I just bought a 96 si with 155k...I replaced the old stock struts with tokico HP's which made an incredible difference...other than the struts , the car is completely stock.

after the strut install it still has a clunking noise coming from the front and rear suspension when I hit small bumps,etc..this happens at all speeds...

I have searched for solutions and most of the people seemed to think its the sway bar end links...So I crawled underneath my car and checked them and they are deffinetely old ....any tips or info on diagnosing the problem is appreciated.


jake

 

sorry i cant help. but i have a 96 prelude si also with jdm h22. i have that same clunking. i thought it was my struts so i replaced them. it still does it. so i could use some help also.

 

me 2 but coming from the front, also change struts and the sound continued

 

sway bar bushings, balljoints, cv shafts

 

i just started having that i can hear it, its my passenger side in back, i dont know what is it, and dont have time to find out

 

check the bolts for the trailing arm. mine almost fell off one time because the 2 bolts in the front were loose.

also check that the shock fork is holding on tightly to the shock. check your bushings. if your bushings (specifically on your LCA) are worn, the shift for and it's bolt will compress the bushing too far and hit the LCA causing a clunk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by russlan44 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i just started having that i can hear it, its my passenger side in back, i dont know what is it, and dont have time to find out</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol me 2. i'm thinkin of replacing my shocks/struts too. But I also have 4ws and concerned w/ what will fit my car or not. Also I plan on dropping my car about 1.5in... and don't know where to start. plus not to mention i drive in NYC all the time so i'm not tryin to go too low.

 

One way you might be able to check the end link is to raise the rear of the car so that both wheels are off the ground, or slide under the car w/o it being jacked up at all, and on level ground, and grab the sway-bar and pull, and push on it hard and fast . If you hear your clank then you found your problem. The key is that there is no load on the rear sway bar.

If the endlink is the problem it could be the bushing that is at the top of the endlink which attaches to the knuckle, or the "ball-joint" thing at the bottom which attaches to the sway-bar.

The bushing is like $5 if I'm not mistaken, so if you remove the bolt that it sits on you should replace it reguardless.

 

One thing to check that is overlooked almost 100% of the time is the shock tower hat bushings, rubber seat, and shock collar.

I had terrible knocking for awhile. Hit up the stealership, ordered new bushings and rubber seats along with the shorter shock collars.

Knock gone.

The thing with the rubber seat is that over time, I believe it adapts to a certain spring that's been on it. So when you put a new spring on, it won't match up correctly with the old groove that's imprinted on. The spring sits in a wierd position and in my case, rubbed against the shock mount itself. There's a big scuff mark that pretty much proved it to me.

 

thanx for the ideas...its finally nice outside so Im going to jack up the car and go through the entire suspension....

I will post pics of the culprit...if I ever find it...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dorkoftheyear &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanx for the ideas...its finally nice outside so Im going to jack up the car and go through the entire suspension....

I will post pics of the culprit...if I ever find it... </TD></TR></TABLE>

that would be great thanx. i have not tried to look yet. its chillie here in m.d

 

Im embaressed to admit it but the problem was the fact that I didnt torque the top nut on my new tokico's ....Im always nagging people to use a torque wrench and here I am looking like a complete ***-hat....It rides like a dream now !!!

thanx for all of the reply's ....if only all suspension problems were this easy to fix.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dorkoftheyear &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
thanx for all of the reply's ....if only all suspension problems were this easy to fix. </TD></TR></TABLE>
Seriously!

I have checked and double checked everything I could and I'm still getting all sorts of suspension clunking noises.

Hopefully taken it to a shop next week.