Maron, im not going to let this effect my purchase (even though mitsu isnt looking to good in sales and like to screw people on warranty issues, so who knows where they will be in 5 years). I am just letting people know that they need to isolate this issue. And by doing so you need to do one thing at a time then see what changed, if nothing then move on to next possible item and put the piece you just messed with back exactly the same as it was before you changed it. I think we will find a sure fix that way.

Maron where did you buy your MR at?? im in Edison area.

 

am i the only one experiencing a clunking noise with an aftermarket suspension?

mine now clunks to the point when there is any weight shifting at low speeds - but i don't think its the suspension.

the clunking sounds similar to plastic hitting the bottom of my car, repetitively for about 3 seconds or so. I can feel the vibrations when i hear the sound. at first it only came from the passenger, now i can feel it more on the driver side. this happens when im accelerating or decelerating at a stop and hitting bumps at low speeds.

gonna have it checked out by the dealer tomorrow. i dunno if my sound is the same one as you guys are experiencing - it might coincidently be in the same area and described as 'clunking' also

 

ok guys, i think i know whats causing the problem besides the stab link.
I had my stock springs replaced w/ tanabe GF springs. When they removed the strut there was pleny of dirt & sand on the upper part. So they washed the strut & installed the springs, added some rubber hose on the upper & lower part of the springs. After riding it & making U turns, the problem is GONE!!!! So i think you just need to add some rubber hose on the top & bottom part of the spring. Also try to spray the struts w/ high pressure water. DOnt forget to tighten both the front shocks, like what someone did here. THAT SHOULD ELIMINATE THE PROBLEM ONCE & FOR ALL. hope this helps....

 

Well hopefully when I take it in it will just be the springs and not the stablizer links.

 

Yes i to have the noise when putting over a speed bump and a crawling pace. It sounds like a thud on the left front. The Dealership tried to pawn it off saying that it is normal. Since I work at a Lexus dealership and am usually the service advisor saying yes the squeak or rattle is a normal characteristic of the car this doesn't sound correct to me or the technicians I work with.

 

My dealer didn't try to deny the sound or that something wasn't wrong they just could replicate the noise nor could I. But it clunks pretty often now, so I'm gonna give him another ride and show him what I'm hearing. Lately I've heard it in the rear suspension too. Maybe this is normal as the car gets older the springs start to settle more and tend to compress on each other hence making the clunking noise, but we'll see I guess and only time will tell.

 

dealer said it was my downpipe hitting the front sway bar since i have an aftermarket dp and suspension, lowering the car. im still skeptical - probably gonna take it to some other shops to see what they say..

 

No TSB from mitsubishi. It's up to owners themselves to fix it, or the dealer if they are nice enough.

I would ask them to have a tech ride in your car and you show them then you ask if you can take a new one and show them the difference.

Anyway, try the rubber hose, it's not very hard.

 

I have gone 3 weeks without a clunking noise since I cleaned out my spring perches.

 

Ditto since putting on snow tires (jacked up front end where clunk had been, but never touched anything).

 

I installed a UR high flow cat and there was no CEL for about a week. during that time the clunking was happening all over the place. tell me this is a coincidence - recently the clunking noise slowly went away but im now throwing a CEL..

 

ok guys, you should check your stab link....just jack up the car & loosen one of the links on one end, try to rotate it using you hands, you should not beable to do so if its still OK. If its messed up, it would be easy to rotate.
Also theres gonna be lots of sand & dirt on top of your struts, try to clean it w/ water. Install some rubber hose on the top & bottom part of your springs...
heres some pics & part number of the stabilizer link. Just curious how much does mitsu sell them there? BTW, the regular lancers have different type of stab link.

 

If the stabilizer links are bad, would you notice any change in steering response?

Also, I've had Cusco zero 2r's for about 4k miles and the car has recently developed the clunking noise, I did not notice anything when the suspension was all stock, however.
I plan on checking the endlinks tommorow, I hope it's the links and not a bad strut.

 

i have a eclipse it does that too

 

I did not notice any change in steering response.....my mechanic suggested it might be the stab links so we took them off & found out 1 was messed up.