I have had tokico hp struts for about 3-4 months now. A couple days ago I started to notice the front passenger strut is makin a noise while driving. it sounds like something is lose and is wobbling. I took the wheel off and looked around and didn't notice anything loose, Then I lowered the car down and tried shaking the passenger side up and down and did the same thing with the driver side. The passenger side seemed to be moving more loosely then the driver side. The only thing that I can come up with, is that the shock is blown. The sound kinda sounds like a clunking but not very loud. What do you guys think?

 

I've heard the same noises from my front struts for several months. I don't think it's blown or, I feel, the front would be bouncing around. I performed the same checks as you and could never find anything loose. I concluded the noise came from the up and down travel. I checked other areas of the front end and never found anything.

 

I think I have the same problem its like the wheel is loose, i hear more of a clunking, it might be the wheel bearing, oe control arm bushings.

 

this may be a stupid question but did you guys replace the big washer looking thing on the top of the tophat? cause i know on someone elses car this was forgotten and was making a clunking loose noise

 

The thing is, when I first installed them everything was ok, but after 4 months about, the passenger side started making that noise. I might just replace the whole thing with jic coilovers.

 

i've had mine on for about 6 months and haven't noticed anything like what you guys described. i can't think of anything that would cause that either...weird

 

there could also be some junk in between the bottm of the spring and the lower strut pearch that could be making noises as well

 

I did not do the install, so I wouldn't know about a washer.

I can not tell if my noise is coming from left or right: the noise seems to be just coming "from the front" and there is no particular side making the noise. I jacked each wheel and shook the tire left-right, front-back, etc, to see if a wheel bearing was going bad but to no avail. There were some here who reported bad wheel bearing in the first 3~4 years of ownership. So, I checked that out as well.

I am definetly hearing a clunk or rattle, more like a clunk. I went as far as to grab my front strut bar and tug and yank and no noise. I am convinced it's my strut(s) but can't prove it. There's no one thing loose on the front end of the car.

As a side note, the last time I replaced my front rotors and brake pads, I took the opportunity to see if any of that stuff was loose. I found nothing while I was up in there with the wheel off and the car jacked.

I just turn the radio up and don't worry about it anymore. If a strut goes out, I'll just upgrade to Koni or something else.

 

does this clunk happen all the time? or only certain times like riding over bumps. or does it happen when you turn the wheel a certain way?

 

My 2001 Maxima had bad wheel bearings. It made the clunk sound while going down or up an incline ( garage skirt, eg.)more so when turning . Nothing when going over bumps tho..

 

I never hear it at highway speeds. I do hear the noise going over bumps and turning sometimes. Usually I hear it right when I begin accelerating, like when I first hit the gas.

I also check from FSTB, thinking it might be loose, too, but it was fine.

 

Nadine710, how did you determine the bearing needed to be replaced? Did you take it to the dealer?

 

Well, I got so tired of hearing the clunking sound that I took the strut apart and put my stock strut on and the sound was gone. It appears that the shock was blown. When I pressed on the part of the shock that goes in, it came back out very fast. Its supposed to come out at moderate speed.