Recently I noticed a popping sound coming from the left rear. It started soon after I hit a pretty good dip in the road that I hadn't seen coming. After jacking the car up and inspecting my H&R coilovers I see that the black hard plastic thing inside the actual spring has buckled and is really distorted and contorted inside the spring (this was described to me as a "dustcover" by somebody, but I can't for the life of me see how it keeps dust out). It seems that my popping noise is coming from this plastic each time the car hits even the slightest bump or even when I corner hard. Now the question is: Is this plastic dustcover (?) necessary and can I just cut it out, or: If it is necessary, is it possible to order new ones and replace it? Or do I just bin the H&R and start over with something else?

Any help and suggestions really appreciated as these popping noises are driving me crazy.

Ken

 

they call it a dust cover but it's really more for protecting the shaft from
rocks the tire might kick up.

in order to replace those you'll have to disassemble the strut which imho
is a waste of time if your car is just driven on street. you don't need it,
but good to have for insurance if you drive on some rural roads that are
unpaved.

you can cut several strips of duct tape and tape over the coils if you
don't feel like removing the strut just to replace the boot. that will
provide ample sheild from rocks hitting your bare piston shaft.