Hey all, I just replaced the entire suspension on my car - Eibach Pro-Kit springs, Bilstein shocks/struts, strut mounts, and new poly endlinks and sway bar bushings all the way around. I got everything in a couple weeks ago - EXCEPT for the front struts and strut mounts - and the car was fine.

I finally got the front struts and strut mounts in last week - and since then, I have a horrible clunk from the front going over bumps. I've looked at everything, and can't find it . Endlinks, sway bar bushings, and brackets are all brand new and in tight. Does anyone know what this could be? Could not having enough torque on the strut-to-knuckle bolts cause this? Or a bad motor/trans mount acting up, now that the suspension is working properly? I searched, but couldn't find an answer to my problem.

Any help is appreciated, I'm going nuts trying to find the source of this noise!

 

Well, did you remove anything else besides the strut and mount?

what did you torque everything too? The lower bolts to spindle are usually around 200ft lbs and the upper I try to do at 150ft lbs. If yours aren't tight enough, well, they can move.

 

I'm just thinking too, could the product you bought be defective? I'd try bouncing the car pretty hard with the hood up in the driveway to see if you can recreate the noise. Bounce it up and down a couple of time with some good force and see if you notice the retaining bolt on the strut moving at all or the actual mount.

 

Actually, lots of stuff has been replaced in the last month. Shocks, struts, springs, F/R sway bar bushings, all 4 endlinks, ball joints, front brake pads, rear differential cover, and strut mounts were all replaced. A wonderbar was also added. I still have to put on the STB, adjustable Panhard bar, and SFCs. However, everything except for the front struts and mounts was replaced a couple weeks ago, and the car was fine - the noise didn't show up until I did the struts and mounts.

I torqued the strut bolts as tight as I could with an 18" breaker bar...but I bet that wasn't enough. I'm thinking the struts are moving on the spindles, and the noise is the bolts hitting the edges of the holes on the strut. OR, the spindle doesn't like the new bolts on the driver's side, and they are a hair too small for it...causing them to rattle inside the spindle. I'm going to tear it apart this weekend and see what's up...I may have to put the old bolts back in...

I did try bouncing the car...but the new suspension is so stiff, it's hard to even push it down, let alone bounce it. I tried though, and couldn't recreate the noise.

 

I realize this post is a billion years old...... but I figured someone can come upon it like I did. So............. the rubber rings around top of spring is either missing or move when installed , use tape to hold in place on install