Newman

iTrader: (3)

i just installed H&Rs on my car a few days ago and ever since then i have been getting a squeek or a groan from the rear of my car. it is very opbvious when you are inside the car. i can reproduce the sound by bouncing the car (sometimes) it seems easier to produce when the car hasnt been running for a while. that made me think it had something to do with the springs and the suspension but upon closer examination the noise isnt coming from the springs or the struts. it is coming from about 1 foot in front of the rear wheel. it is coming from the point at which i used to jack up the car for the spring installation. i would like to take it to the dealer but obviously since i think it was caused by my spring installation i dont think that would be a good idea.
here are some piuctures of where the noise is coming from. any ideas what this could possibly be? did i bend something by jacking it up from that point?
(the scrtaches you see are from the jack)

Newman

iTrader: (3)

here is a picture to give you a better idea of where eactly thos pictures were taken on the car:

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

This ****es me off , I helped install this and I get no squeeks from my 2000. Any help here guys?

MichaelAE

iTrader: (1)

Are the bolts around that jack point tight? It looks like you put a jack right on a joint, maybe you loosened the bolt a bit.

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Newman, you buddy here from DC is going to help you out on this one. First off, it cant be anything to do with that point where you jacked the car cause that is a non-moving joint. It cant be from there.

Now reading your post it is clearly the struts/springs. It might have been not installed correctly or the plate at the top is on the wrong way. I did this on my brothers MX6 and after taking it to the dealer, he told us it was backwards.

Now another thing is can be is that the spring might not be seated properly at the bottom plate of the strut. Also, did you re-use those plastic wrap-arounds on the bottom of the spring to keep it from making noise? If so, you are fine, if not, that could also be the culprit.

Problem here is that the noise could be coming from where you "think" and it can be coming from 3ft away. Metal is a good conductor for sound travel. I seriously think there is an issue with the strut/spring deal.

Dixit

Newman

iTrader: (3)

yeah we re-used the plastic pieces at the bottom of all of the springs. you sound like you know what you're talking about so i am going to trust you on this one but even after reading your post i would still put money on the fact that it is not coming from the suspension. i got under the car with my face right at the point i took pictures of and i basically bench pressed the car a few times to make it bounce up and down to produce the noise. i am almost 100% sure the noice was coming from the point i was talking about.

but, you quite possibly could be right. this was the first spring jason and i put on and it didnt go very smoothly so we could have made a mistake but like i said...it really does sound like its coming from that one specific point.

ALTHOUGH......i dont think it is coming from that EXACT point where the bolts are. it sounds like it is coming from a few inches above that point. somewhere closer to the floor of the car. im going to go listen for it again.

any other interpretations?

Newman

iTrader: (3)

i just went to listened to it again. it is definitely NOT coming from the sturts or springs. something must be loose under there.

Cutler

iTrader: (3)

Check the RSB connection, that might be it????

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Well if you know for sure it aint coming from there, then I cant think of anything else. Just going to have to pinpoint where it is coming from.

Now do you hear it inside the car if you run over a speed bump? All the time? Hard bumps or soft bumps or both?

I also am talking to Jason online, and he mentioned this could be the RSB. Now I would HIGHLY recommend if you guys did not loosen it when you put on the springs, that you do that now and let it re-seat itself to the new lowered position. This could be it also.

Dixit

Newman

iTrader: (3)

i dont hear it when i go over bumps necessarily. i hear it when i am backing out of my driveway. just the subtle cracks in my driveway cause the squeeking. and its just not one or two squeeks. its basically like popcorn popping in the microwave. its a bunch of squeeks right after another. from the vibration. it doesnt sound like its coming from the RSB. its too far forward on the car for that but ill loosen that like you said anyway.

BigDogJonx

iTrader: (7)

Damn this is a brain teaser of what it can be. Well I would rule out for sure where you jacked it up from since it was a frame point. As long as you know for a fact it was a frame point and you did not damage anything. If Jason was there, im sure it was jacked at the right location.

I would let it ride for a couple weeks, see if it is the struts adjusting or cant handle the H&Rs. I cant imagine that since I see people with Eibachs on their Stock Struts.

If it persists, get it to a dealer, dont worry about them saying anything on the suspension being lowered. Worse case scenario, they tell you it is the strut and they wont fix it, and then you fix it.

Dixti

Newman

iTrader: (3)

turns out it was my RSB that was causing the squeeking. i am not sure why because the RSB had been on there for weeks before the squeeking occured but the dealer removed the RSB and the squeeking is gone.

by the way, i did loosen it light you suggested, Dixit but that didnt seem to help.

since the dealer removed the RSB without asking me, i was told they would put it back on the car for free if i wanted.

i want the RSB back on but i would rather NOT have the squeeking. maybe this was all just because i didnt do everything properly when i adjusted my RSB? im thinking if they put the RSB on (and they do it right) there should still be no squeeking. hundreds of us have RSBs but not everyone has this problem. i think im going to ask that they put it back on.