RA Suspension Noise
RA Suspension Noise
Good Morning All,
I have been fighting with a noise, and doing lots of searching and troubleshooting. So far, I am at a loss- so I am hoping that someone here may have experienced the same and has some advice. So here is the background:
2010 RA with 32K miles. It is garaged each winter, so it doesn't see any road salt and has some minor modifications. Its not a track car, just my adult daily driver...
At the beginning of the summer, I started to hear a noise coming from the right rear. Best comparison was a knocking that sounded like the trunk was open. It does seem like the trunk area seems to amplify it though, and it is more prevalent with the rear seats folded down so I am sure its in the rear of the vehicle. It has gotten worse but not any horrible so far, just very irritating to say the least. It is not speed specific, in fact I can hear it as soon as I start pulling down my driveway. After about 50mph, road noise pretty much drowns it out. No change with application of brakes, and happens in forward and reverse. I can roll in neutral, or with the engine off and still hear it. I have pushed up and down on the rear, and hear some clicking that I thought was the strut- it was not as you will soon see. To me, it seems to happen with suspension loading more than anything else.
Prior to diving into any suspension work, I completely disassembled the trunk and all of its pieces. Nothing is loose. Visual inspection of underside shows no loose shielding, subframe bolts or drivetrain.
Last weekend, I opted to install coilovers since I thought a strut had failed. remember the noise when I really pump the rear of the car up and down? I was riding on oem struts with Swift springs. So, 4 brand new Tein street basis coils, all new hardware- every nut bolt bushing. First roll down the driveway, it was not solved. Note that I always without fail, use anti-seize and a torque wrench- even in the most minuscule application. So I was surgical in the precision of the install. I know many of you are thinking swaybar links. Negative. I replaced all of the swaybar endlinks, and none of them showed any signs of degradation. Last fall, I replaced the upper control arms with SPC adjustable units, again torqued, lubed etc. They are still in excellent condition. Alignment shop noticed zero issues when it was serviced this spring, and I rechecked the torque after adjustments.
My last thought is that I have a bushing that has partially seized, and am leaning towards the trailing arm. I also lubed every exposed bushing with an acid brush and still no fix. The lower control arms seemed to move without any issue when I had the struts out, but I wish I had done some more diagnostic when I had the struts out and the suspension free. The only bushings I have not lubed and torqued are the trailing arms and the toe adjustment links.
Has anyone experienced similar bushing issues? In every suspension, brake bolt there has been a small amount of white dust- looks like minor corrosion. So I have always cleaned to surgical precision and lubed prior to replacing. The car is essentially still new, so I have yet to find a "seized" bolt but the clues seem to point in that direction.
Last night out of frustration, I took a slow ride down a dead-end street with the trunk open. It is definitely not associated with the body- at least the trunk lid. I did however crank the e-brake and place the car in drive with some throttle to load the suspension. Noise was noticeably there both in drive and reverse. A little bit of throttle caused the car to rise and squat, and I could clearly here what sounds more like a creak. Not brake noise, but my experience is telling me its a bushing again. Zero movement, just suspension loading forward and back.
Ideas, suggestions or friendly advice would be appreciated. I am going to start addressing the bushing one by one, but if anyone has experience with a particular being more problematic, you may be able to save me some time... Thanks!
I have been fighting with a noise, and doing lots of searching and troubleshooting. So far, I am at a loss- so I am hoping that someone here may have experienced the same and has some advice. So here is the background:
2010 RA with 32K miles. It is garaged each winter, so it doesn't see any road salt and has some minor modifications. Its not a track car, just my adult daily driver...
At the beginning of the summer, I started to hear a noise coming from the right rear. Best comparison was a knocking that sounded like the trunk was open. It does seem like the trunk area seems to amplify it though, and it is more prevalent with the rear seats folded down so I am sure its in the rear of the vehicle. It has gotten worse but not any horrible so far, just very irritating to say the least. It is not speed specific, in fact I can hear it as soon as I start pulling down my driveway. After about 50mph, road noise pretty much drowns it out. No change with application of brakes, and happens in forward and reverse. I can roll in neutral, or with the engine off and still hear it. I have pushed up and down on the rear, and hear some clicking that I thought was the strut- it was not as you will soon see. To me, it seems to happen with suspension loading more than anything else.
Prior to diving into any suspension work, I completely disassembled the trunk and all of its pieces. Nothing is loose. Visual inspection of underside shows no loose shielding, subframe bolts or drivetrain.
Last weekend, I opted to install coilovers since I thought a strut had failed. remember the noise when I really pump the rear of the car up and down? I was riding on oem struts with Swift springs. So, 4 brand new Tein street basis coils, all new hardware- every nut bolt bushing. First roll down the driveway, it was not solved. Note that I always without fail, use anti-seize and a torque wrench- even in the most minuscule application. So I was surgical in the precision of the install. I know many of you are thinking swaybar links. Negative. I replaced all of the swaybar endlinks, and none of them showed any signs of degradation. Last fall, I replaced the upper control arms with SPC adjustable units, again torqued, lubed etc. They are still in excellent condition. Alignment shop noticed zero issues when it was serviced this spring, and I rechecked the torque after adjustments.
My last thought is that I have a bushing that has partially seized, and am leaning towards the trailing arm. I also lubed every exposed bushing with an acid brush and still no fix. The lower control arms seemed to move without any issue when I had the struts out, but I wish I had done some more diagnostic when I had the struts out and the suspension free. The only bushings I have not lubed and torqued are the trailing arms and the toe adjustment links.
Has anyone experienced similar bushing issues? In every suspension, brake bolt there has been a small amount of white dust- looks like minor corrosion. So I have always cleaned to surgical precision and lubed prior to replacing. The car is essentially still new, so I have yet to find a "seized" bolt but the clues seem to point in that direction.
Last night out of frustration, I took a slow ride down a dead-end street with the trunk open. It is definitely not associated with the body- at least the trunk lid. I did however crank the e-brake and place the car in drive with some throttle to load the suspension. Noise was noticeably there both in drive and reverse. A little bit of throttle caused the car to rise and squat, and I could clearly here what sounds more like a creak. Not brake noise, but my experience is telling me its a bushing again. Zero movement, just suspension loading forward and back.
Ideas, suggestions or friendly advice would be appreciated. I am going to start addressing the bushing one by one, but if anyone has experience with a particular being more problematic, you may be able to save me some time... Thanks!
I am digging the coilovers though... A bit lower than I expected, but I think it looks pretty good! And yes, in the grocery store parking lot, so it is a grocery getter.
Last edited by SPSERG; Sep 8, 2015 at 10:45 AM.
Problem Solved!
Well, it looks like I have finally resolved this issue!
After disconnecting the trailing arm and putting some forward/backward pressure on the wheel assembly, it was obvious that the binding was coming from the upper control (camber) arm. As mentioned I used SPC arms to give me the camber adjustment. They have been on the car for a little over 1 year, and were installed meticulously. These arms use a spherical ball joint with 2 grease seals on one end, and a bushing on the other. Once I pulled the seals it was evident that the grease had hardened and was providing little lubrication to the ball joint. A thorough cleaning and packing with grease/ reinstall/ torqueing has eliminated the binding. My guess is that that area just amplifies any chassis/suspension noise right into the trunk chamber which makes for a horribly annoying experience. I am sympathetic to any and all that have gone through similar to find that noise! Words to the wise: If you happen to use those control arms, they are holding up well for me, but I don't think whatever minimal grease the factory preps them with will hold up for long. Do yourself a favor, and repack them before you put into service.
After disconnecting the trailing arm and putting some forward/backward pressure on the wheel assembly, it was obvious that the binding was coming from the upper control (camber) arm. As mentioned I used SPC arms to give me the camber adjustment. They have been on the car for a little over 1 year, and were installed meticulously. These arms use a spherical ball joint with 2 grease seals on one end, and a bushing on the other. Once I pulled the seals it was evident that the grease had hardened and was providing little lubrication to the ball joint. A thorough cleaning and packing with grease/ reinstall/ torqueing has eliminated the binding. My guess is that that area just amplifies any chassis/suspension noise right into the trunk chamber which makes for a horribly annoying experience. I am sympathetic to any and all that have gone through similar to find that noise! Words to the wise: If you happen to use those control arms, they are holding up well for me, but I don't think whatever minimal grease the factory preps them with will hold up for long. Do yourself a favor, and repack them before you put into service.
Solution
If I can help one poor soul deal with that trunk noise, I am happy! It does seem like 1 step forward, and 1 back though... Failed MA inspection for emissions. Now dealing with this nonsense was not what I wanted to do with my spare time!
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