What is this sound?
 

Hey everyone. Been trying to diagnose this sound for a while. It sounds like a popping or binding sound in the front left of the car. I'm lowered on RCE yellows with whiteline camber bolts. Dealership as well as a local Subaru shop (who removed the strut assembly and spring and reinstalled it) couldn't find the source of the problem. I'll upload a video here in a second.

Thanks in advance
Dan

http://i616.photobucket.com/albums/t...204_133241.mp4

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isnt that normal for aftermarket springs to do once in a while?

Not sure man. It started about 5000km after the car was lowered and will make that noise 9/10 times when I'm at low speed. It doesn't make that noise when there car is off the ground though, so I'm wondering if the endlinks are too long and causing the sway bar to bind on something?? :iono::iono:

That could be possible? I would wonder if the spring is rotating on the perch because that will make a poping/binding noise

That's what I thought too. I took it into a shop and they took the spring off and reinstalled it and torqued everything down to spec so it shouldn't be rotating. I hate hunting down noises lol

me too haha!! I don't have any other ideas so good luck finding it

Well... Some help you are:sigh:

Lol thanks anyways man

LOL I tried, my only guess would be spring binding if everything is torqued to spec

Welcome to the joys of owning a car with front MacPherson strut suspension.

-alex

Take some time this weekend to disassemble front strut and see what's causing the noise. Before taking off the part, mark the camber bolt so you can put it back to where it was.

Already tore it apart and re assembled. No play in anything. Can't rotate the spring on the strut either.

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Lol yeah I think it's something I might have to live with. What are the odd that the end links are too long ?

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Zero.

Endlinks being long just means you may bind at full lock or compression or both. Only a problem because it causes steering lock.

-alex

Right on. Well I'm not overly worried about it yet, just more of an annoyance.

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That sounds distinctly like a strut mount bearing. The stock ones are typically very robust, they have an excellent bearing. If you happen to have a bad one I wouldn't hesitate to replace it with another OEM one and chalk yours up to bad luck. If you're looking for an upgrade group n mounts also work really well and stiffen things up a bit. Beyond that there's a host of adjustable camber plates, but I prefer the streetability of rubber based mount so I don't have any experience with the all metal ones.

As Calum said... it sounds like the strut mount's bearing. If it's not freely rotating, you'll get some noise as the strut is forcefully re-aligning. Kind of similar to coil spring bind.

Generally, strut mounts don't go bad this early in the car's life... but if the bearing is worn and loose, you get "clunk" noises over potholes. If there's corrosion or dirt/gunk, it can bind up.

For a good overview of the strut mounts (top hats), check out RSD's unboxing vid:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee5aRsxOHOA"]STI Group N Front Upper Strut Mount - What's in the Box? - YouTube[/ame]

I am not affiliated with RSD, just using their video to facilitate discussion.

Thanks guys. Is there an easy way to check them ? With our taking the strut assembly out ? For example, can I put bearing grease in and see if the kills the noise any?

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No, sorry, but if you want to check it you need to remove it. The bearing should move smoothly, with only a little resistance. Like pulling a magnet across your fridge. If there's any binding at all, you need to replace it.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAWoP1kncRE"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAWoP1kncRE[/ame]


Yes suspension changes cause noises. Mine does it too.

I agree with this fully. While it is rare, it is possible and the most likely variable in this case.

Group N mounts are more robust and the tolerance in the bearing housing and bearings used are better than OEM. Its not just the higher durometer of rubber.
(Source: Prodrive 2004 group-n PDF)

Myles

Today I learned, thanks Myles.

yayyy claps for myles for teaching me something! but actually, thank ya. Although with intense observation with two compared side to side I would have probably said the same thing, just never thought of it.

It's not exactly an accurate way of pinning down the exact part but I'd suggest lifting the bonnet and having someone turn the steering wheel with your ear down by the top of the stut, compare the noise from both sides then keep moving around till the sounds at its loudest, if its loudest with your ear right above the top of the strut then its highly likely to be the bearing.

Another thing to test is, while the wheels turning left and right, watch the spring, if should turn freely with the whole assembly, if it stutters or stops entirely and spuns in steps at all then your bearings the culprit, and is preventing the spring from rotating cleanly.

Thanks for all the help guys, I appreciate it. Ill have to swing by the dealership and get a new top mount and swap them out. Hopefully that solves it.

Are these to top mounts Myles?
https://tougetuning.com/product/grou...07-subaru-wrx/

That's the upgraded version that I was talking about. They're still very streetable. I wouldn't run one of these on one side and the original on the other side, but that price is for a pair so as long as you don't mind doing the work that will work.

Before you buy though, you might want to ensure the strut bearing is actually the problem. Troubleshooting over the internet isn't exactly an exact science.

I kinda had some minor popping when I had my 14 FRS after upgraded to coil over and I thought it was normal but I never had another set of wheels on it just stock. But now I have a 16 brz and that popping nice came thru after I tried some other wheels 18x9.5 and they were kinda heavy compared to stock. I sold the aftermarket wheel set once I was in stock wheels when ever I would turn my steering wheel the popping sound became more noticeable. I did some research and I guess the rack and pinion came a little loose torqued it down to 55 foot-pound and the sound was gone. And I actually tracked down the sound after I dismounted the front wheels, turned the car on not fully on but for the electric rack pinion to move with ease, the popping noise was on just the driver side