I installed Eibach on my stock struts and my right front strut makes a noise as thought the spring is moving every time i turn or launch the car.

This sound was not there before with the stock springs. I replaced the upper bearing with minor improvement. Does the top spring cover need to be aligned in any specific direction. Do you recommend any sort of lube on the upper and lower spring perches?

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Regards,
Dan

 

I think that bearing which you fitted is ok but this may be coming from chases. check once from your mechanic, m sure you will get way to come out of it.

 

What are chases?

Regards,
Dan

 

I think he means the chassis, but i doubt thats the problem. Search the forum again. Top hat alignment is likely your problem.

 

sometimes the spring is not seated correctly during the installation, or it could be the top hats that are not aligned. ..make sure it is properly installed. and also when you buy your lowering spring..they often include some kind of rubber you put on the lower part of the spring so they wont squeak down there..

 

I will check the top hat again, I called Majestic and they said that the triangle or the letter (L or R) should be facing towards the outer part of the wheel. I already placed the clear tubing on the bottom. I will also add some lube to the rubber part of the top hat.

In addition I will check the compliance bushing, it appears from my search that this is a common area for failure when lowering the car.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Regards,
Dan

 

Ok I think I got the problem solved, I will attempt to take pictures tomorrow for future reference.

The L&R on the strut bushing must be pointed to the outside of the car (there is only one way to install). The triangle on the top hat must also be pointed to the outside of the car.

The L&R and the triangle on the top hat must be aligned, in addition I cleaned the rubber spring seat and then lubricated with Vaseline and talcum powder. The spring movement noise is now gone.

I did notice that the compliance bushing has slight tears in one area and there is some up and down movement. Replacing these will most likely tighten up the suspension and eliminate any noise.

One thing I learned with respect to the actual strut bearing is to use a screw driver to pry underneath the plastic race of the bearing off of the top hat as a unit as it is very easy to drop the ball bearings. Because the top race and bottom race are not sealed but two separate parts that easily come apart.

 

pix please i have this problem, everytime i turn the wheel its makes spring popping noise

 

try reseating the springs.

 

I ran late and could not take pictures. I can say this; the noise is greatly reduced but still present. I'm not sure if it is a combination of the stock struts with the sportline springs and/or the compliance bearing needing replacemnt.

 

ive tried reseating and still the noise!!!

 

When do you hear it. Mine is infrequent from the right side generally when the spring is being unloaded (e.g. when I take off or make slow left turns)

I'm going to try to wedge some rubber in between the lower control arm where the compliance bushing is and see if that reduces the noise.

If so it will be a compliance bearing replacement. How many miles are on your car, I have 55K and it looks as though the compliance bearings need to be replaced.

 

yep makes that noise when i turn left or right. i have 78k on the car. it sounds like the spring is moving making a popping noise.

 

Alan,
I borrowed the attached picture from Majestic Honda (my new favorite parts supplier) and mocked it up to show you how the drivers side top hat and bearing are aligned with respect to the strut.

Please let me know if it is not clear.

Regards,
Dan

 

my sportlines did this on my cobalt , I dont have as much faith in eibach as I do koni or tein.

 

Just got off the phone with Eibach.

They stated that the tubing must be in a specific spot on the spring. I had wrongly thought that they should be at the bottom.

The specifications for the rubber tubing are:

Front Springs: tubing starts at 1.9 coils from the top
Rear Springs: tubing starts at 4.2 coils from the bottom

I will change this and report back...

 

thanks Dan,
but is it the same for ground control coilovers?

 

Sorry Alan, I do not know, I was under the impression you had sportlines, which is all I have experience with to-date other then the stock springs.

 

4sure, imma just take a closer look and see what is goin on under there

 

I put the tubes where the belong on the front springs, the only other thing I did different was torque all 4 of the top strut bolts with the car on the ground.

Took the car for 5 minute drive performing maneuvers that I know would cause the spring noise, to my surprise NO SPRING NOISE, I will report back after some long term driving.

 

I'm happy to report that after driving the car this weekend and this morning's commute (which is on a bad road) there has been no spring noise. Moving the tubes did the trick.

 

got any more pics of the drop?

can you do me a favor and measure the distance from the ground to the top of the fender arch? just curious how much lower sportlines will be compared to my current setup..

how do you like the ride? are sportlines fairly stiff?

 

How is the ride compared to the stock springs?

 

In my opinion these springs with the stock struts offer a very balanced ride that is close to the stock setup but when pushed stiffens up quite nicely to allow quick turning, particularly on off ramps. The car has never bottomed out and does not bounce around, overall I'm very happy.

One thing I did notice as a negative and this is probably true of any lowered car (that is 7 years old like mine) is that any other suspension components that need replacing will now be more noticeable then when it had the stock suspension.

In my case strut bearings and possibly compliance bearings.

Here are the measurements, please keep in mind that this was not done on completely level ground and the measurements were taken right after the springs were installed with a quick drive to seat the springs.

Before:
Front Passenger: 25 3/4"
Front Driver: 26 1/4"
Rear Passenger: 26 1/8"
Rear Driver: 26 1/8

After:
Front Passenger: 24 1/4"
Front Driver: 24 1/2"
Rear Passenger: 25 1/4"
Rear Driver: 24 3/4"

 

thanks for the info!

any side view pics showing how much wheel gap is left?

any chance you've measured the height again after letting the springs settle in? i wonder if the car is still at the same height...

when you say the ride is feels close to stock setup, does that mean they feel pretty soft? IMO, stock feels super soft compared to my stock s2000 suspension.

did you cut the bump stops? eibach says to cut them but i'm thinking of leaving them stock because i don't want to bottom out my konis

now that the car is lowered, do you ever scrape on driveways or speedbumps?


anyway, if you're wondering, here are my ride height measurements on my tein h-tech springs w/ tokico blues:

Front Passenger: 25.0"
Front Driver: 24.75"
Rear Passenger:24.75"
Rear Driver:24.75"

Note this is with a full tank of gas and nothing in the trunk.

I'll be switching to the sportlines soon because i want a stiffer ride. I hope my car won't scrape.