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Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
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03-25-2014, 11:46 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 35475
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: OC, CA
Vehicle:2013 STi Black |
Clunk at top hat???
Have a 2013 Sti. Suspension stock except eibach springs. About 3 weeks ago I started getting a little clunking coming from the front drivers side. At first only after driving 10 miles and at very slow speed would it clunk a little. Took to dealer and they could not find anything wrong. Said my spring must not be seated right and is clunking. Not right but they could not figure out what was clunking. Two weeks have gone by and the noise is getting much louder and more frequent. For a while I had to still drive a few miles before the noise would start. Now it's almost immediate.
I have localized it to the strut. It seems to be coming from the top hat. I did reset the spring placement and like I thought. No change. I re torqued all the bolts from mounting bolts to The center shaft. And with everything tight it still clunks. I can grab an open door and shake the car and it clunks every time. You can feel the clunk at the top hat if u put your hand on it while you move the car. Can a top hat go bad like that? Can it be something else? I have a appt to drop off car again at dealer on Friday but I know they are gonna give me trouble about the springs.i want to see if anyone has any ideas for me to try before I drop it off? Thanks in advance.
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03-26-2014, 12:09 AM | #2 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 10228
Join Date: Sep 2001
Vehicle:2002 Subaru WRX |
Did you use an impact gun to tighten the tophats? That is the preferred method
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03-26-2014, 12:06 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 35475
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: OC, CA
Vehicle:2013 STi Black |
Ya. Originally I had used impact gun. There was no noise for 3 months. After a week of mild noise when the dealer was checking it they re torqued everything. Then a week later after the noise was getting louder I re checked the bolts and used the home made method. With a socket filed down slightly to get a 7/8" wrench on it and tightened with that and Allen wrench. Nothing made the noise and clanking better and it continues to get worse daily.
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03-27-2014, 08:23 PM | #4 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 35475
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: OC, CA
Vehicle:2013 STi Black |
Well it's going in tomorrow. No one has had noises from top hat? Or had one go bad somehow?
The only bolt I haven't looked at yet is the bolt that holds the strut shaft to the bottom of the strut cartridge. Gonna pull the wheel off tonight and check the nut. Other than that I'm at a loss of what it can be. After a few miles of driving the noise comes on and literally sounds like something is going to fall off the car. Loud enough to make me really nervous when I hear the clanking. Except now I'm noticing a rougher ride when driving at normal speeds. The feel of the clunking is getting more noticeable like something in 5he suspension has play in it. |
03-28-2014, 06:45 AM | #5 | |
*** Banned ***
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Quote:
you really should NEVER use an impact on strut tops or the center nut that is a PERFECT way to shear them right the **** off jesus... the center shaft nut gets 43ft-lbs and the top to body get 17ft-lbs i use a cordless impact..carefully...on the center nut...but ...NEVER air impact tools |
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03-28-2014, 08:18 AM | #6 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 1026
Join Date: Mar 2000
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Hickigan
Vehicle:'00 RS/WRX Stg5 '98 RS Stock |
Unless you are me and you dont listen to Uncle Scott..
Used AIR impact on the last 8-10 struts with zero issues to report back.. I also grab the piston shaft with a giant pair of channel-locs when I do it.. Lets not forget its case hardened piston shaft.. ever try cutting one with a sawsall? All my carz, all driven in the worst possible backwoods dirt roads conditions.. pppffffttttt Peas PS US your rants are more and more comical every week Last edited by Aaron'z 2.5RS; 03-28-2014 at 08:28 AM. |
03-28-2014, 01:02 PM | #7 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 10228
Join Date: Sep 2001
Vehicle:2002 Subaru WRX |
Quote:
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03-28-2014, 10:01 PM | #8 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 35475
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region:
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Location: OC, CA
Vehicle:2013 STi Black |
Well after dealing with the darn dealer I finally have an answer.
First off. The dealer would not even touch the strut since I have aftermarket springs. Wanted $200 to pull it off and look. So I took my car home and looked myself. Found out that the bottom 14mm nut that holds the strut cartridge in the housing was just spinning on the shaft. It must have started to come a little loose and since the dealer didn't look at it the first time I brought it in it has been banging for the last three weeks getting more and more damaged. So that's the cause of the clanking. But now the strut is shot as that nut will not come off now. I called the dealer and let them know what I found and after some talking to the service dept they actually agreed to replace the strut for me under warranty. So I have to wait a week to get the strut in. Have them swap the strut. Then I have to pull it back off to get the short bump stop in the new strut housing. So I have to call eibach to get a new one ASAP. Since I can't take apart the current strut to get the bump stop out....and then I have to go back to my local racing shop to have another proper alignment. I'm praying I can get a good deal as he should only have to realign that corner as the alignment was done recently. I'll make sure the dealer doesn't try to realign it after they swap the strut and screw up my other settings. What a pain...... |
03-29-2014, 10:38 PM | #9 | |
*** Banned ***
Member#: 16200
Join Date: Mar 2002
Vehicle:OK buy Nates beans westcoastroasting.com |
Quote:
professionals MAY know what they are doing an idiot n0000b???? NEVER recommend to a n0000b what a professional does every day. there are reasons why......oh **** it im tired of trying to keep idiots from ****ing their **** up....and from keeping idiots from helping them do it |
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03-29-2014, 10:40 PM | #10 | |
*** Banned ***
Member#: 16200
Join Date: Mar 2002
Vehicle:OK buy Nates beans westcoastroasting.com |
Quote:
you can do it ALL WRONG all you want i know better....many others do too |
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03-30-2014, 08:28 AM | #11 |
Scooby Guru
Member#: 1026
Join Date: Mar 2000
Chapter/Region:
MWSOC
Location: Hickigan
Vehicle:'00 RS/WRX Stg5 '98 RS Stock |
Love you too pookie
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09-22-2014, 02:21 PM | #12 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 391245
Join Date: May 2014
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I have a 2013 STI sedan and am having a similar problem minus the eibachs. I'm at 25k miles and it seems to be getting worse. I've taken it to a shop and they and I both thought it was coming from the top hat. I took it to my local dealer and they said it was my end links. They replaced those and yet it continues to make the clunk. I'm taking it in again this week and hopefully they can get it figured out this time.
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10-20-2014, 01:55 PM | #13 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 35475
Join Date: Apr 2003
Chapter/Region:
SCIC
Location: OC, CA
Vehicle:2013 STi Black |
Hope you got that clunk fixed. The lower bolt is easy to check. Just pull the tire, and feel if the bolt on the bottom of the shaft is torqued to spec. Mine just spun freely as the threads were gone. I could actually just spun the nut with my fingers. It just spun either direction.
Dealer actually replaced both of my front struts under warranty. (Only one of them was bad) But when they put my springs on the new struts they didn't seat the springs properly on the top spring perch. Now I get a nasty clanking from the springs binding up when turning sharp like in a parking lot. I'm getting adjustable top hats to put on. Not sure if I even need them but I'll feel better putting on something new instead of just tearing the struts off, reassembling them and then having to get her realigned just to fix a dealer screw up. How can someone that does nothing but work of subaru's be sooo horrible at working on them??? FYI, I did take it in to the dealer to complain about the binding but they just blame it on aftermarket springs. They have no answer about why they were quiet when I installed them months ago. Sent from my iPhone using NASIOC |
10-20-2014, 02:17 PM | #14 |
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Member#: 370184
Join Date: Oct 2013
Vehicle:2000 Impreza rsti(?) White |
Could it be the sti rear clunk... on the fronts?
The GD and GC models seem to have a greasing problem, and is fixed "permanently" by adding a grease nipple to the strut... and then adding grease periodically. http://igotasti.com/vBforum/showthre...trut-clunk-fix |
12-07-2014, 02:26 AM | #15 |
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Member#: 391245
Join Date: May 2014
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Ha! Just saw this post again! If anyone saw this before, I got eibachs put ON, pro kit specifically, and sway bars. It no longer makes the clunk. I can only guess it was the spring not seated some how, with the stock springs. Everything else was fine and dandy.
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04-07-2015, 10:53 PM | #16 |
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Member#: 406563
Join Date: Nov 2014
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I have a 2006 Impreza 2.5i and I installed Tein S-Tech springs on my stock struts. I read endless threads with instructions on how to do it and I’m pretty sure I did everything right. But I hear a clunk and popping noise from the springs when I make sharp turns, like they are moving out of place. I do not hear any noise going through bumps, but only when making sharp turns. I lifted the car and I see that the top rubber busing that sit on top of the spring is being moved around. It seems like the top hat is stuck or something. When the struts were out of the car, I tightened the top 17mm nut with an impact wrench. Now I might be wrong but it makes sense in my head that the top hat is supposed to move freely, after tightening the top nut, it did not. Am I supposed to tighten it as much as I can or leave it loose enough for the top hat to move? I think that is what might be causing the spring to move around.
One step I did not follow from the instructions I followed was to remove the bottom nut from the strut. After removing the old spring I didn’t see the need for it. Is that a crucial step and could it be causing the clunking noise? I looked everywhere on here but can’t find any answers I have not tried. Please help!!! |
04-07-2015, 11:43 PM | #17 | |
*** Banned ***
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Quote:
you bought the worst springs ever made for your car. second of all....you shouldn't have been messing with this if you don't understand what you are doing third and last..... there is no way possible to help you without being able to SEE what you have ****ed up....other than having bought the worst possible springs |
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04-08-2015, 12:14 AM | #18 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 406563
Join Date: Nov 2014
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I think there is a possible way to help me based on my description and my questions, but here's a picture.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/131640570@N05/? And I mean, after seeing other people do this, looks like anyone can do it. It's not rocket science. But I can't seem to find what is causing this. My first question would be, why are these the worst springs? Second: Why is the top hat not moving freely? |
10-05-2015, 12:42 PM | #19 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 388585
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: clovis, ca
Vehicle:2015 wrx base ISM |
Bringing a thread back from the dead here. But I have a similar issue with my 2015. I've been having this issue almost since brand new. Dealership saw my car 3 times with no solutions. I then lowered my car on RCE springs. After dismantling and reassembling the struts with RCE springs, the clunk went away. Now after 15k miles, it's back and louder than ever.
Thanks for this thread, I am going to check the bolt you guys mentioned. Also may have to check the top hat as well. |
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