spoonef

i have this killer noise in the rear of the car that ive been trying to diagnose.When going over bumps in the rear i car hear what sound like the shock hitting the body of the car.I went to the rear and checked if the top mount bolts(14mm)were tight and they were.I checked to see if the top bolt on the strut(top of strut)was tight and it was
I went for a test drive(me in the rear and my friend driving)to find the noise.I found out that the shock on the drivers side is moving on bumps.That top bolt moves very little and you can only feel it if you put your hand on it and visually you dont see it move.I also did a jounce test and all shocks are fine.

Im going to pull that one shock tomorrow and check for wear and maybe debri(first time off since buying the car).I was wondering if any of you guys have any ideas.It would suck if that one is unrepairable cuz i wont be able to replace just one(have to replace in pairs and discontinued).Also forgot to mention that these have pillowball mounts and the car is not lowered much at all

Update
Alright im at school right now and i took of that one shock off.On the top of the pillow mount there was signs of metal to metal contact(body to shock)on top of the pillow mount.Everything was tight before taking them off and tightened when putting them back on.Now i kno pillow ball mounts are overkill on the street(old owners doing).So is there anything i can put under there to cushion the contact? or maybe theres something i can buy?.

apexi n1 99 spec for itr w/pillow mounts
itr lcas

spoonef

bump

spoonef

anyone?

alacard

its a shame that honest tech questions cant even get answered anymore on honda-tech... bump for you man ^^

spoonef

Hey thanks

spoonef

??????

StreetRacinThug

Amazingly true.

Interlinker

Normally a properly torqued bolt would hold the pillow ball in place. Are you sure the mounts are torqued properly and seated properly before tightening? I have heard of a few racers putting a thin rubber layer between the pillow ball mount and the body but that could introduce more sway in you're suspension and improper torque of the bolts. I would try tightening them 15 to 20 ft/lb more than stock and see if that fixes the problem. If not, I hate to say it, but it could be the shocks themselves in which case I would replace them. Let us know how it goes!!!

2coupes

my buddy club racing spec dampers had a problem like this when i took it for it's first drive on the suspension, the front left shock sounded like it was hitting metal on every bump, i stopped and checked things out, and the nut that holds the shock shaft to the top mount was loose, i tightened it up and it's been fine since

spoonef

Everything was tight when i first encountered the noise and when i took them off at school i made sure everything was tight again.It sucks if its the shock cuz they are not blown.I made sure the the lca bolt was tight the hub the two on top and the shock shaft bolt.The only thing i didnt do was the pillow ball hex nuts.Im going to take it off again 2morrow but this time take off the pillowball and inspect

SHG_Beans

My rears make the same noise, although everything's tight and the shocks still feel great. In for the same pointers you're looking for

spoonef

Yah the shock is not blown at all cuz if it was i would kno that it was dead.Im going to throw on some stock top hats and see what happens

2coupes

damn, i have no idea then, good luck

chrisw85

cleanup any underbody deadener where the top mount contacts the body, make sure its flat and true not warped, reinstall and use new nylock nuts, maybe double up the nut to lock the first torqued one in place, but thats the whole point of nylock nuts. =/

SHG_Beans

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spoonef &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yah the shock is not blown at all cuz if it was i would kno that it was dead.Im going to throw on some stock top hats and see what happens</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah I seriously doubt mine is either. It sounds like metal clanking in the top of it. I've got stock tophats i could throw on, can i do that with omnipower coilovers?

spoonef

Alright im just back from school and today i added a few layers of rubber pieces to cushion the top hat.Most of the noise went away but i still can hear a bit.Im still annoyed but hey at least the shock is not blown.So now im going to focus on other things and maybe ill get new shocks down the road

2coupes

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ek gripper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Yeah I seriously doubt mine is either. It sounds like metal clanking in the top of it. I've got stock tophats i could throw on, can i do that with omnipower coilovers?</TD></TR></TABLE>

omnis don't have pillowball mounts

ksh0211

aftermarket coilovers or springs are not OEM, so there are some squeeky or clunky sounds.

besides, apexi n1 coilover is fully racing spec coilover, so driving it on daily basis is not good for the shocks. fyi, the racing shocks are rebuilt after every single race events.

anyway, maybe your car is not low enough that springs are playing themselves when the shocks are fully extended.

i hope you fix your problem

spoonef

yes and i understand that having 4 different cars with aftermarket suspension but the problem shock is making the most noise.After getting some help from another eg member with my suspension setup im sure the pillowball is damaged.Im going to be switching over to stock top hats

blueb16-em1

when i had my tokico blues on my em1 there was a sweaky noise from the rear driver side. i thought it was just a bushing or somthn becuase im missing one for rite now, but then i switch suspension with my bro, now i have his skunk 2 pro series full coilovers adn the sweaking noise went away............................

spoonef

going to send it out to apexi for a rebuild

Interlinker

The best thing you could have ever done!!! A+

spoonef

for people that have done this how long did the company take to get it back to you?

MasterKwan

When I wanted mine rebuilt, I couldn't even get these F'ers to send me an RMA #. I stick with Ground control/Koni's these days, at least I can buy a replacement shock for $130 or so.

spoonef

the one thing that i did think about but never did was stock top hats.The shocks dont drive as if they were blown and theres no oil anywhere.