Hi NAM,

So my shocks were all shot on my 05 MCS with 49k miles and replaced them with Bilstein B4, Swift Spec R, new Meyle front top mounts, new Lemforder rear bushings, and these fixed camber plates. After the installation, I hear front clunking when going over steep speed bumps such as the ones with spike strips entering a gated community. It sounds metal to metal, like coils hitting each other or struts bottoming out. Could the stiffer springs broken/loosened the old ball joints, swaybar bushings and other parts? I know i can test the swaybar endlinks by disconnecting it. Do I just completely remove one endlink? would the swaybar not rub against the tie rod boots? What else can I look for? I checked everything is tight, top mounts, swaybar link, pinch bolt, etc. Am I missing anything? Is there a proper way to tighten the swaybar links? Could the end links be worn without visual signs? Could it be the motor mount? I see leaking but I am not sure if it has ever been replaced and the stains could be from an old one. Regardless, I'll be replacing it soon. But I the thud comes from two lower front suspension area.

Thanks in advance.

 

Stupid question, but did you remember to put the bump stops back in, or if your springs lower it a bit remember to cut the ends off? And double check and tighten absolutely everything everywhere, including the lugnuts on the wheels themselves. I did hear a slight clunking when my motor mount was dead but it affected the handling more.

 

Initially I had the uncut bump stops on but that made the car bouncy so i cut the fronts in half which improved the ride drastically. should i also cut the rears? The rear bushings are new, bump stops are uncut.

i’ve checked all bolts I removed and reinstalled so i am not sure where it is coming from.

 

Did you also remember to take the rubber coil spring pad off of the old shock and put it on the new one?

 

yeah, I did that one too. Both the front and rear and upper and lower spring pads.

 

So I’ve replaced both upper and lower engine mounts and disconnected one swaybar endlink.

The clunk is still there.

Any other ideas? I’d appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

 

Shock to strut mount bolt loose
bad strut mounts
bad control arm bushings
bad control arm ball joints
bad wheel bearings

or a combination of these :/

 

Thanks for the response, Soliman. Strut mounts are new and the noise sounds and feels like somewhere lower- could feel it on my left foot. Wheel bearings are new. It happened after installing swift springs and new bilsteins. Could be Control arm bushings. How do I inspect these? I tried kicking the tire with them on the ground and the tire jiggle a bit. With them on the air, i grabbed the tires at 9and3 oclock and tried to move and theres clicking thats sounds from the steering. Any suggestions as to what i should try next?

what are the steps to diagnose the control arm bushings? If I visually inspect them, aside from cracks, what should I look for?

 

Since the struts are the last change that makes me think of the spring seating.

Also make sure the bolts from the struts to knuckles are nice and torqued.

Test the bushings by kicking the tire as you said. They should be solid.

You might plan on replacing these items anyway. These cars are getting old and if they are original parts you can assume they are tired.

really depends on your plans for your car.

 

Bolts are all tight and torqued. When kicking the tire, there’s some obvious play but not too bad. The car has less than 50k miles but it is 15years old. I’ll tackle the LCA bushings first as they are easier without dropping subframe and hopefully that solves it.

I bought the car to track and autocross so replacing the bushings with poly is something i wouldn’t mind doing.

 

yes sir, that sounds like a reasonable approach to me.

if you’re going to be on a race track these items become even more important Id think...

tie rods. Don’t think we mentioned that one?

 

I have the inner and outer tie rods in the garage waiting installation as the old ones are seized. I’m not looking forward to dropping the subframe. I think I’ll try address the clunk with bushings and then the others.

will report back.

 

The subframe does take some time to drop, but it's straightforward and shouldn't cause you any frustration, especially if you've had the front suspension apart recently. Also obviously opens up a lot more access to items on the block like the oil filter housing and cooler and anything mounted to the subframe like power steering and sway bar components.

 

Thanks for the response. Do you have any tips before I tackle this? For example, I don’t have a pry bar or a 3lb hammer - do I need these? Aside from the sway bar bushings, inner outer ball joints, What other things should I do while the subframe is down? I recently did the two PS hoses so that’s done.

 

So I went under the car again and inspected and kicking and moving what I can before tearing anything apart. While the control arm bushing needs replacing and the parts are on the way, I seriously doubt they’re causing the clunking. I just find it bizarre that it happened after installing the lowering springs and it sounds metal to metal and only when both wheels fully unwind like going over a speed bump and nothing else, not when turning and not when going over rough roads, just when going over a speed bump a little too fast than normal. I looked at the springs and the dead coils are fully touching each other when the car is on the ground but not when the car is off. Could the metal to metal sound be coming from the dead coils hitting each other? The picture shows all 4 coils touching each other. Is that normal? Has anyone experienced this too? Should I wrap them with silicone tape or something?

I’m looking forward to your thoughts and ideas.