Interesting, since the OEM springs lower(white plastic)ones are split on both sides. The Eibachs have those parts new on them. Since they came in the package deal I might as well use the new upper isolators.

Where in Jersey are you located? My ex wife grew up in Westfield and I've been as far south as the Edison & Princeton areas for visits.

 

I honestly don't know much about steering racks, my knowledge stops at suspension.

 

I had a clunking in my front end which i got rid of today with Moog endlinks and swaybar bushings. However, I have a noise in the rear end that sounds like something is loose. Its not as loud as how the front clunking sounded. I hear it going over potholes as well as going over speed bumps. The car was hit in the rear end but the guy that repaired it said he didn't see no signs of suspension damage and he knows alot about spotting and repairing such things. I know the rear beam needs to be re-centered as its more to the passenger side. What should I look for? I'm not too sure since it seems that the rear is suppose to be pretty much trouble free.

 

at all the suspension related threads coming up, despite this thread being available and even top of the board consistantly. talk about lazy, don't even make a single attempt to look let alone search before posting.

 

this thread is the bestest! As a brand new 5.5 owner, I'm getting the accelerated learning path here.

 

Glad I can be of service

 

Ok I've narrowed down the noise. The mounting points in the trunk are all tight, its not the exhaust and its not the jack. I can replicated the sound by moving the car side to side and up and down. I haven't been able to get under there to see exactly where it is, but it sounds like its coming from the lateral link area. Could it be the rod or the link itself?

 

I have one more suspension question. I'm about to buy ES swaybar bushings and I see two sizes in 22 and 23mm. Because I have an SE it uses the 23mm bushings and not the 22mm right? I'm also getting the moog end links and doing that work first before I go for control arms.

 

SE uses the larger ones. I actually have a set sitting here never installed lolz

 

+1

Also, it's probably better to install control arms and links at the same time. Granted it's just one bolt, but makes life *just* that much easier.

 

dj, I got the mounts in...Now just waiting on my tax refund to order the struts...cant wait to get it done..

 

Sounds good

Let me know when you order struts so that I can order your boots at the same time.

 

I have a set of BC Racing coilovers I'm installing in the spring. Do I need a regular strut mount or do they just bolt up as is? Do you reccomend any other parts to be replaced while im in there besides the sway bar endlinks?

 

No mounts needed, they just bolt right up.

Energy Suspension sway bar bushings go GREAT with sway bar bushings!

I hope I'm doing the install....

 

dj, I got the struts in!

Tomorrow? Sunday? Next weekend?

 

Lol. I'm out of town this weekend. Lets shoot for next weekend.

 

Sounds good just let me know what day and time. Did you get the boots in already?

 

They're en route

 

Awsome..can't wait thanks for all the advice

Before they go in, I think we should take it for a ride just so you can see what else does not feel right in the front end.

Also, please PM me address, time and day when you know what will work for you.

 

Hi, dj I have a 4th gen and I'm about to invest in some coilovers,the more I search the harder it is to choose between tein street dampers,k sports,d2 (which I had on my eclipse and wasn't too thrilled about,adjusting was a pain) and I'm also interested in jics but on the site I don't see them available for the a32 ,price ranges are between 900 & 1500 ,would appreciate your 2 cents,thanks

 

I'm in the same situation as you. I even replaced my Eibach/Tokico Illuminas with new ones and still no luck. Did you eventually solve the problem?

 

Absolutely, it's what I do!

We'll firm everything up on Thursday. Waiting for these boots to arrive.

K-sport and D2 are in a completely different class than JIC & Tein. Really it's about your budget. In this case higher quality does imply higher price.

However if you're budget conscious, I recommend going with Megan's over K-sport or D2.

 

Eibach's are known to be stiff springs for the 5th gen. It's the unfortunate truth. Have you reduced the dampening on your Illuminas?

If that doesn't do it, I'd consider replacing with H&R springs. Similar ride height but a much nicer ride.

 

I'm in the Brunswicks, right in between Edison and Princeton

 

I had the same suspension set up on my other 5th gen with different results. Something must be broken or worn out, I just can't figure it out. I even had 4 different mechanics do a visual inspection saying its fine. I don't think so.

 

Control arms or motor mounts perhaps?

 

Thanks dj,might take a drive up to you for an install.Once I decide which brand to go with. To meet another enthusiast,and to get some feedback on my build...forgot all about megan's definitely will look into,and koni's look like you have to build yourself..jics are a hell of an investment,but if they do what they say I think it would be worth the extra cash,will be doing a lot of research for sure..thanks again

 

djfrestyl,

My car hits hard on bumps or anything on the road, even paint of strips.
Do you think its still struts? Or something else? How can I check? The car has 150k miles.

 

Sounds good, looking forward to meeting you and working on your car.

Personally, Megan's do the job just fine. In the end you're sinking dollars into a depreciating asset. Save where you have an option, so that you can spend when you don't.

Need more info. Are you lowered? Stock wheels? Tire size? What components have you checked, had checked, or replaced so far (if any)?

 

I got everything stock. Not lowered. All oem. So far only replaced 2 electric mounts.

 

Ok, does your car bounce when you go over bumps? When the car is not moving push down on the fenders. If the car pushes down and rebounds once, struts are fine. If it goes down then up more than once, it's likely blown.

Any noises?

How's your tire pressure?

I don't know how mechanically inclined you are so I don't know how in-depth the steps I recommend should be.

Have you had anyone look at it?

 

My mechanic pushed on back and front and said it is the struts in front.

I pushed in back and it seemed all right, bounced up and thats it.

When I pushed in the front, it seemed to be a lot harder to push the front. My mechanic said that since its harder to push the front, it is the struts. Does that sound right?

 

I'm assuming you mean it was harder to push the fronts vs the rear?

If it bounced up once, and you notice no overly floaty feeling while driving, then I doub't it's your struts. What you're experiencing is an issue with stiffness, not with floatiness. Stiffness is an effect of energy not being absorbed or transferred to the right parts of the car. This would NOT be struts, but likely some issue with balljoints, control arm bushings, or probably motor mounts.

Your mechanic didn't visually check the struts? There's one VERY tell-tale way to see if it's your struts...if they're leaking oil from the piston seal.

It is NORMAL for the front to be harder to push than the rear. There is a lot more weight in the front, thus the spring rate is stiffer than the rear, thus the rear is easier to push down than the front.

I would find another mechanic. Or get another opinion.

 

I just wanted to post this incase anyone else had a similar problem.
I bought 4 quick struts for my 95 max and installed them all pretty easily. Now when I drive theres some type of squeak and when i hit a bump it kind of pops. I took it to a local shop (the guy was helping me out for free) and he said that you should be able to push down on the car and have your hand on the strut mount and the bolt will not move; But he pushed down and the bolt would pop up every time, he tried tightening it with a couple different tools and it wouldn't work. SO i have to send the strut back and hope they replace it

 

Sounds like it wasn't assembled correctly.

Did your mechanic prevent the strut piston from spinning while he tightened the center nut? It WILL spin if it's not held.

 

Yes he was holding the piston while tightening it. the bolt seemed to be half an inch lower than the other side when he started but it tightened up to the same height. It just sits in the same spot while the rest of it moves around it kind of. he said it probably wasn't assembled correct as well.

 

Now that it's tight, the strut mount is shot. It moves because the metal opening that is shaped like a D has now rounded off to a O and probably enlarged a bit.

 

what should I set my preload at on my BC Racing coilovers?

 

Long time lurker but the 5th gen forum has been of much help to me. My skill level/tool availability maxes out at changing the plugs on the car. I'm not afraid to work on the car but I have no access to a lift to work on the car myself. My issue is kind of a long read...but here goes...

For what seems like forever, I had the clunking in the front end of my '02 i35 while going over undulating roads (not sharp bumps usually but very old pavement with smooth depressions). I had it looked at a number of times by 3 different shops, and every time each mechanic told me I was ok and they could never replicate the sound. (!)

After much reading on here and 120k miles, I decided that new motor mounts were in order, so I ordered all 4 on ebay. The VERY NEXT DAY (before I get the mounts), I was driving and now I hear a rusty hinge creaking type noise in addition to my clunk when going over bumps. ARGH.

More searching/reading and I find youtube videos that sound like it - bad sway bar bushings. No prob - the car is going in for motor mounts, I get new sway bar end links and bushings (moog..I research!) to be put in also. The guy at my regular shop knows that I'm not an idiot and research stuff like hell to try and diagnose...so he usually trusts me when I bring him parts to put in. He does the work for me, and not only do I still have the clunking and creaking (moreso when turning to the left), the car now also feels "skittish" when driving as if the shocks are not absorbing any impacts from the road. It's never felt this way in the ~80k I've owned it. FYI, I had all 4 shocks replaced about 3,500 miles ago.

My question is, what now? I'm going to get the tires rotated/balanced in the morning (Sam's Club, so it's free and I'm due for a rotation anyway) but honestly I'm not expecting a balancing to fix this. Did I need to get an alignment after the sway bar link replacement? (nothing in my searching said so) Am I looking at new ball joints?

Also - I normally keep the psi at 38-40, but brought it down to 32 to see if that made a difference - no dice. I'm just trying to figure out where to go next.

 

When unsprung, the lower perch should be just tight enough that the spring doesn't move. Then I go about 1/4" past that. Practically no preload at all.