I know Ive been having alot of problems this winter with creaky/clunky noises coming from my front suspension in my 97 Honda Prelude SH. I am totally stock by the way.

Well, here it goes....

Ive had enough of this damn noise possessing me with anger every morning with this god awful dying cat sound coming from under the hood and I could not figure out what it was. I have taken my car to every Honduh dealership and the place I bought my car from, and no-one could figure out what it was also.

So...this is been going on for about 5 months daily that my car is making these noises. About 2 days ago I opened the hood and was checking the strut mounts and I noticed that the rubber bushing was sitting a little lower from the top metal mount. I then proceeded to push on the quarter panel and I can hear that ******* noise coming from that exact point....now the thing is mocking me...staring me right in the face....laughing.

I could not believe not one mechanic bothered to open the hood and check the top of the struts. I then went to a buddies house with a heated garage and all the air tools you can dream of. I took the top bolt off the strut mount, took the metal top mount off...then the rubber bushing. I then saw the metal insert that keeps the strut centered and noticed that it was all dirty. I ground that crap off, put it all back together and took the baby for a ride.

Well, what do you think happened? No I didn't drop my suspension on the highway for being a nooB...the sound went away. I felt like a long war was over and all you could hear were the birds....wow...is that what it sounds like?

So there, if anyone out there has the same problem, and I know your out there...I can hear that creaking from here..you know how you are. I have read and posted my own issues with this all winter and could not find a good enough answer so here you go.

I know this wont solve everyone's noise issues with their Prelude suspension, but if I could help one tortured soul with this problem I will be at peace with Honda once again.

 

sweet jesus, thank you. i hope this is my problem as well.

 

Ive got the same damn problem. Thanks for the info your amazing!

 

Same problem here. I emptied a can of wd-40 into my springs and it didn't do ****. Then I gave up and decided to live with it, and the snow stopped and it stopped creaking.

 

No worries. I knew there were others out there other than me having this problem and this was a 5 minute fix that worked wonders so far. I took the car for a ride this morning and it was very cold out....no noise at all! So happy.

If anyone needs any more info on this just let me know and I will try and help.

I didn't have to use and DW-40 (that dries out too fast anyway) or oil or grease, just re-installed the mount.

If you have creaking coming from that upper strut mount, just re-install and you should be fine. Make sure to clean the metal insert that is inside the bushing. You might even need to grind it down a bit so that the bushing fits a little better..more snug as that is what is making all the noise.

Again, anyone needs more info, just let me know and Ill see what I can do.

all as im at work, still a little drunk

 

Well...i've got some free time today, so i'll take a look on my car. It drove me crazy driving home last night.

 

dude, this has been driving me MAD since Oct. of last year! there were times I just wanted to drive right into a light pole or something. I didn't even want to drive it at all.

This is the last winter this car is going to see. I have a blown up Toyota that I'll be using.

Good luck dude.