Do your coilovers make a *BONG* sound when you turn the wheel?

Have you had a problem with the grey plastic bearing that fits between the base mount and gold spring seat?


It seems that MOOG's bearing is just a hair too small for the spring seat, causing the bearing to stretch, thus not allowing it to spin freely. In turn, it makes different parts of the assembly spin. I have been through more than one strut mount because of this.

Also, since I installed the coilovers, they have made a strange sound that no one else has ever heard of. It happens when I turn the wheel. It sounds like the springs are popping. It was actually because the bearing wasnt spinning properly! DUH!

I went to O'reilly Auto Parts just to see if their strut mount bearing was the same, because maybe the problem was with Tein's gold spring seat. Well much to my surprise, the Master Pro strut mount bearing seems much better, and the bottom part of it is metal. I put em on immediately! The only problem I have now, is my alignment is off becuase the strut mount is slightly shorter, and so is the bearing. Oh well, at least I got my big issue taken care of!

old (first) MOOG strut mount that's less than a year old:


New Master Pro mount compared to new(er) MOOG mount:


MOOG bearing fitting snug on tein's spring seat:


Master Pro bearing loosely fitting on the seat:


and Master Pro VS MOOG bearing:

 

and proof that bearing was not spinning properly:

 

Wow. Good to know for when I (maybe) get Teins... I was gonna get Moog strut mounts!

 

They're supposed to be the best, but not for me!

does ANYONE have this issue??

 

So... is the recommendation to use OEM mounts with Teins, rather than MOOG parts? I wonder.

Very cool that you took detailed photos on this.

 

Well, considering most people dont change their original mounts until they upgrade the suspension, I'd say it's best to get new mounts.

As far as NEW OEM mounts go, I'm not sure. I was going to go to the dealership to compare an OEM mount to Tein's spring seat, but I stopped at O'Reillys first.

I wonder if it was just MY spring seat that was flanged too far out... I wish I had more input on this!

 

New (front) mounts w/new suspension. That seems the rule, yes. If only you had an OEM mount & bearing for your photo comparison. At the very least, it's fun seeing jowo9 freak out with your discovery.

To the topic of your post, I should step out now... I no haz Teins. (sad)

 

With good reason!

 

Everyone's welcome, especially you, Rochester, since I read more posts by you than anyone else. You're just so thorough!

At least you know better now... but when you DO get the Teins, if you have a parts store near you, go ask them to pull a moog mount off the shelf and see if it fits. that is, if you have time and are willing

 

If by "thorough", you mean a sarcastic suburban Dad who doesn't know jack about automotive mechanics... um, OK. Thanks, man.

I wish one of you coilover guys lived nearby with your Max, so that I could wrap my head around this suspension mod and be done with it.

OP, this seems like priceless info for people coming up the line. It would be good to hear from mechanics like djfrestyl on what you found.

 

Oh dear god.

Ill have a look at this when mine come apart. And if I get Teins especially.

Thanks man!

 

I have tein ss with oem mounts it it rides amaZing with absolutely no abnormal noises whatsoever

 

Wow, sorry to hear about the troubles. This is certainly good to know. I swear by Moog mounts/bearings with every install I do, and yes, that includes Tein coils.

I've installed probably about 4-5 sets of Teins, and I'd say 80% of them were with Moog mounts, the other one or two were KYB or OEM, I can't remember for sure.

The interesting thing is that Tein's are the only coilover setup that don't have their own mounts included & already built in.

This is the FIRST I'm hearing about this. If you've been through more than one strut bearing, then I'd imagine the Tein perch's tolerance was milled slightly larger than normal. Not sure if it's a manufacturing anomaly or not. As mentioned above I've used this combination before without an issue. Usually strut bearings all fit pretty much the same.

This is probably the 2nd or 3rd time this week I'm reading about Master Pro bearings. I'm going to have to check them out and see how they are.

Thanks for the info

 

well in your experience, just how did the bearing fit? loosely? enough to wiggle around?

 

Yea, definitely. I always place the bearing then test the movement. I wouldn't have used it if at that time I felt it wasn't performing properly.

 

The fact that you've used them that much with good results makes me more confident about Moog mounts w/ Teins, but I'm still a bit weary... and another point, are Master Pro mounts of the same quality? Should I just go OEM mounts? Hmm...

 

Well maybe it was just my spring seats! And I don't know if they're the same quality, but they seem alright. They're just a tad bit shorter than moog ones as u can see in the pic, which messed my alignment up... I've had 8 alignments in the past year and a half!!

 

Jowo, u just passed 1000 posts! Lol

 

Hmm. Maybe I'll still try Moog... I dunno. 8 alignments! That's crazy... Adjust your ride height much? I can see myself doing the same thing once I get my Teins.

Yeah, I was pretty happy about that!

 

No, mainly it was because of a bad tire that I just found out about. Plus, I drive 40,000 miles a year lol

 

A number of members here talk about places that offer a one-time-fee, lifetime alignment service.

40K/yr? My gawd. You must live in your car.

 

Nah I don't live in it, I just work 77 miles away, and I like to drive. From the cars appearance, you would never know it has 127k miles.

And firestone offers a lifetime alignment for $180, and I never seem to get it, and I wind up beating myself up for not getting it everytime. I was planning on doing it Monday. I just hate to do that when I have that new car bug... Id like to get a new altima coupe 3.5 SR 6-speed :-D

 

VQPower just bought one of those, in replacement for his totaled 5th gen. Not a bad choice. Strange looking rear, but good power and very unique.

I only drive 7K/yr. You'd think I would be a perfect candidate for coilovers. Gawd! All these coilover discussions lately are driving me insane. I really need to drive a Max with a CO setup, though.

 

Honestly I've never used Master Pro mounts, I'm only hearing about them now.

But I WILL be stopping in to a Napa to check em out.

 

Firestone. BEST deal evar. I get an alignment every time we have them change our oil

 

Wow. That's not much for a daily driver! I'd guess I do about 20-25K miles/year at least... and my car is in excellent shape for having 135K miles on it.

And yeah, I think you should get yourself some Teins in the spring/summer when I do Rochester. They seem like they'd be the best for your purposes for sure. Well, other than JIC's... but who wants to pay half of what the car is worth just for CO's?

 

Yes, they ARE weird looking in the back, I'm not so hip on that, but that's about the only thing I dont like about it. Plus theres only two doors. and I dont like the sedan that much lol.

Come on down to the south and take a ride in my car!

Please let me know what you figure out..

If I get an altima, I'll sell one of you my Teins for a good price!

 

This is news to me, i'll have to fully turn my wheels. I have everything MOOG makes, along with Tein SS's. I'll report back with my findings.

 

Hey vastmax, I'm just bumping this to see if you ever found out if there were any problems with your Tein/Moog setup?

 

Well, a couple weeks ago I noticed a click/pop/bong sound everytime i started to accelerate from a stop or turn the wheel occasionally. After giving deckdout2 a ride this weekend, he saids its 100% sure its my strut bearings. Like the OP, I changed these out less than a year ago. Time to get some master pro's...

 

MY MASTERPROS ARE BOINGING TOO!!! Slightly different noise, but very similar. So sick of it.

 

Hmm. Maybe OEM mounts would be better?

 

Ugh I don't feel like buying mounts again! I already need a new transmission, that's gonna come out of my tax refund. Maybe ill buy a new one from the dealer... $1800 bucks!