Welcome to the North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club Thursday March 28, 2024
Home Forums Images WikiNASIOC Products Store Modifications Upgrade Garage
Click here to visit TireRack
Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack

Losing traction? Need new tires?
Click here to visit the NASIOC Upgrade Garage...
Go Back   NASIOC > NASIOC Technical > Brakes, Steering & Suspension

Welcome to NASIOC - The world's largest online community for Subaru enthusiasts!
Welcome to the NASIOC.com Subaru forum.

You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our community, free of charge, you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is free, fast and simple, so please join our community today!

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.







* As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads. 
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 01-17-2010, 02:49 PM   #1
theboz32
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 197221
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
2008 WRX VF48
EFI Logics Tuned!!!

Default Whiteline Sway bars and Kartboy endlink knocking noise

Hey guys to give you some background I recently received a set of front and rear sway bars for my 08 wrx. I also swapped out the endlinks at the same time early this year. The improvement is great and i love these sway bars but there is a problem. When i go over bumps in the road or speed bumps i hear a knocking noise. I checked this morning to see if there was any damage to the car or swaybars/endlinks but there is none. The only thing I can see is that there is about 3/4 inch of space total (1/4in left 1/2 in right) between the left and right bushing and the idk what the right term is for it but the safety notch on the bar on both sides. Could the noise be the bushings hitting that? but if so why not during hard cornering only over bumps? please help!!!!! do i need to send it back for another bar? I had it installed by a friend who is a machanice and he said it is all put in correctly after rechecking it today so thats not the issue PLEASE HELPP!!!!
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
theboz32 is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
* Registered users of the site do not see these ads.
Old 01-17-2010, 03:06 PM   #2
theboz32
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 197221
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
2008 WRX VF48
EFI Logics Tuned!!!

Default

btw its 24mm front and 22mm rear with the kartboy endlinks and I've heard there is something going around about kartboy endlinks being to big true or not?
theboz32 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 03:07 PM   #3
Hokie-wrx wagon
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 87194
Join Date: May 2005
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

Is the knocking coming from the front or rear of the car?

You should torque down the end links again (35 ft lbs). You may also want to re-grease the sway bar bushings.

If the noise is coming from the rear, which direction are the upper bolts pointed? If there's too much excess pointed towards the struts, those bolts could be coming in contact with the strut body.
Hokie-wrx wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 03:12 PM   #4
theboz32
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 197221
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
2008 WRX VF48
EFI Logics Tuned!!!

Default

i think its coming from both but my friend who put them in says they are only coming from the front but i'll check it out for sure that could be something thanks
theboz32 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 05:04 PM   #5
Arnie
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 1725
Join Date: Jun 2000
Chapter/Region: International
Location: Germany
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru Forester
SG silver

Default

Post pics of the car on ramps. Shots of the swaybar, the endlinks, the bushings and their mounts, front and rear.
Arnie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 07:48 PM   #6
theboz32
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 197221
Join Date: Dec 2008
Chapter/Region: Tri-State
Location: NY
Vehicle:
2008 WRX VF48
EFI Logics Tuned!!!

Default

ok will do
theboz32 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-17-2010, 08:23 PM   #7
Turn in Concepts
Former Vendor
 
Member#: 93646
Join Date: Aug 2005
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Vehicle:
Many Track Records
Let us help you go fast!

Default

Did you capture the bushings into the links with the washers?
Turn in Concepts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2010, 10:29 AM   #8
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

I'm having the same noises, same whiteline rear 22mm adjustable bar. I'll take pics tonight when I get back to my car but what's happening in the rear is that the links are too long and the bolt head is coming into contact with the lower spring perch on the strut. I had originally taken it into the dealer to check if it was noise related to something else, but once they got it up on the lift, the suspension droop was enough such that the bolt head from the endlinks was touching the spring perch. Pics coming tonight...

forgot to mention that I'm on cobb springs right now so there is a good 1.25" of drop in the back which definitely makes this worse. If you're stock ride height, maybe the Kartboy links are the right length...

Last edited by rexassian; 01-19-2010 at 10:35 AM.
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2010, 01:44 PM   #9
bzbuzz
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 116052
Join Date: May 2006
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Location: IL 수바루!
Vehicle:
2011 STI ( Sold )
WRB

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokie-wrx wagon View Post
Is the knocking coming from the front or rear of the car?

You should torque down the end links again (35 ft lbs). You may also want to re-grease the sway bar bushings.

If the noise is coming from the rear, which direction are the upper bolts pointed? If there's too much excess pointed towards the struts, those bolts could be coming in contact with the strut body.
35ft/lb is for the stock. I do about 45ft/lb. no issues for 2 years.
bzbuzz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2010, 02:14 PM   #10
ST0ICH
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 120306
Join Date: Jul 2006
Chapter/Region: BAIC
Location: San Jose, CA
Vehicle:
2005 年ワ
WRB

Default

For the sway bar bushings I used white lithium grease and 2 + years with no issues... And when you tighten up the bolts, have some thread lock laying around so it wont loosen up again. I did have my endlinks loosen up front before, and when I applied some thread lock, it hasn't been a problem for more than a year. Hope this helps...
ST0ICH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-19-2010, 08:19 PM   #11
Arnie
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 1725
Join Date: Jun 2000
Chapter/Region: International
Location: Germany
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru Forester
SG silver

Default

Another time honored install trick when using poly bushings with swaybars is to wrap the swaybar with teflon tape then lube. You won't get knocking for a good long while. If you drive in wet winter conditions, the lube can be washed away and you'll get some squeaking or knocking.
Arnie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 01:08 AM   #12
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Sorry for the delay, here are my pics, first with the car raised, suspension at full droop:



another angle


and at normal ride height showing the angle on the bar:


and yes, I double checked, the bar is centered...
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 06:26 AM   #13
Hokie-wrx wagon
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 87194
Join Date: May 2005
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

The endlink is making contact with the lower strut perch at full droop (possibly before full droop). Also your left rear spring doesn't look like it's seated correctly on the lower strut perch.
Hokie-wrx wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 10:00 AM   #14
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokie-wrx wagon View Post
The endlink is making contact with the lower strut perch at full droop (possibly before full droop).
yea, that's exactly the point of the thread and the point I was trying to make. That the kartboy endlinks are too long for a car with drop springs. I'd switch the cobb springs out for better ones but I'm waiting on the blingsteins to show up and then hopefully that will fix the being dropped too much issue. I'm worried that there will still be a bit of contact though as, again, I think the endlinks are too long.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokie-wrx wagon View Post
Also your left rear spring doesn't look like it's seated correctly on the lower strut perch.

Yep, that's what you get with aftermarket springs and stock struts, they don't work together perfectly. See above about waiting to fix it.
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 07:04 PM   #15
Arnie
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 1725
Join Date: Jun 2000
Chapter/Region: International
Location: Germany
Vehicle:
2002 Subaru Forester
SG silver

Default

Have you tried putting on the stock endlinks to see how they compare?
Arnie is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 07:57 PM   #16
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Arnie View Post
Have you tried putting on the stock endlinks to see how they compare?
I had rallitek (same style/dimensions as stock just more beefy) links on before these. I could only get to the middle hole but didn't have any noises. The Kartboy links were about 1/2" longer than rallitek.
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 08:32 PM   #17
09rexwagon
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 216135
Join Date: Jul 2009
Vehicle:
2011

Default

My endlinks nuts loosened after 2 days of autocrossing (AVO adjustable) on my FSB. Made an annoying rattled going over uneven bumps. Put locktite on the treads and it hasn't happened since.
09rexwagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 08:36 PM   #18
Turn in Concepts
Former Vendor
 
Member#: 93646
Join Date: Aug 2005
Chapter/Region: MWSOC
Vehicle:
Many Track Records
Let us help you go fast!

Default

That's really weird as we tested those, and clearances were good at full droop. let me drop this over to Tom so we can get started on figuring it out.

-Clint

edit: OP, I know you said the bar is centered, but I want to ask this - are you seeing contact on both sides with it a full droop?
Turn in Concepts is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 08:51 PM   #19
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turn in Concepts View Post
That's really weird as we tested those, and clearances were good at full droop. let me drop this over to Tom so we can get started on figuring it out.

-Clint

edit: OP, I know you said the bar is centered, but I want to ask this - are you seeing contact on both sides with it a full droop?
Thanks Clint for adding some traction to this. I sent a mail over to Tom about this but I'm sure he's really busy and hasn't seen it yet.

I'm not the OP but my bar is centered. However, I did try to move it so that it wouldn't contact on the driver's side which resulted in contact on the passenger's side.

I can take more pics if it would help. Just let us know what you and Tom think. Thanks again.
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 08:54 PM   #20
tom@kartboy
Scooby Guru
 
Member#: 67
Join Date: Jul 1999
Chapter/Region: SCIC
Location: San Diego, CA
Vehicle:
1999 Outlasting
the competition.

Default

I replied to who ever sent the email. let me take some measurements tomorrow morning. We did a lot of different setup testing before releasing this.
We'll figure something out.

Tom
tom@kartboy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 09:22 PM   #21
dur4ce
Scooby Newbie
 
Member#: 213449
Join Date: Jun 2009
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Kitsap County, WA
Vehicle:
2009 WRX Prem 5-door
WR Blue Mica

Default

+1 I've got Kartboy endlinks about to install on my whiteline bars. Keep us updated!
dur4ce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 10:07 PM   #22
Hokie-wrx wagon
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 87194
Join Date: May 2005
Chapter/Region: MAIC
Location: Herndon, VA
Default

Probably a dumb question, but this is the correct sway bar for your car (BSR49XZ))? Do you have the part # of yours?

Also, it appears that if you rotated the left strut 180 degrees (mounted the opposite direction), there would be more clearance on the endlink side.

Hokie-wrx wagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 10:13 PM   #23
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by tom@kartboy View Post
I replied to who ever sent the email. let me take some measurements tomorrow morning. We did a lot of different setup testing before releasing this.
We'll figure something out.

Tom
Hoping that was me. Let me know if you need any info from me. Thanks.

BTW, I foolishly had email off from other members so I didn't get your reply. Sorry, I should have checked that first before sending through the board.

Hokie: WRX/STi are the same model numbers, same bar. Here's Whiteline's page showing applications for BSR49XZ
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 10:15 PM   #24
09rexwagon
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 216135
Join Date: Jul 2009
Vehicle:
2011

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokie-wrx wagon View Post
Probably a dumb question, but this is the correct sway bar for your car? Are the WRX and STI rear sway bars interchangeable? Do you have the part # of yours?

Also, it appears that if you rotated the left strut 180 degrees (mounted the opposite direction), there would be more clearance on the endlink side.
The rear on the GE/GH is the same as the rear on the GR. The fronts are different though.

And we don't have struts in the rear but yes the shock can be rotated 180 degrees due to the 2 bolt top hat.
09rexwagon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 01-21-2010, 10:18 PM   #25
rexassian
Scooby Specialist
 
Member#: 183717
Join Date: Jul 2008
Chapter/Region: TXIC
Location: ATX
Vehicle:
1999 2.5RS
BRP

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokie-wrx wagon View Post
Also, it appears that if you rotated the left strut 180 degrees (mounted the opposite direction), there would be more clearance on the endlink side.
True, but this is stock fitment. I'm positive because I was unable to remove that side from the lower mount even with my 700 lb-ft impact.

But I do see your point. I'll take a look at the other side and see if I installed it back the same way...
rexassian is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
WTB: 04 STi Rear Sway Bar and Kartboy endlinks bulldog8567 Private 'Wanted' Classifieds 4 11-21-2009 05:29 AM
F/S Hotchkis Sway Bars and Kartboy Endlinks legacyvt286 Suspension/Brakes/Handling 20 11-18-2008 07:58 PM
Whiteline sway bar and Perrin endlinks skiman1 RMIC Private Classifieds 2 07-17-2007 01:15 AM
FS: Cusco Rear Sway Bar and Kartboy Endlinks iloveturbos Bay Area Impreza Club Forum -- BAIC 3 02-26-2004 06:09 PM
FS: Whiteline Sway bar and Kartboy endlinks TooBlueRoo Private 'For Sale' Classifieds 1 10-13-2003 10:13 AM

All times are GMT -4. The time now is 07:34 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Copyright ©1999 - 2019, North American Subaru Impreza Owners Club, Inc.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission
Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.