[update - it's the engine mounts! see posts near bottom. Advice?]


Hey Guys,

This just started 2 wks ago (after 1 year of quiet driving on my new struts/springs):

Whenever I turn hard and accelerate I get a loud "sproing" from the front springs. And sometimes i get this vicious cloink-cloink-cloink for about 2 seconds during a hard turn which is REALLY terrible and scary to hear.

The springs and shocks are in good shape (no sagging, no cracks in spring covering) and only 1 year old. They are H-techs and kyb GR2's.

I just replaced the strut bearings (with nissan OEM). Still does same thing! The upper mounts are original, but they look fine.

What else could it be!? Car rides PERFECT outside of hard turns. Help me enjoy the twisties again!

 

check ball-joints and tie-rods to be sure

 

Thanks for the tip! Can you give me a few details (if you possess that knowledge)?

Q: How will I know if these are "bad" or bent or what not?

They "look" fine, but I don't know what the heck I'm supposed to be looking for in terms of damage or distortion...

 

well for balljoints get teh car off the ground....jsut enough so that wheels are not touching the ground........grab the tires at the north and south poles.....and try to moveback and forth like ur tilting the wheel...look at the balljoint if u cant if it moves round alot its bad plus u will feel play u will know what i am talking about u can just feel.....tie-rods grab the wheel east and west....move the wheel like u wanna steer but dont stter if u feel play before the wheel actually turns like ur steering u have play in ur tie rods....like before u will know form instinct play and tightness...


hope that helps

 

Bad strut mounts!

 

Thanks! I will try this out as soon as it stops raining here!

I think I understand what you mean. Everything should move as one fluid piece. There shouldn't be play in the ball joint or tie rods.

I have a Haynes manual but it tells you NOTHING about diagnosing suspension problems aside from if your struts are blown. I really appreciate the info.

 

The strut mounts are a really simple piece of the suspension, and they look intact. There are no moving parts and nothing that looks in any way wrong with them.

Could they be deteriorated in a way that I could not see visually? I'd appreciate any more detail you can give me. For now, though, I'm inclined to think it's something else.
I may change them anyway as a last resort, though, since they are pretty old.

 

Yes, absolutely. The strut bushings are located below the mounts and hidden from view. They lose their grease over time and become hardened causing the spring to keep from unwinding -- hence, the "sprong" noise.

The part itself costs around $40, but it requires the removal of the springs and strut assembly to replace it. Some people who get new shocks/struts often forego replacing these because they look "OK," or try to lubricate them.

But, it is a bad move to do so since they will eventually wear out.

 

Thanks! I appreciate the extra info. Maybe it's time for some new strut mounts afterall. Yeah, they are not terribly expensive. I should have done them while I was doing the strut bearings. Would have saved a lot of hassle. I will, of course, troubleshoot the ball joints and tie-rods, too, as suggested by MaximaSE96. The roads up can really mangle your suspension in general...

 

Well, I took it by the place that installed my struts/springs one year ago and had one of the guys there take it for a test drive.

He said its DEFINITELY the engine mounts. He held the brakes and gave it some gas to show me, and sure enough, that's where the sound is coming from!

Dealer quoted me ~$400 in parts if I needed to change out all of the mounts (they won't know until they get it on the lift). Labor was 3 hours (~$210).

$400 sounds like highway robbery for a couple of mounts... Any experiences with this?

 

Now say this out loud...

"Sproing" and "cloink cloink cloink"

...priceless...

 

Man! You said it!

With the way I drive (and accelerate) I guess it was bound to happen!

You've done this? How much did it cost you in the end?