So you’ve psyched that you got your suspension installed only to be deflated when you go out for the first ride and you hear a noise. We feel the pain; we’ve been there with our own vehicles. The good news is that it can be solved. The bad news, you either have something worn out or installed incorrectly.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s focus on the issue at hand and track down the noise. There are three main types of noise: squeaks, pops, and clunks. Let’s quickly go over what to look for:
Squeak. The squeak often comes about by two similar materials (i.e. metal on metal, rubber on rubber, etc.) rubbing on each other. Most of the time with suspension, there will be an isolator between similar materials to keep noise away. For example, you will often have a plastic insulator between a spring and a ride height collar or a rubber insulator between a spring and a control arm. Go over your contact points and see what’s touching.
Pop. This will mostly show itself as a spring twang or pop when turning the steering wheel at slow speeds. What this indicates is that the bearing, pillow ball, or isolator is not allowing smooth rotation of the coilover/spring with the turn of the wheel. This can mean the component mentioned above is worn out, not installed, has too much spring preload dialed in, or in the incorrect order with the top mount installation. Check over the upper mount installation if you’re hearing this noise.
Clunk. A clunk indicates that something is loose or has too much play. Often this is simply because the installer has not tightened the top nut of the coilover enough. That is the first place we would check. If that doesn’t solve it, check that you have all components (included from us and pieces from the vehicle) required for installation. Failure to include all pieces could result in extra play even if the nut is tightened down completely.
It is also important to note that we would also suggest checking over other suspension components and clearance if you are hearing a noise after coilover installation. In many cases, the vehicle is now lower than it was before and these changes in geometry and setup can cause other components to the suspension to be put under different stresses that may cause them to start making noises that they weren’t making previously.
If you’re still having trouble tracking down the noise, give us a call and one of our technicians would be happy to assist you in trying to determine what the cause could be.
