xEvilEvoX

I just picked up my a 2013 GSR last week. The day after, I noticed there's a slight thudding/clanking noise coming from the front passenger side whenever I go over a specific type of road imperfection. It happens mostly when the passenger side goes over a raise or crack on the road. I suspect it's the suspension and related components, but I'm not sure. I plan to bring it back to dealership to have it looked at this weekend.

I did a bit of research and tightened the 2 center bolts on the strut bar. It still happened. I also removed the wheels and inspected the wheel wells and suspension components for anything that is loose. It seems everything is tight, but who knows, maybe I don't know what I'm looking at lol. There's a slight play in the fender liner, but I doubt that's the cause of the noise.

Anybody experienced this?

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

This is usually caused by a slightly loose front upper shock bearing. You cannot detect this by yanking on it unless it is really, really bad. Some people have luck solving the problem by tightening the shock-shaft nut. Most people seem to end up replacing the entire upper mount.

You can try explaining this to the service dept at the dealer, and they ought to fix it for free. Or you can have them play trial-and-error until they find the problem.

xEvilEvoX

Is the shock-shaft nut you meantioned the top nut? (the one which I have to remove the cap to see and is greased from factory).

stevebiggie

iTrader: (2)

I know with aftermarket suspension you have to remove the top plastic knob and tighten the inside nut because they tend to get loose and the sound literally is like you're car is coming apart
Should be the same with oem suspension, I haven't tried it on them

xEvilEvoX

I tightened it, and it was supertight. I also tightened the 3 strut bolts and and the 2 center bolts for the tower brace. The clunking is still there .

Took the car to the dealership yesterday. The tech confirmed he also heard the noise. We took another car in the lot out, went over the same pothole and the same clunking noise occured on that car. He concluded that that's how the suspension is, and if I want, he can open a ticket for me. I was disappointed and insisted him take another car for a test. Guess what? The 3rd one DID NOT make any noise. They opened a ticket to Mitsubishi and will call me back. I suspect it's the top hat that causes the noise. Kinda sux! Ruin my new car exciting experience .

stevebiggie

iTrader: (2)

Sorry to hear man
But at least it will be covered under warranty then
Factory defect most likely

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

Yes, it is not surprising that more than one (and, maybe, as many as half) of the "new" Evo Xs on the lot have this clunk. The front hat/bearing/plate design absolutely stinks. One option is to just get something like Vorschlag plates right now. Besides not clunking, they provide infinite camber adjustment, instead of just two settings.

xEvilEvoX

Yeah, but it's frustrating. The dealer is 40 miles away from me. I'm busy with work, and I don't have time to drive back and forth. Every time I go there, it's a quarter tank of gas and bunch of tolls lol.

xEvilEvoX

If that's the issue then I won't worry much about it because it's an easy fix. Control arm, CV, bushings, etc. are things I don't want to touch so I will wait for dealer input.

Edit: just checked! Vorschelag is $440 .

wicked white14

This happened to me and you can find out real quick if it is the bearing in the top hat. With the hood open, stand over the affected strut and compress the car super quick, if it is the bearing in the hat you will hear the same clunk and know what it is............... if it does not make the noise then it is somehting else.

Iowa999

iTrader: (1)

The above, in my experience, is a one-way test (in the philosophy of science sense of "one-way"). My left front plate would remain silent as people of various sizes pushed down hard on that corner. And, yet, that was my problem.

tl;dr - if it clunks when you push down, it's the bearing; if it doesn't, it still might be

Gyroscope

i have the same sound and feeling that something is loose in the front with the suspension / alignment components when i go over speed bumps no matter how slowly. like a loose/rattling sound happens on both sides in the front only. 2013 gsr

Thomar

mitsubishi suspension ftw.

Apexaholic

I wonder if your GSR and the 2nd one you drove on the lot were close together during production. Seems like some bad Quality Control in the suspension department.

xEvilEvoX

Where's the best place to buy the parts? If anything, I'll just suck up the cost and replace the top hats and bearing and hope it goes away. I feel like waiting for the dealership will take forever. I have a set of lower springs waiting for me to install, but I want to resolve this thing first...

Thanks for the tip! I will try that. Iowa999 is right. It may not produce the clunk because the clunk doesn't occur on all types of rebounce. It seems to happen mostly during a very quick compression.


Did you get it fixed?

The handling is great. It's just the clunking that drives me nuts.

I agree on the quality control part. You will be surprised how many threads there are regarding this clunking noise when you do a search. The buyer of that Evo will have the same problem.