EDIT: Found out it was my suspension and not coffin creak
New EDIT: Replaced H&R springs with SKunk2's, lowered 2.25 front/2.0 back and it seemed to ease the coffin creak
Modified by 02_Si_FTW at 10:30 AM 3/13/2008


Modified by 02_Si_FTW at 6:50 AM 3/19/2008


Modified by 02_Si_FTW at 6:58 PM 3/19/2008

 

have you changed out the PS fluid at all?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NTCustoms &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">have you changed out the PS fluid at all?</TD></TR></TABLE> And that is how i can, tell you own a dc5 and no an ep3. The rack is going to run around 7-800 bucks and with install expect to pay somewere around $1000. Run it till the steering gets loose and then replace it, It will go bad again.

 

No PS fluid for the EP...EPS rack.

You could rebuild the rack yourself for around $50 in parts, since the whole rack itself doesn't have to be replaced...just the guide. Due to the design of the tie rod ends, suspension and lack of lubrication rapid wear of the guide is inevitable, this is the best you can do without spending a fortune on a new/used rack.

Even if you correct the rod angle w/ inverted tie rods or steering bracket you can still expect this on the EP. It has to do with the spring compression which twists the rods (especially when turning and/or braking), thus wearing out the guide inside the rack. Without lubrication, as the case with the EPS rack, the guide will wear.

NovakSI did a good write-up on rebuilding the rack on ephatch: http://ephatch.com/forum/showp...unt=1

Fortunately the repair is relatively cheap; but unfortunately it is a PITA and is not permanent. I'll probably look at tackling this repair when I find some spare time.

Good luck!


Modified by thaseint at 11:10 AM 3/13/2008


Modified by thaseint at 11:11 AM 3/13/2008

 

thanks a lot guys, i just took it to a shop and found out it was my suspension. I found it hard to believe when he told me it had on stock springs/ struts and they were shot, look at my ride height in this picture? look lowered? and i thought they were just cut, but they werent. weird as hell. Previous owner must have taken something off in the back because it has at least a 2 inch drop. Any ideas?

 

lol i didnt see that he owned an EP3. my bad guys

 

There is no way those are stock springs, Unless you have a ton of weight in the car. There are springs on that car.

 

Maybe HFP springs

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by WhiteOnRice &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Maybe HFP springs</TD></TR></TABLE>

Looks a little too low to be the HFP suspension.

I'm guessing its on stock shocks and either aftermarket springs that look OEM (Eibach or H&R?) or cut OEM springs.

The rear tire looks like it has some significant alignment issues...negative camber and toe out. Maybe its just the pictures but it looks pretty bad.

I'd be willing to bet that your rack is also a big contributing factor to the noise as well since the majority of 02-03 EP owners have issues with this. I'd focus on getting some proper springs/struts first and see what happens from there.

 

the ones that are on it right now look exactly like stock springs, and the guy at the shop i went to told me they were stock.. weird as hell..he said maybe someone took something out b4 i bought it. and theres nothing in the back but a 15 pound sub and the seats/spare tire. The sound only comes when the car is hot btw. When its cold aka the first 10-20 min of driving it makes no sound whatsoever besides when going over bumps. but yea i just ordered some skunk 2 springs for now.

 

turned out they were H&R Springs, I changed them for SKunk2's and like the ride a lot more. Also, after lowering 2.25 in the front and 2.0 in the back it seemed to ease my coffin creak. I rarely hear it now.. ep3s are so confusing!