03 lx lowered and now clunking in the rear

[MikeyP1990]

I lowered my 03 lx with some eibach springs and every time i turn or hit a bump it sounds like the sway bar is hitting things or something is clunking around back there. Is there anyway to fix this or should i just live with it?

 

[ffocused.]

Get used to lowered car making noises haha.

But I would jack it up and check clearances and whatnot.

 

[MikeyP1990]

well im guessing it's the sway bar. i thought i saw something on here about a clunk fix but i cant seem to find it again. maybe wrap a pool noodle thing around the sway bar?

 

[mazdalifestyle]

Mine has the same issue, but I'm pretty sure mine is the strut/strut bearing.

 

[concept]

Did you get your car aligned? If not, have it aligned and ask them to check for interferences while the car is up on the rack. By the way, most shops will recommend a camber kit when lowering the car.

 

[talltim]

Dont really need a kit with our cars. You can adjust the camber/caster + or- 30 degrees by rotating the strut tower mount.

 

[concept]

There are at least two models of Eibachs. The Pro kit gives a moderate drop but their redlines do require camber kits on some cars.

 

[Areverb]

Dont really need a kit with our cars. You can adjust the camber/caster + or- 30 degrees by rotating the strut tower mount.

Actually, its +/- 30 minutes (30'), which is +/- 0.5 degrees. dunno why mazda decided to use minutes instead of degrees in the service manual, maybe for precision?

You can tell what it is by the timing of the sound; when the car is hitting the bump, or just after it hits the bump, the latter being fault of the top mounts, and the former of the sway bar or something colliding. Hard to tell if you only hear one though, since the timing is really close.

 

[MikeyP1990]

well it also makes the clunk when ever i turn slowly, like just zig zag in a parking lot, which makes me think it's the sway bar. but i havent got it aligned yet but i need too. i just did put new tires on it not to long ago.

 

[MikeyP1990]

ended up being the rear struts were bad/loose. so i just put on some KYBs and its as quite as could be.

 

[blkspdfreak]

strut tower bushings seem to go bad too causing a clunking sound, i would of changed them when the struts were out.