Whiteline LCA's light clunking noise

[cnk]

Originally Posted by FR-S Matt

That's the problem. I've done that and the noise doesn't replicate with force like that. Just that light click that happens when the suspension adjusts to going up a small hill and right down it quick.

I'm thinking it may be the pillowball as you stated. I need to get back under there and look at things again.

You have to remember that a light clicking will amplify itself inside the cabin. When I pulled my Mega Arms to install the SPC arms, I could feel there was the tiniest bit of movement in the pillowball by hand.

[Racecomp Engineering]

Check if your endlinks are torqued properly (on both ends).

- Andy

[Travisty75]

Originally Posted by cnk

Well, through process of elimination, you had no noises before. You changed to Whiteline LCA's and toe arms and the noises showed up. The noises are coming from the new components. As I originally stated, it's most likely the pillowballs.

You can test this. Just get the rear up on ramps. Get under the car and have someone bounce the car while you listen and look around for the noise. When I had the Figs Mega arms, I isolated it to just the left side inboard pillowball.

Originally Posted by FR-S Matt

That's the problem. I've done that and the noise doesn't replicate with force like that. Just that light click that happens when the suspension adjusts to going up a small hill and right down it quick.

I'm thinking it may be the pillowball as you stated. I need to get back under there and look at things again.

I had Voodoo13 rear LCA's on my car for about 2500 miles and had a click as well. Mine was at all slow speeds - anything under 25mph and they'd click. It got progressively worse, to the point that I thought I was going to drop an entire corner of the suspension, but I started daily driving the car: more usage seemed to make the suspension move easier and get rid of the noise. I stopped daily driving, noise came back.

My setup was: Megan Track coilovers and toe arms, Voodoo13 LCA, and an alignment. I'm a competent mechanic and torqued everything. Checked and rechecked everything multiple times before I started eliminating things.

I started by removing the end links, still a noise, then coilovers, yet the noise persisted. Then the toe links, still there. Finally the arms and reinstalled the coilovers, no more noise.

I have to agree with @cnk that it must be the heim joint. To me the clunking that came from the rear LCA's was too much NVH. I sold them, and if I get arms again it'll be with a bushing in them.

Good luck figuring it out, or dealing with the noise.

[FR-S Matt]

Originally Posted by Travisty75

I had Voodoo13 rear LCA's on my car for about 2500 miles and had a click as well. Mine was at all slow speeds - anything under 25mph and they'd click. It got progressively worse, to the point that I thought I was going to drop an entire corner of the suspension, but I started daily driving the car: more usage seemed to make the suspension move easier and get rid of the noise. I stopped daily driving, noise came back.

My setup was: Megan Track coilovers and toe arms, Voodoo13 LCA, and an alignment. I'm a competent mechanic and torqued everything. Checked and rechecked everything multiple times before I started eliminating things.

I started by removing the end links, still a noise, then coilovers, yet the noise persisted. Then the toe links, still there. Finally the arms and reinstalled the coilovers, no more noise.

I have to agree with @cnk that it must be the heim joint. To me the clunking that came from the rear LCA's was too much NVH. I sold them, and if I get arms again it'll be with a bushing in them.

Good luck figuring it out, or dealing with the noise.

Yeah, I'm thinking it's the whiteline arms. I knew the risk would be more NVH for these awesome LCA's. The SPC LCA's worked fine and I probably should have kept them for my daily, but the whitelines are super durable and of course, they are nice eye candy from behind the car. I think I'll just live with it as its not the end of the world.

Appreciate the help guys. I know some others run into this and it's a pain to find the clicking noise. The first thought always is "check your tophats on the rear coils, you didn't tighten them enough". After two coilover installs now, I promise that has been checked, lol.

[muffinz]

Originally Posted by cnk

Most likely it's the pillowballs. I tested out the Figs Mega arms and they would click every time the arm moved. It drove me nuts. I switched tothe SPC arms and no more noise. The SPC uses a higher durometer rubber than the stock piece and it's not a pillowball so that would explain why you didn't get the noise.

I was able to isolate the noise to the pillowball by bouncing the rear up and down while listening under the car and feeling with my hands for the noise.

I am having the same problem with my car...except I have SPC LCAs... but they dont look like any SPC LCA I've seen on the forum. The adjustment is at the very end of the arm nearest the hub. Its an elliptical washer type thing (rotate it and it changes the length) instead of the sliding adjustments ive seen on other SPC LCAs.

So anyways same symptoms: low speed weight shifting clunking.

Where / what exactly is the "pillowball" ?

Its 25 deg today so I'm not gonna crawl under the car but I want to get this sorted out.

Note: I have ST coilovers, Whiteline Adj endlinks & 18mm sway bar. The LCA's got installed after a month of driving with everything else installed without any noise. I also had the whiteline subframe and diff bushings installed at the same time as the LCAs.

[whataboutbob]

Mine makes noise too. Check your endlink tightness at the sway, and then check for slop where the coil bolts onto the LCA. I've had 2 sets of coils and they both float just a bit on the mounting bolt, when this happens it makes noise.

[cnk]

Originally Posted by muffinz

I am having the same problem with my car...except I have SPC LCAs... but they dont look like any SPC LCA I've seen on the forum. The adjustment is at the very end of the arm nearest the hub. Its an elliptical washer type thing (rotate it and it changes the length) instead of the sliding adjustments ive seen on other SPC LCAs.

So anyways same symptoms: low speed weight shifting clunking.

Where / what exactly is the "pillowball" ?

Its 25 deg today so I'm not gonna crawl under the car but I want to get this sorted out.

Note: I have ST coilovers, Whiteline Adj endlinks & 18mm sway bar. The LCA's got installed after a month of driving with everything else installed without any noise. I also had the whiteline subframe and diff bushings installed at the same time as the LCAs.

SPC had 2 versions out for their LCA's. The ones from the WRX that they originally sold as they worked for the BRZ/FRS and then the newer version which has an eccentric on the hub side. I have the newer version and don't have any sounds. The SPC arms don't have pillowballs. If you had no noise and then installed LCA's and bushings, then the noise is coming from any part that was taken apart and reassembled. If you had someone install the parts, go back to the shop and have them look at it. If you did the install, then I would double check your work.

Also, did you make sure to leave everything loose until you put a load on the suspension and then torque everything down to spec? That can cause issues as well if you don't do that. I left everything loose, lowered it onto ramps, bounced the car a few times to let the suspension settle and then torqued everything down.

[muffinz]

Originally Posted by cnk

SPC had 2 versions out for their LCA's. The ones from the WRX that they originally sold as they worked for the BRZ/FRS and then the newer version which has an eccentric on the hub side. I have the newer version and don't have any sounds. The SPC arms don't have pillowballs. If you had no noise and then installed LCA's and bushings, then the noise is coming from any part that was taken apart and reassembled. If you had someone install the parts, go back to the shop and have them look at it. If you did the install, then I would double check your work.

Also, did you make sure to leave everything loose until you put a load on the suspension and then torque everything down to spec? That can cause issues as well if you don't do that. I left everything loose, lowered it onto ramps, bounced the car a few times to let the suspension settle and then torqued everything down.

Thanks for the input. I had a shop do the work but after they put it back together with the parking brake line on the wrong side of the bracket causing it to rub my tire i no longer trust them with my car.

I checked if anything was loose and everything seemed really tight. I may try loosening and retorquing everything because im 99% sure they just used an impact gun and didnt torque anything properly.