1991 Civic EF hatch, whenever I brake hard over a recessed sewer cap or slight dip I hear a loud clunk. Then from a stop upon accellerating abruptly I hear it again.
So far I have changed:
Struts
Springs
Energy Suspension Master kit
Lower ball joints
Outer tie rod ends
Upper control arms
Traction bars with Heim joints
Brake caliper
Axles
Wheel bearings
Motor and Trans mounts (filled with E/S inserts)
Sway bar was removed and Clunking sound was still heard
2 months of this and I cant figure it out.
Please post your ideas, anyone who figures this one out will be rewarded $.
-T/Y

 

what traction bar? my full race is very loud. it sound like you changed the entire front end.

 

ETD Racing, The car made the noise before I put the traction bars on. And Ive spent a lot of time and $ for the noise to still be there, so its making me nutz.
Anyone who figures this out will receive a $ reward.

 

What tranny are you running? If its equal leangth axles, check them too.

Rear mount? Or maybe your rear crossmember is coming loose?

 

can you feel this in the steering wheel at all?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SIred91 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What tranny are you running? If its equal leangth axles, check them too.

Rear mount? Or maybe your rear crossmember is coming loose?</TD></TR></TABLE>

The trans is a remanufactured unit L3 (5 speed cable D series Si) from Gearspeed. Axles were replaced, and, the rear mount was replaced and filled with urethane.
The rear x- member was tight yesterday, I may completely remove to inspect it for cracks.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by janz3n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">can you feel this in the steering wheel at all?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, but yesterday I checked the bolts on the steering rack for tightness, and they are secure.
Im gonna post pics so you can see clearly. Im just might pull the motor/trans out and start from scratch, but I need the car to get to work.

 

I have the same issue, and I replace everything like you did. The only thing I have left to do is the steering rack. I'll let you know if it fixed or not. I have the IM crossmember/traction bar set-up on mine, but I might switch to full-race soon..

 

Hmm, steering rack, maybe...

 

what about the front engine mount?

my guess is steering rack or the front engine mount if you didnt fill that in with urethane

 

The crash mount (front trans mount) is deleted, but it was happening even when the mount was installed.
I may replace the steering rack for $200.

 

yeah that would make me crazy too if i did all that and still had the noise. sorry i can't think of anything.

 

mine does the same thing. i notice that the passenger wheel hops up and down. i will check it out this weekend to see if i find anything. any other ideas guys?

 

deleted the front mount? unless you make the rear one solid=(jank) you need a front one

 

ya same problem.. EVERYTHING has been replaced in my car

full race traction bar
new lower/upper ball joints
urethane bushings all around
rack was taken down and refreshed, new inners/outer, bushing inside rack was replaced
f2 suspension
still the loud clunk/snap sound

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PFI_NAYR_ONE &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">deleted the front mount? unless you make the rear one solid=(jank) you need a front one </TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, the car made the loud noise even before the crash mount was deleted. And, the rear trans mount is new and filled with urethane to solidify it.

 

Any other ideas?

 

upper control arm came with a new ball joint right?

the only thing i can think of is the steering rack. you got power steering or no?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by coldtotouch &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">rack end bushing</TD></TR></TABLE>
Replaced it

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by janz3n &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">upper control arm came with a new ball joint right?

the only thing i can think of is the steering rack. you got power steering or no?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yup, all new ball joints, and tie rod ends
I m stumped.

 

Did you try checking to see how low your exhaust system was hanging down? It might be scrapping the floor or hitting against something. Maybe you need new exhaust hangers cause it was the same for my car until i swithed the hangers and the exhaust stopped moving very abruptly.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dsnyneer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Did you try checking to see how low your exhaust system was hanging down? It might be scrapping the floor or hitting against something. Maybe you need new exhaust hangers cause it was the same for my car until i swithed the hangers and the exhaust stopped moving very abruptly.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah that's a good idea. i remember when i had a stock exaust sometimes on a hard launch the springs would let the cat kinda pop off.

 

Ill check, thanks.

 

maybe theres a dead cat lodged in the back of your engine?

 

a video or sound clip would be helpful to determine the sound. but i was getting a loud clunking noise but it turned out to be my axles and you said you already replaced them so im stumped for now. G/L

 

Where did you get the axles? Sounds exactly like inner axle noise, I chased that for a while too. Sometimes with remanufactured axles you get a bad one, I've had more than my share in a few different cars. Take them out and feel the inner cup for play while you rotate it. If you got them from autozone or something, just take it back and get a new free one under warranty.

 

have you checked that all bolts are tight? seems simple but... ??? you know. as in axle nuts. halfshaft bolts, plus all front suspension bolts. try jacking the car up and shaking everything... HARD! Try putting the car up in the air and jack up each wheel and then shaking stuff while under load. ie; at ride height. also check your rotors. make sure they got the securing screws in them to lock them to the hubs... that sounds like the likely culprit to me. there are 2 of them per front rotor. Check you shift linkage too. never know. I guess thats all I can think of for now.