I just lowered the car with H&R springs and put KYB AGX's all around this past weekend. I put wire wrap on the springs yet still notice a little bit of noise when turning, especially when first driving. I can live with the noise as long as I know that damgage isn't being done to my supsension. While it sounds less than desireable, is the noise causing any damage? If not, I'll leave my setup as is. Thanks everyone.

 

Description of noise would be helpful... it might just be the springs settling into the perches..

 

It sounds somewhat like a twisting/popping sound only when turning the steering wheel. I haven't noticed any noises on bumps yet. Hopefully it is the springs just settling. They were put on 5 days ago.

 

If it happens at a standstill when turning the wheel from side to side, it's likely one of two things:

1) Bad strut mount bearings (did you replace these when you did your job?) See: http://www.motorvate.ca/ Click on Suspension/Strut Bearing R&R.

2) Sound of the wire wrap on two adjacent, touching coils (top coil & next one down) skipping over each other and the exposed spaces in between the spirals as coils 1 & 2 rotate against each other when the steering wheel is turned). I was concerned about this happening on the front if I used the spiral wrap, so instead, I used 5/8" clear flexible PVC tubing instead. (Not on the top coil, which seats into the rubber upper perch, but on the second coil down, where the 1st & second coils contact each other - used about 1 coil's worth of PVC to cover this general area)

To determine if that's the problem, have a friend get in the car & turn the wheel lock to lock while you observe/feel the spring - you should be able to tell if this is the problem)

If it is, you may want to consider re-insulating the front springs w/ PVC instead. (P.i.t.a., but hey, ya gotta do what ya gotta do)

Here's how:

1) Remove front strut assembly; compress springs & separate from strut.
2) Cut the appropriate length PVC tubing.
3) Drill a small hole (1/8") through one wall of one end (1/2" from end) of the PVC tube.
4) Insert a strong (medium sized) plastic wire/zip tie through the hole & close it on itself, creating a loop. (this will be a makeshift handle to help you pull the tubing on the coil.
5) VERY IMPORTANT: spray both the top 2 coils of the spring and the interior of the PVC tube w/ aerosol silicone lubricant.
6) leading the end of the tube with the zip-tie loop attached to it onto the top coil, begin sliding the tube around the coils, pulling on the zip-tie loop & the outside of the PVC tube, until it is positioned in the desired location.
7) Wipe excess silicone spray off the spring & PVC tube.
8) Now, snip & remove the zip-tie from the installed PVC insulator. (It has served it's purpose).
9) Reinstall suspension.
10) Repeat 1-9 on other side.

Good luck!

 

my car does the same thing. the left front makes a brief "groaning" sound when i'm turning close to full lock going very slow or from a stop. it might be my strut bearing gone bad. does anyone know if this this harmful at all? is it something i should address within a short amount of time?

 

As far as I know the noises aren't harmful to the suspension, but they are annoying. I too have the popping sound even though I wrapped the springs and changed a lot of the suspension parts (front strut bearings, rear isolators, front strut mount, etc.) I have never heard of this PVC solution, but maybe I'll try it sometime.
-hype

 

Bad strut bearings aren't too harmful (they put a little extra load on your power steering pump, tie rod ends); more annoying than anything else. You should deal with it when you replace front suspension components, or at your earliest convenience.

 

I, too, changed the strut bearings when I put the new struts/springs on. I also put new strut mounts on. So I can't imagine the bearing being the problem. As long as the spring noise is causing no harm, I can live with it. But if I need to take the suspension apart again for some reason, I will try the other method mentioned above of isolating spring noise. Thanks everyone!

 

I would replace the strut bearings as I am hearing the same noise. Additional load on parts like the steering pump and tie rods will cost more money in the end than it's worth. I will be adding this to struts and springs update.