sure its less hereditary and more to do with the fact that I treat my body like its a run-down amusement park.
I also don't have kids. Not for physical reasons but because I honestly believe I'm doing the world a HUGE favor by getting out of the gene pool...
I got the Bilstein B6 fronts installed last weekend. Would have gotten further but my 35 year old Craftsman 1/2" drive ratchet went Tango Union on me so I had to get a replacement. After inspecting things I decided to get a full set of Moog sway bar links and Prothane sway bar bushings. Rear Bilsteins this weekend, links and bushings next weekend.
Spreadin' around the sunshine. Nice to know I'm not the only one who's all about self-imposed eugenics.
Bummer about the Craftsman biting the dust. At that age, even broken it's still worth some good money on eBay over what they sell now. I know you can still get repair kits for those. Did you just swap it out at Sears?
I'm digging the Moog end links, by the way. I like that they can be maintained with fresh grease. The sway bar bushings should help as well, and don't forget to grease the insides of those bushings with some silicone grease (they specifically call for that type with the Prothane bushings, if I remember correctly.)
I'm just using Mobil 1 synthetic grease on the Moog end links and it seemed to work out fine. The stuff is supposed to be good on bearings, so I figured why not? We'll see how the rubber boots holds up over time, though I've never had a problem with the Mobil 1 synthetic grease on boots before.
How did the bushing removal go on the inner side of the rear lower control arm (spring arm)? I'm supposed to be getting my Whiteline replacements for those next week.
Thanks I actually made that a long time ago but never got around to mounting the nut inside, it was a $10 piece of acrylic from woodcraft. It's horrible to work with and smells really bad. I've made 2 with that material and probably won't ever do another one.
The one on the bucket itself was nice and easy. Didnt need any fancy rigging or figuring out. My little base plates held the bottom and the right sizes race and they popped right out.
I've decided to postpone the alignment until I replace the factory wheels. The tires I have on the car now are in good enough shape to drive on but bad enough shape for me not to care about them getting worn down further due to negative camber.
