Creaking sounds

[Peking]

Originally posted by stimpGSX
I dropped my car 5 days ago on neuspeed race springs and the popping noises began as soon as I began to drive it. My friend who has the same springs doesnt have this problem( i dont get it????) . I do think it has something to do with the upper strut assembly. Im going to take it apart and grease the rubber parts and like everyone here hope for the best.

Yeah, greese where the OEM used to be :)

[02SilverSiHB]

Originally posted by stimpGSX
I dropped my car 5 days ago on neuspeed race springs and the popping noises began as soon as I began to drive it. My friend who has the same springs doesnt have this problem( i dont get it????) . I do think it has something to do with the upper strut assembly. Im going to take it apart and grease the rubber parts and like everyone here hope for the best.

I had that problem the first time I ever installed springs on this car...is it a boing sound? like a deep guitar :D

I was lazy and just jacked the car up high enough to where I could reach in there in the front suspension and kept turning the spring around and around and around, then tested it out, never came back.

[stimpGSX]

Im going to try everything today after work. ill turn them, grease them and hope it stops. I just read the whole sticky and my car is making every noise mentioned. it makes a noice when stopping, accelerating and turning the steering wheel. i had my friend turn the wheel form me and if i put my hand on the top of the strut i feel knocking there so im sure it is that. I just hate having to do this just because of a drop. I never had this problem on my old eclipse. It makes me feel like im driving a clunker. This sux!!

[David L.]

My car does all the same stuff. I am pissed off that there is no fix for it yet. If there was a fix then it would be done by now. I think that this problem was realized and could not be fixed so therefor the revised suspention in the 04.

[Changomo]

First of all my Car is bone stock, doesn't even have a single sticker - I have the same problem that has been posted in this thread by many others.

1) During brisk acceleration or breaking, I get a knocking noise (can be felt though the steering wheel and stick shift) Feels like the engine is not mounted tight and/or the suspension is cracked/damaged.

2) Happens more often during cold starts (morning) goes away on the freeway or high speeds.

Thank you all the posts. It sort of makes me feel better that this is a common problem that can be fixed with a "revised" steering rack replacement; for those people that have expired warrenties - try it anyway, if they refuse - at least I think it's more of a big annoyance then any serious damage or detriment to performance.(easy for me 2 say w/ my warrenty though)

It seems that everybody is pretty much saying it is the steering rack, I'm going to take my car to Redwood City, CA Honda tommorow. I'll let you folks know what happens.

Cheers

[Peking]

Originally posted by DeadMonkey
You need to make sure that everything is indexed properly. The damper mounting base and the upper spring seat are designed to fit correctly only in one configuration. The main noises that I've had to diagnose are as follows:

Metal on metal clanking noise: Spring coil isolators are either absent or not placed properly. You can take the stock isolators off of the stock springs and place them on the new springs in the same placement. Also, adjust the tubing that comes on the H&R sport springs to the place where the dead coils open up into the active coils. These do not necessarily come from the factory in the correct place, so adjustment may be necessary. The dead coils are the coils on the spring that are closer together and are designed to collapse at load. They essentially act like a spacer when the suspension is uncompressed and keep everything in place. When the springs are installed, these coils touch each other and the last set of dead coils can hit on the first set of active coils if the isolator isn't placed properly, making the metal on metal noise.

Loud popping noises when turning: I've posted on this one a number of times. This is caused when the bolt at the top of the strut is overtorqued, causing the strut bearing to bind. (This is most typical when the installer uses airtools. You NEVER want to use airtools when installing the suspension. Always use a torque wrench and hand torque the bolts to the factory specs.) The strut bearing is what allows the spring and strut assembly to turn as one unit when you move the steering wheel of the car. If that strut bearing is bound, it will not allow the spring to turn with the strut and put a tremendous amout of twisting force on the spring. The popping noise that you hear is the spring releasing and popping back into place. Many people have said to use lube to fix this issue, but that is strictly a band aid to cover up the problem. You'll get rid of the noise temporarily, but the undelying problem is still there until everything is loosened and then retorqued to factory specs.

Finally, while not necessarily as much of a noise related issue, You have to note that you absolutely DO NOT TRIM YOUR BUMPSTOPS with these springs. A lot of people do this out of habit. A lot of people believe that the bumpstop is just a slug that prevents the shock body from contacting the chassis when the suspension bottoms out. This is absolutely not the case. The bumpstop is a foamy progressive spring and is a working part of the suspension. Believe it or not, on the Hondas and Acuras, the bumpstop is engaged even at normal ride height. It adds rate to the suspension of the vehicle and WILL affect ride height if altered. Having an active bumpstop allows the designers of the car to use a softer spring and give a more complient ride, and also the bumpstop is the source of some of the progressiveness of the suspension.

I hope that helps clear up some of the questions that people have been having. Have a good one. :D

*Moderators - is it possible to get a sticky on this post? I've seen a lot of people asking these same questions and I think this will help with a lot of the confusion. Thanks.

[benmunger]

honda just finished installing my new stearing rack. A++++ for RICK CASE HONDA.

Now all i have to do is figure out how to get off Rick Cases painted on pin stripes.

[carbonSI]

whats up people, well, its been gettin a little warmer outside latley, and ive always noticed when its warm, my car drives/rides perfect, like its supposed to,then if theres even a cool breeze outside, it creaks. But if, while its warm, and happens on more than one occasion, im gonna go explain the power steering problem, and im pretty sure they have no choice but to give me what i rightfully deserve... a car with no phuckin coffin sounds haha anyways, ill be around -mike

[DuBaBa]

very imformative stuff you guys...i to have a creaking sound when i turn my steering wheel to the left but there is no sound when i turn it to the right. I am on tein s-tech lowering springs. ANY OTHER PEOPLE HAVE THE SAME SPRINGS WITH THE SAME PROBLEM?

[the1986]

I have the same problem with tein s-techs. I hate it! if i put the stock springs back in and took it ot honda, would they replace the steering rack???? this creaking noise is really starting to annoy me. I live in cali and its starting to get really hot, it seems to do it even more when its hot, for me anyways. For those of you that talked about greasing the cap on the springs, you you mean the perch or the little plasic cap on the spring itself?

-Teal

[IIx 03 EP xII]

so is there a fix for the creaking sound yet? i just got it recently. i had my car at the dealership for a 15k checkup thing, and they said my tie rod ends were loose... so they tightened them. but then i had to take it to another shop to have a problem w/ my koni's fixed, which they did fix. but the shop owner who did the work said that my ball joints were cracked slightly? what are ball joints? he said its no big deal, its just a pain to replace them?? im so lost... the first picture in this thread, the one of the arm... where that bolt is, he said that is the ball joint? help me out please...

[zum_zum]

just a thought after reading this thread last night...

some people have it, some don't. my '03 is approaching the 24k mile mark and i don't hear anything. i have a stock suspension. (i do have the squeaking clutch pedal, but that's another matter).

anyways, maybe we can pin it to a build series? i mean find out of it is all-inclusive until '04 or if a revision was made mid-year '03, like the struts. i figure this could be tracked and recorded by VIN, so you could see if this happens upto a certain number. maybe the strut issue to0 ( the different diameters ). this would possibly help others.

just a thought i had...

[ecsahs3]

i started to get that "thunk" sound on my right front after about 10 months with my Tein S.techs. Now, there is a lot of noise in the front right like something is loose. Can't figure it out though. Any suggestions?

[zum_zum]

tie rod ends.

with the car parked and the wheels straight, grab the tire at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions. now try to wiggle it on a vertical axis. if you get play, the tie rod ends are either loose or worn out.

you should also feel you play in the steering wheel at dead center, if they are worn or loose.

[ViViDPeArL]

i have lots of noise with my H&R springs when i turn left and right moving slowly or from a dead stop...lately i've also had slight creeking noise (kinda like the ones you get from a door hinge) could it just be my springs? thinking about going to tein basic coilovers if this is just a problem with the springs. also when they installed my springs they didn't use any greese. thanks.