My ohlins starts making wired noise~~~~HELP!!!!!!
 

Hi everyone

I'm a brz owner from China.

My ohlins is the old mi20 kit with 60 NM springs, bought and installed on June 2014.

Now the front starts making wired noise when driving on even slightly bumpy roads. The noise sounds like this " da da... da da... da da " like two metal is knocking.

I thought the front ohlins top mount may have problems, so I replaced it with the stock top mount yesterday, but the problem remains unsolved.

Anyone knows the reason, plz help!!!

also I contact the ohlins china, see what they have replied!!!!unbelieveable!!!!

SO I just send this email to Ohlins HQ (info@ohlins.se) DUNO if this is the correct email address....

Dear OHLINS

I'm a customer from China. I bought the ohlins R&T for my BRZ. However, it starts making wired noise like this sound " da da...da da...da da..“

My problem thread: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=103680

I can see that the ohlins usa have a great customer service system.

You just need to click on the OHLINS USA website, fill in the service form,etc. and you will get a proper Ohlins customer service.

However, there is nothing about customer service info on the Chinese dealer (GUSTO) website.

I contact with GUSTO salesman(GUSTO TECHNIK-SHENZHEN CITY), send him my ohlins part number. He just rely that he couldn't find my purchase history. I can not believe that ohlins dealer dont have sales records. Unbelievable!!!

I have to contact JIELI tuning shop where I bought my ohlins kit. I turns out that JIELI tuning shop got this kit from YUNHAI Auto tuning parts distributor who got this ohlins kit from GUSTO TECHNIK-SHENZHEN CITY .

The purchase history shows that the purchase date is 14th june 2014, which means I still have 2 month warranty left.

However, this gusto salesman claims that the warranty date depends on when YUNHAI Auto tuning parts distributor got this kit from GUSTO TECHNIK-SHENZHEN CITY. In my opinion, the warranty should depends on the customer's purchase date not distributor's purchase date. .....This is funny.

Furthermore, this salesman said that even this kit still has warranty. I should send this kit to YUNHAI Auto tuning parts distributor.I don't even know where is this distributor.

He also said that,first, they need to check my OHLINS KIT. If the top mount is broken, I need to pay, I understand this as this part is easy to break.
(You can find out in my thread , the problem is not in top mount, I replaced with the factory top mount, the noise is still there.)

BUT if the inside part of the strut has problem , I need to pay for repair costs, even if this kit has warranty!!!

I ask him what parts does this warranty cover. This man said that I should replace the oil everytime after I came back from track!!!!otherwise, you know....balabala....

Then, he said that only if the main strut or spring or other parts are cracked or detached, they will replace this for free.

WTF, People will die if these situation happened and DEAD man need no customer service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


This is so troublesome. I cant believe this is the Ohlins customer service quality!!!!!!


I choose ohlins because I count on Ohlins's reputation. It turns out to be a joke in Ohlins China!

The sad turth is GUSTO TECHNIK is the only Official Ohlins China dealer who can repair my Ohlins kit.

So, Please do not forward my email to Ohlins China GUSTO, I don't want them to find out who send this to Ohlins HQ

Looking forward to your reply.

Best regards

Kai From China

sway bar link if its a da da over a single bump. It happens more at lower speeds then highway right? Go grab your front swaybar while the car is on the ground the shake it

This "da da...da da" noise will become bigger and frequent in the front if I use the softest setting which is 20 clicks.

hate to say it, they are probably blown and need to be replaced/rebuilt. Or you could be lucky and it could just be another loose part.

Then it might not be a swaybar link. You also check the preload?

yes!it is much more noticable at lower speeds(15-25). My english is not every good. How can I grab and shake the swaybar while the car is on the ground?

many thanks

Kai

preload is 2mm, I add 2mm which is 4mm, the noise still there.

turn the wheel to full lock and grab it.

Reach under just past the wheel to grab it, easy to get at where I circled it This one is aftermarket FYI, stock might be a little different.
Attachment 134455

I still have 2 month warrany left, so if it blown the rebuild is free of charge?

Thats it? I have like 20-30mm preload up front (different coils though) but as long as it hasn't changed since the install your fine.

I have spent around 20 days on solving this problem...headache

anyone had this problem ? any ideas? The Ohlins Chinese dealer is a piece of shit, they just ignore my request of repair.what should I do, I still have 2 months warranty!!!

yeah it can be a pain sometimes haha!! it took me all weekend to findout one of my swaybar links came loose once

I have checked everythere, nothing came loose. I have reinstalled this kit 5 times already, can't find where is the problem!!! God help me!!!

Did you test with the front sway bar and end links removed?

Could you please tell me the reason, I told my merchanic to try this tonight.

If the noise disappear which means?

If you remove the sway bar and end link and drive around, it will help you determine if the noise you are hearing is from the sway bar/end link. If the noise is still there after, then it can be your coilovers + others. If it's not there, then it's your sway bars/endlinks.

many thanks!!!

Forgot to mention that my sway bars is from cusco only 1 month

I have already checked sway bar endlinks, they are in perfect situation. and nothing come loose. I doubt this it the problem.

you check them while the wheels on on the ground? If you lift one side of the car it puts tension on it and you wont hear any noises and everything seems tight although its not.

SO I'm confused, should I check it when its on the ground or not....many thanks !!!

You should be able to check on the ground or in the air- as long as both front wheels are on the ground or both are in the air.

If you only lift one side in the air then it will put tension on the sway bar and you probably won't hear any noise because of that. If both front wheels are in the air there's no tension on the sway bar, and if both wheels are on the ground there won't be any tension on the sway bar.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G928A using Tapatalk

It's worth a try to remove the sway bar and end links to isolate the problem. Just cause you have the sway bar and the end links installed recently doesn't mean that it can't be something else that's hitting it or that the sway bar itself is loose or something near it is loose.

This is troubling to hear especially since I just bought some Ohlins from someone here on the forums...

I wouldn't worry about it. Likely the sway bar end links causing the noise for the OP if it wasn't the top hats.

OP,

I may have had a similar problem with my Ohlins. Oddly, at the same time (2 mths before warranty expires)

Not sure what is your damper setting, but try this.
Turn it all the way to full stiff (0 click), and drive around.

If the sound disappears, your dampers are dying, or in my case almost dead.
Components inside the damper worn.

I double checked and installed again today.

I took swaybar and endlinks off, then drove around,found the noise is still there.

Also I borrowed an abnormal sound diagnostic equipment from local mercedes benz service center. Put the headphone on while I was driving. Now we are 95% percent sure that the noise come from the damper. So, I guess my damper is almost dead. Must be Components inside the damper worn.

in your case, what happened then ? got a new one from ohlins? or just throw it away？？？

Sorry to hear your story. I am in Shanghai now as well and have the same ohlins kit. If you are pretty sure that the knocking sound comes from the shock, you should probably remove the shock from the vehicle to check. Remove the springs off the damper and compress it with different damping settings and observe the rebound damping (time it takes to return to fully extended position). Also observe if it is smooth when you compress it. A leaking damper If you have eliminated the top mount as the problem and the droplink(2 most likely issues) then you could have a leaking strut.

The thing about inverted strut is that you cannot see the leak as the piston rod is hidden in the bottom casing. You can disassemble the bottom damping adjustment knob and bottom nut and separate the damper unit itself from the bottom casing to check. But this will void the warranty as this unit comes assembled from the factory. Warranty in China is effectively a moot point unless you buy from a local shop that get their goods directly from the main distributor. If you have bought from Taobao then its effectively gone.

Just a note, did you also check to make sure the lower bracket is tightened and secure? As well as the knuckle bolts?

If you are in Shanghai, add me on wechat using my nick and we can discuss from there.

Cannot claim, as they say its wear issue.
So buy new coilover.

Did u try my suggestion to run full stiff?

not yet been busy ,will try tomorrow or just buy a new kit,thanks bro.