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Brakes & Suspension Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack |
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04-20-2018, 06:46 PM | #1 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 363497
Join Date: Jul 2013
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: St. Augustine, Fl
Vehicle:2003 Wrx Black |
The Clunkening
So I just bought an 03 wrx with 104k on it and I'm tracking down a bunch of noises. One of them is a clunk over bumpy surfaces coming from the driverside frontish area.
The car has a lot of whiteline stuff on it, sway bars, rear endlinks although the fronts look stock, anti lift kit and a front crossmember brace. The car is on tein lowering springs and kyb adjustable struts that don't seem blown out, to me at least. The pillowballs up there look new, which makes sense because the car has adjustable a-arms as well and I'm guessing the pillowballs were replaced when those went on. The only thing I'm noticing is that when the car is in the air and the suspension doesn't have load on it, my powersteering rack hits the crossmember brace when I try to turn the wheel. So badly that I actually cannot turn the wheel more than a few degrees off center before it cannot be turned any further. If the cars on the ground theres no noticeable interference between the two, but I suspect it could be making contact when the suspension is compressing over bumps. It seems as though Whiteline does not sell this crossmember brace anymore, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about possible fitment issues with it when paired with lowered suspension height? The front left side of the powersteering rack hits the brace much worse than the passenger side does. If I turn the wheel to the right with the car in the air it will stop and cannot be turned further. However if I turn it left, it will catch on something but then a little extra oomph will move it through and I can turn the wheel to full lock. That would make me think that since the driver side contact is more severe, the two are closer on that side which, if they are the source of the noise, would explain why I only really hear the noise coming from that side. (driver side) None of the associated bolts under there are loose, or the bolts on top of the struts, but I haven't gone through and actually checked that they're torqued to spec. If you've got any input, lemme hear it
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04-22-2018, 06:57 AM | #2 |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 271525
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BagEnd
Vehicle:7/2 STi/WRX wagon SWP/AW |
I have input...take off the crossmember brace.
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04-22-2018, 08:52 PM | #3 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 363497
Join Date: Jul 2013
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: St. Augustine, Fl
Vehicle:2003 Wrx Black |
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04-22-2018, 09:07 PM | #4 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 291049
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AZ
Vehicle:'04 STI '16 WRX Limited |
Quote:
I recently had the Whiteline ALK and RCA kit installed, trying to track down a knocking sound that introduced itself right after. I'm going insane trying to figure it out as everything seems tight. Basically, at low or high speeds as I go over bumps or slight oscillations. |
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04-22-2018, 09:14 PM | #5 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 363497
Join Date: Jul 2013
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: St. Augustine, Fl
Vehicle:2003 Wrx Black |
Quote:
Additional question, my car does have whiteline rear endlinks and the tech told me they were installed backwards and needed to be flipped 180 degrees...is it even possible to install those backwards? I was looking at them and they're just a big chunky C shape. There's a bracket that keeps you from installing them facing the wrong way and the top and bottom mounting points seem identical. Annoying lol |
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04-22-2018, 10:35 PM | #6 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 291049
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AZ
Vehicle:'04 STI '16 WRX Limited |
Quote:
I believe it is possible to install them in the wrong direction. Whiteline has an install guide for near every product. I'd check directly on their website. Right now I'm at a complete loss as to what it is. My first thought: It is possible that the nut securing the control arm to the bushing (Passes through), isn't torqued down enough. It's virtually impossible to get 140 ft. lbs on that without using a lift. Second thought: The Subframe, the ALK requires you to drop it and install spacers. It's possible this is causing the sound, but then again everything seems tight. This is on a '04 STI, which I'm going to bring into a local shop this week to see if they can figure out where the noise is coming from. |
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04-22-2018, 10:44 PM | #7 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 363497
Join Date: Jul 2013
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: St. Augustine, Fl
Vehicle:2003 Wrx Black |
Quote:
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04-22-2018, 11:16 PM | #8 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 291049
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AZ
Vehicle:'04 STI '16 WRX Limited |
Quote:
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04-22-2018, 11:21 PM | #9 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 436768
Join Date: Dec 2015
Chapter/Region:
E. Canada
Location: Toronto
Vehicle:2004 WRX Silver |
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04-29-2018, 02:14 AM | #10 |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 291049
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AZ
Vehicle:'04 STI '16 WRX Limited |
Solved my popping sounds.
I jacked up the front of the car on stands, removed both wheels and then used the jack to lift the rotor on each side. I did remove the sway bar endlinks to get a full range of motion up and down on the rotors. I found that on each pump of the jack, there was a popping sound from the control arm inner bushing and also the ALK bushing. Ball joints were perfectly fine at the hub. I then took WD40 and sprayed both inner and ALK bushings and the popping immediately stopped. Took the car for a drive and it's now completely quiet. Not sure if this will solve your specific issue, but lesson learned, make sure to use the supplied lithium grease! |
04-29-2018, 07:28 AM | #11 | |
Scooby Specialist
Member#: 271525
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: BagEnd
Vehicle:7/2 STi/WRX wagon SWP/AW |
Quote:
You'll have to take off the components and redo them with the grease. |
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04-29-2018, 12:28 PM | #12 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 291049
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AZ
Vehicle:'04 STI '16 WRX Limited |
Quote:
Yes, you're correct. The fact that this was such a loud popping sound, I originally assumed it was something not bolted-in or torqued correctly. This could be the same assumption that others will make. The WD40 was simply a quick test to see if lubrication was the issue without spending hours removing the control arms first. I will be removing both control arms and applying a good amount of lithium grease to these bushings here soon. |
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04-29-2018, 04:58 PM | #13 | |
Scooby Newbie
Member#: 363497
Join Date: Jul 2013
Chapter/Region:
South East
Location: St. Augustine, Fl
Vehicle:2003 Wrx Black |
Quote:
Thats good to know. The previous owner installed all of these components, so I don't know whether any of it was greased properly in the initial install. When I get the car back I'll give this a try. One more possibility to eliminate! |
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