Suspension clunk.

P

Psylence

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2002 Mazda Protege5
Figured I should just start up a thread. Better here than what did you do to your etc.....I started with your post fish :p

fishdonotbounce said:
Lift up your car and grab the sway bar and shake it. It may be the bushings. Also check to make sure that the springs are seated properly. My front end clunk on the passenger side ended up being the strut mount bushing which is just a little stupid piece of plastic that goes on top of the strut. It could also be that your endlinks are hitting up against another metal part and just making the sound. Check for any contact marks anywhere underneath there. I know how it is to live with clunks. Even if it's something that doesn't hurt the car at all, it bothers you.
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How the hell could that extremely thin plastic thing make your suspension clunk? I cleaned all mine off and put them all back on. The only thing I'm thinking might be it in the front is that I might have put one of the dots the wrong way, could that cause it? Otherwise I think in the front the endlinks might just need to be adjusted.
I will definitely check the bushings. I plan on a progress in a week or two. need to get new bushings for that anyways.
I also noticed during install that the tokico springs don't seat the same way as the stockers on the rubber mount up top. They're not flat on the top for one thing. I think they ended in a different spot too.
Any insight?
 
Psylence said:
Figured I should just start up a thread. Better here than what did you do to your etc.....I started with your post fish :p



How the hell could that extremely thin plastic thing make your suspension clunk? I cleaned all mine off and put them all back on. The only thing I'm thinking might be it in the front is that I might have put one of the dots the wrong way, could that cause it? Otherwise I think in the front the endlinks might just need to be adjusted.
I will definitely check the bushings. I plan on a progress in a week or two. need to get new bushings for that anyways.
I also noticed during install that the tokico springs don't seat the same way as the stockers on the rubber mount up top. They're not flat on the top for one thing. I think they ended in a different spot too.
Any insight?
Click to expand...

He's not talking about the thin plastic sheet. Between the upper spring seat and the strut mount there is a black plastic ring that serves as a sort of "bushing".
 
Ah. The piece that goes over the top of the spring under that first metal piece. gotcha.

I'm still wondering if anyone who did the same install with the tokico kit and AWR endlinks saw any of the same problems I did.
 
What kind of clunk? I've had so much trouble with my suspension =P. I've heard 3 types of clunk since I installed mine. The first one I had was from the top not not being tightened all the way down. So any time a bump was on the road, you hear the suspension rattling.

The second one was from the endlinks. My endlinks weren't tightened, so it sounded like a huge clunk anytime there were bumps in the road too. So you'll definetly want to check those.

The third one, I'm not sure yet. But I have my spring binding in my right side. I'm pretty sure it's the bushing you're talking about, which is also called the strut bearing. It's the little plastic ring that goes in your upper strut mount. I have a new one sitting here, and it's waiting to be installed. Anyways, I'm pretty sure this is causing the trouble as the spring jumps, when you turn your wheel. This also sounds like a clunk but happens twice. It happens when I turn my wheel a lot and all the way back. Recently, it stopped making this noise, but I know this part is I put in is bad, so I need to get in there and change it.
 
There's a clunk fix from way back that involved using firewall grommets in between the endlink & shock tab and/or between the endlink & sway bar for AWR endlinks IIRC.
 
Psylence said:
Ah. The piece that goes over the top of the spring under that first metal piece. gotcha.

I'm still wondering if anyone who did the same install with the tokico kit and AWR endlinks saw any of the same problems I did.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, i've had to replace my shocks twice now, but that's neither here or there.

I installed my blues with the MSP springs without the rubber gasket like piece between the spring and the top part of the strut seat (as i didn't have time to get them installed and ordered), there was no clunking noise at all after install.

I have now installed my new Blues with NEW MSP springs, and i'm getting no clunking noise, but a little squeaky noise when i start the car up and drive away and go over a speed bump in the mornings. After that, the squeak goes away. I'm not hearing a new clunk which existed before my rescent strut job (i believe it's my control armr as i've already replaced all my end links recently....unless it's the front sway bar???).

Is your clunk coming from the front or back? Are you able to locate which side the clunk sound is coming from? Maybe it's a little asian in your trunk.....lol
 
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Endlinks, endlinks, endlinks!! It seems to be the most common cause of the sounds. I had bad clunking/rattling sounds coming from my front driver's side, it sounded almost like a diving board as I went over bumpy spots on the road. I could even sometimes feel the rattling through the floorpan with my feet. I drove with it like that for probably 5 months, until finally I took it in to Canadian Tire to have it checked out. Even though it was only the driver's side endlink that was bad, they recommended I replaced both front ones since I would save on labour in the long run. Problem is completely fixed. I don't know if its just me, but it now feels like the steering is a bit tighter now that its fixed; I love it!
 
Psylence said:
Ah. The piece that goes over the top of the spring under that first metal piece. gotcha.

I'm still wondering if anyone who did the same install with the tokico kit and AWR endlinks saw any of the same problems I did.
Click to expand...

No - it's actually a much smaller (like 2" diameter) plastic ring that sits on top of that first metal piece.
 
slavrenz said:
No - it's actually a much smaller (like 2" diameter) plastic ring that sits on top of that first metal piece.
Click to expand...

Ok I know what your talking about. At first I thought it was stuck on there and it just rotated. Then I found it came right off.

GDZKiNGDM said:
Unfortunately, i've had to replace my shocks twice now, but that's neither here or there.

I installed my blues with the MSP springs without the rubber gasket like piece between the spring and the top part of the strut seat (as i didn't have time to get them installed and ordered), there was no clunking noise at all after install.

I have now installed my new Blues with NEW MSP springs, and i'm getting no clunking noise, but a little squeaky noise when i start the car up and drive away and go over a speed bump in the mornings. After that, the squeak goes away. I'm not hearing a new clunk which existed before my rescent strut job (i believe it's my control armr as i've already replaced all my end links recently....unless it's the front sway bar???).

Is your clunk coming from the front or back? Are you able to locate which side the clunk sound is coming from? Maybe it's a little asian in your trunk.....lol
Click to expand...

I believe the front drivers side has clunk and I'm not sure where it is in the rear.

My guess is it has to do with the sway bar. It sounds more like a tapping clunk than anything. So maybe the sway bars aren't aligned right? I thought the arms on the end had to be parallel to the ground...Maybe I just have to adjust a little bit.
 
It could also be that the front sway bar is moving laterally in it's "D" bushing mounts. The stock SB centering rings (rubber w/a metal clamp) tend to weasel way out of position over time, letting the bar squiggle around side to side, esp. when turning the wheel.
 
What happens if you don't put on the plastic bushing/bearing? Would it damage anything? Can't figure that part out.
 
xvdarkyvx said:
What happens if you don't put on the plastic bushing/bearing? Would it damage anything? Can't figure that part out.
Click to expand...

Um...well for starters, those two metal pieces will grind together, and then you'll wish you only had the clunk to deal with.
 
Searched but couldn't find the Brian MP5T thread where he used rubber firewall grommets as clunk fix............dammit. Look in help section at autoparts. Put them in between endlink and strut tab & between the endlink & sway bar. Should quiet the clunk.
 
i12drivemyMP5 said:
Searched but couldn't find the Brian MP5T thread where he used rubber firewall grommets as clunk fix............dammit. Look in help section at autoparts. Put them in between endlink and strut tab & between the endlink & sway bar. Should quiet the clunk.
Click to expand...

K, I will try that when I take a look at it. It did seems like they were really close to the strut tab...
 
i just installed tokico blues with an eibach pro kit, and i have some noises going on to. When i first get in the car i get a slight clunk but after that its fine. Then anytime I am going slow I get a clunk/squeak as well, whether it be from turning or going over a bump. When I am on the highway or doing above 30 no noise occurs even if I hit a decent bump.

Any ideas what it could be? I thought it might have been the endlinks but it sounds like it might be coming from the top of the struts.
 
So I figured out why my rears were clunking so badly. I installed the endlinks on the insides of the strut tab and the sway bar. Switched them both to the outside while slapping my progress rear sway bar in there and also replaced AWR bushings with firewall gromets as suggested in another thread.
No clunks now! I don't know how long those pieces of rubber are going to last though. I'm on the hunt for some hardcore bushings...
 
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