Suspension problem
 

So, I recently received the ST coil overs from ft86speed factory. they were packaged very nicely and looked great. I am not much of a car savy fellow but i watched many youtube videos and figured i could do the install no problem.

First issue i encountered was not having a impact gun and removing all the impacted bolts by hand was a pain in the ass.. almost impossible if i may add. required a hammer+ wrench combo.

Finally i properly remove 1 entire strut on the passenger side and get ready to install the new strut. I realize in the video they have coil overs that already have the "top hat" that you need to connect to the strut tower. Mine however did not have that and i faced a new issue with removing the top of the strut. I tried taking it off numerous times and it just would not come off.. i kept turning the wrench over and over and it kept moving it but never actually gained any progress.

Upon googling the issue i realized i needed a spring compressor? to me that was interesting because i figured the top should have came off when i was working it with all the built up pressure( Luckily it did not, now that i know it can cause harm and blah blah )

Long story short.. i re-installed the stock struck and everything and failed the install i was planning on getting my coil overs put on by a tuner shop down here in south FL. Upon leaving my garage i noticed some severe clunking sounds coming from the strut towers. Going over speed bumps was the same issue. Very apparent sound, so i turned around and drove back into my garage and now here i am typing on the forums..

Any ideas? did i not tighten a certain bolt enough? and if so what one would it potentially be.


Extra credit: Anyone know a good tuner shop in south FL that wont charge an arm and a leg for installs? I called one and they said it will take 8 hours... i know if i had the proper equipment and maybe a mechanics brain it would take about 2.

bump

Look up the DIY thread, on installing springs, without a spring compressor.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showt...spring+install

It's definitely not torqued down correctly. That's usually the issue 90% of the time when it comes to clunking. I've had the clunking problem personally with 4 diff installs of diff coilovers/stock suspensions. Torquing the top bolt correctly fixed the issue everytime. ST coilovers do not come with camber plates or top hats which is why you need to use the oem top hats. Make sure you do not use the additional rubber pieces from the oem shocks and only the top hats as well. It sounds like you also have an issue with tightening the top bolt. We're you using a pass through wrench and Allen key? That is how you keep the shock from "spinning" while tightening. The oem shock should be a cinch. For the ST coilover, I had to hold the shock body with a towel and pliers to stop it from spinning while torquing the top. PM me if you have any additional questions. Hope this helped you out!

Update :

So i made it to the shop (20-30 min drive) With the shaking and thumping getting worse and worse.. tires basically were completely loose by the time i got there.

Got my entire suspension taken off and the new coilovers put in. everything was secured with an impact gun and i drove off.

The problem is... the thumping is kind of still here... it is very minor compared to before and only on certain areas of the terrain. For example i was driving over pavers in the entrance of my neighborhood ( gives your car a little rumbling sound when you drive over it) As you may know they have little dips in the pavers so it works your suspension a little bit.

When i drove over those the thumping sound was there, and on other portions of the road i hear it. I don't know if anything could be loose still? maybe the strut towers? thats the only thing he dident use an impact gun on.

Please help :( i love the look of the new coils and the drive is not that much worse. Except for this terrible thumping sound.

With the coils :

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps5fd3245e.jpg

Probably same issue just with the new coils... the top master bolt probably isn't tightened all the way down.

Thumping/clunking noise is attributed to several areas:

- loose strut/shock nut
- loose spring collar(s)
- bad upper mount (stock or pillowball)

Usually it's the first one. An impact gun won't help if the nut itself is not threading all the way down from cross-threading or some other issue.

-alex

Go back to the shop, they should be able to fix it for your for free. Also glad you made it to the shop safely!

GL

Thanks guy I really do genuinely appreciate the help! I called the shop and I am going to head over there tomorrow morning! I will keep everyone posted :)

you have to hold the shock in place under the top hat with a wrench, then you can remove the top hat bolt. and yes you're lucky you didn't figure this out without spring compressors...

If you drove around with the shock shaft nut loose, there's a good chance you may have damaged the bearing in the upper mount(s).

So far i have driven to the subaru dealer to get their 2 cents, (was in the path of the tuner shop) they said they did not want to touch it because its aftermarket.. As i figured, i took a service guy around for a test drive and he said it might be something loose and he was just really guessing.

Olympic motorsports has not answered me back so far this morning, so kind of just waiting. I called KABs customs but they wont be able to see me till 3. So now it is just a waiting game. :(

Sound seems to be getting proggresivley worse? Or maybe im just becoming more and more paranoid.

Quoting myself here for your sake.

-alex

Problem is resolved! Guys at kabs custom were really nice and took care of the problem, it was the central bolt like most of you said and also there was a bolt loose on the rear control arm that should have never been touched.

http://i850.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps2aabaac8.jpg

Thanks everyone :)