Thuds, Bangs and Frustration

[DrivingisReligion]

Hi all, this is going to be a long post. Let me start off by giving a little background on my car, she's a daily driver, 4.5 years old with 19k on odo, sits for 2-3 months at a time when I fly out then a few months of running and back to storage, so low miles. Mods include Perrin catback, Grimmspeed CAI(previously) now K&N filter in stock airbox. Stock wheels and tires and everything else. I'm aware of usual twins rattles and have already soundproofed doors, trunk and foam filled problematic areas, even took care of the gas pedal metal tinge noise back in 2015. I am coming from a SRT4 Neon with sport everything and super low profile tires and I also have driven a few Porches, Mustangs, Camaros, WRX's, M235, M3 and cars with basically non-existent tire sidewalls-stiff sport suspension setup, thanks to Turo and my friends BUT never experienced thuds, bangs from small bumps/road imperfections/potholes(Thanks Missouri) as hard and loud as I do these days before on any of those cars I mentioned above. The thuds can be heard coming from behind the dash, I long ignored these thinking they are the norm with the twins but then my roof lining started coming loose, door panels loose, parcel tray loose, rearview mirror loose, windows roll down a notch over bumps like it does when you open the door, ghastly crude noises started from dash area, shifter rattle intensified, squeaks started from places unheard of before. I fear one day all interior panels are gonna come crashing down on me. I tried running low air pressure in tires to compensate but no use. The car rides normally on perfectly smooth roads but one small imperfection in the road and it thuds. I am now considering a 16" wheel setup to fix this. But the actual question I should be asking is, Is my front suspension DEAD?

[Tcoat]

I have 120,000 miles on lowering springs and stock wheels and drive through some very bad roads yet have not had one of those issues.
Something is not right someplace although I have no clue what it would be.

[finch1750]

That's weird. I'm at 142k on springs for 35k and stiff coils for about 60k. Plus for the last 15k I've been on softer coils. And I drive some jacked up freeways and especially the backroads


My suspension bits need to be torqued from time to time due to clunking, my rear deck pops, and my dash recently started to lift right above the radio. Plus the tweeter area vibrates sometimes. I do get squeaks from suspension bushings (I think) from time to time when the car has sat for more then a few days but then it goes away.


That's crazy man. At the very least try torqueing down the suspension. The sway bar end links or the strut braces the mount to the firewall may seem tight but you might get a turn or two with a ratchet. And they can make hella noise. Just make sure the suspension is loaded when you torque the end links.

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I have 120,000 miles on lowering springs and stock wheels and drive through some very bad roads yet have not had one of those issues.
Something is not right someplace although I have no clue what it would be.

Due to these issues, I even considered a trade in with a Stinger recently but changed my mind and now want to fix this car in any way possible so I can later supercharge it as per my original plan

[cjd]

Start by checking the braces in the engine bay (strut tower to firewall). Note the torque values are rather low and the studs can snap if you over do it.

From there I'd be doing an inspection of all the suspension looking for loose connections or worn bushings.

I had none of these issues on my old '14 with 18k, and it sat every winter.

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by cjd

Start by checking the braces in the engine bay (strut tower to firewall). Note the torque values are rather low and the studs can snap if you over do it.

From there I'd be doing an inspection of all the suspension looking for loose connections or worn bushings.

I had none of these issues on my old '14 with 18k, and it sat every winter.

I checked the braces, they seem to be ok, visually. I will do a thorough suspension inspection next to see if it leaks oil but the thought of worn out bushings at 19k baffles me

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by DrivingisReligion

I checked the braces, they seem to be ok, visually. I will do a thorough suspension inspection next to see if it leaks oil but the thought of worn out bushings at 19k baffles me

I could tug on the braces by hand and move the car with no sound. But once I took a ratchet to them it turned and the noise stopped.

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by finch1750

I could tug on the braces by hand and move the car with no sound. But once I took a ratchet to them it turned and the noise stopped.

I am going to do that next, but currently trying to figure out how to glue back the loose portions of the headliner to the roof.

I also want to tighten the nuts and bolts that secure the dash in place in the meanwhile but yes like you said, will try tinkering with struts and braces first.

[norcalpb]

Rear view mirror: replace with updated homelink mount from dealership.

Rear parcel tray: remove deck, and take a screw driver to pry up and stick in every spot weld you can find. Pry side to side until the squeaking stops and hit it with white
lithium grease.

Shifter rattle: Remove shifter trim and see if the dust boot has disconnected itself from
The shifter. You can also shift the whole reverse lockout left by loosening the 4 Allen bolts, holding the reverse lockout mechanism (not lever) to the left and re-tighten.

For the dash noises double the v bars like people have said, but if noise persists you may need new front shocks and/or top hats with new bearings.

[cjd]

Originally Posted by DrivingisReligion

I checked the braces, they seem to be ok, visually. I will do a thorough suspension inspection next to see if it leaks oil but the thought of worn out bushings at 19k baffles me

I'd suspect rust related issues or dry rot, which are time and conditions, not miles.

I feel like we don't have the whole picture, because the things you describe are unusual on any car...

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

Rear view mirror: replace with updated homelink mount from dealership.

Rear parcel tray: remove deck, and take a screw driver to pry up and stick in every spot weld you can find. Pry side to side until the squeaking stops and hit it with white
lithium grease.

Shifter rattle: Remove shifter trim and see if the dust boot has disconnected itself from
The shifter. You can also shift the whole reverse lockout left by loosening the 4 Allen bolts, holding the reverse lockout mechanism (not lever) to the left and re-tighten.

For the dash noises double the v bars like people have said, but if noise persists you may need new front shocks and/or top hats with new bearings.

Rearview mirror: Yes, the mount is going in the trash, will get the updated one.

Rear parcel tray: Did that in 2016, squeaks were gone. Fill a plastic box with metal bolts and wooden chunks and shake it -That's the sound I am getting from the parcel tray area now. Sadly, no one around me knows how to drive stick so I could jump in the back and pin point these sounds.

Shifter rattle: I made a note, will do that.

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by cjd

I'd suspect rust related issues or dry rot, which are time and conditions, not miles.

I feel like we don't have the whole picture, because the things you describe are unusual on any car...

This. There is rust. Plenty of it. starting from the pulleys in engine bay to tie rod end bolts and the wheel hubs. Most metal parts that could be easily spotted in the bay are slight to moderate rusted. Actually I was going to create a post in the maintenance section of the forum to bring this up but since you brought it, I wonder if rust is in any way related to the issues i'm experiencing now

[norcalpb]

Originally Posted by DrivingisReligion

Rearview mirror: Yes, the mount is going in the trash, will get the updated one.

Rear parcel tray: Did that in 2016, squeaks were gone. Fill a plastic box with metal bolts and wooden chunks and shake it -That's the sound I am getting from the parcel tray area now. Sadly, no one around me knows how to drive stick so I could jump in the back and pin point these sounds.

Shifter rattle: I made a note, will do that.

Have you taken apart the 3rd brake light to fix that rattle?

Also the keyless trunk sensor is known to rattle a ton, there’s a fix where you grap it’s tab located at the roof of the trunk, and then twisting it more to give it a more snug fit.

[DrivingisReligion]

Originally Posted by norcalpb

Have you taken apart the 3rd brake light to fix that rattle?

Also the keyless trunk sensor is known to rattle a ton, there’s a fix where you grap it’s tab located at the roof of the trunk, and then twisting it more to give it a more snug fit.

No, I will fix the 3rd brake light.

The tab in the trunk was fixed already.