Suspension Knocking (with vid)

[TTRickeh]

Hi everyone!

 

There's a knocking about in the rear of my car that's doing my head in. I've had the car jacked up a few times tightening suspension arm bolts etc, i've torqued up the subframe bolts not long ago as well. It's not the ARB or ARB drop-links as I took the whole thing with the links attached off and was still able to replicate the noise. It's not the boot rubbers as they've been replaced and there was a rag jammed in between it just in case anyway. It's predominantly coming from the passenger side but does occur on the drivers side sometimes too. Nothing seems to solve it so i'm starting to just assume it's coming from within the suspension itself

 

Does anyone think they know what it is? This is me coasting down my cobbled driveway at about 2mph.

 

4hTdoQ0k05Y

 

Cheers,

Ricky.

[Suprab1]

Have you checked your wheel & hub bolts are tight?

[TTRickeh]

Yeah they're tight

[pistonbroke]

With the rear of the car jacked up, and on stands so each wheel is a few inches off the ground, get a long pole and stick it under each wheel. Get someone to lever up and down with the pole while you lie underneath it, this will hopefully replicate the noise and you should see what the source of the noise is.

[Geo]

Does it go away with the Brakes engaged when driving?

[Dnk]

I'd get it on a ramp asap and start checking, engine mounts, driveshafts, propshaft, gearbox mount and pretty much everything else.

[TTRickeh]

With the rear of the car jacked up, and on stands so each wheel is a few inches off the ground, get a long pole and stick it under each wheel. Get someone to lever up and down with the pole while you lie underneath it, this will hopefully replicate the noise and you should see what the source of the noise is.

 

Thanks I'll try that as I don't seem to be able to replicate it pushing up and down on the boot

 

Does it go away with the Brakes engaged when driving?

 

No it's still there with the brakes on. Have got all those anti rattle clips that you've just put on the front.

[Dnk]

Personally i'd be very carefull levering the suspension up and down whilst on axle stands, i certainly wouldn't lie under the car while someone did it and to be blunt i'd get the car on a ramp and do these checks properly.

 

As said below check the dampers as i had a similar noise when one of mine blew, mine was louder than yours in the video but worth a look.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Dnk (see edit history)

[4packet]

Have you jacked it up and tried moving the wheel? I had a hub issue that was not resolved by replacing the bearing.

 

The other issue I've had is a rattle/knock from the damper (OEM Bilstein).

 

All of the above audible at low speed only.

[bluecoup]

had this issue twice, both times replacing the rear shock sorted it

[fastcar]

yep i had a knock coming from the rear of car and when i changed the shocks the knock went away. had it on my supra and a calibra i had before. seams when shocks get worn they get abit knocky.

[TTRickeh]

I didn't look at it today, didn't want to have the car jacked up 3 days in a row. Have hopefully found a set of replacement coilovers so we'll see if it is the shocks.

[TTRickeh]

Swapped the rears over with some Tein Flex's, still making the noise. It sounds like it's the upper seat that sits on top of the springs under the top mount but I don't see why that should be rattling about. Ugh.

[fastcar]

If u have put Tein suspension on your supra they are the worst for knocking on the rear.

I used to have a set of Tein mono flex and the rear knocked like hell. Got onto Tein about it and they just said its a normal thing with the suspension on the supra. lots of other people told me the same thing too. There was nothing wrong woth them they were not lose or anything just the way they were. The way i sorted it in the end was to throw them away and go back to bilstein shocks with Tanabe lowering springs. Cos it drove me mad[ANGRY][/ANGRY]

[TTRickeh]

Interesting. Thanks for your input. Anyone else got knocking Tein suspension?

[ManwithSupra]

Nope mine are fine...

[neo2810]

You sure it's not loose tools rolling about in the boot?

[ManwithSupra]

Was just thinking... Have you checked to see if your exhaust is bumping on the bottom on the car? The exhaust routes just past that suspension mount and it could be sounding like its coming from the suspension if it is (it’s difficult to pinpoint a sound in a car as the sound is easily transferred to other area's.

[TTRickeh]

You sure it's not loose tools rolling about in the boot?

 

Nope, the only tool rattling about in the car is me

 

Was just thinking... Have you checked to see if your exhaust is bumping on the bottom on the car? The exhaust routes just past that suspension mount and it could be sounding like its coming from the suspension if it is (it’s difficult to pinpoint a sound in a car as the sound is easily transferred to other area's.

 

I thought it might've been that so I wiggled the exhaust and saw where it made contact and put a bit of foam between the exhaust and the mount so I don't think it's that.

 

I'm a bit upset I might've bought another set of knocking suspension, and I don't really want to buy a 3rd set to find out! On a side note changing the front suspension is so much more of a pain than changing the rears.

 

I've still to try using a pole to move under the back wheels to try and replicate the sound i'll let you guys know if I can diagnose anything from that.

[TTRickeh]

 

I've still to try using a pole to move under the back wheels to try and replicate the sound i'll let you guys know if I can diagnose anything from that.

 

Did this, I think a significant amount of the noise is coming from my a worn wheel bearing (which I replaced not long ago so i'm getting some replacement hubs), but i'm still convinced the metal on metal contact at the top of the spring hat/bottom of the top mount is making some sort of noise. At the front the spring hat is metal to rubber and i've never heard any noise from the front. I'm going to give it laldy with some grease around that area and see if that quietens things down.

 

Made a vid of me faffing with my dismantled rear superstreet so you get a vague idea of what i'm talking about The green bit I put into the top mount is the 'spring hat' i'm talking about.

 

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[Geo]

cant view it dude

 

says private viewing only

[TTRickeh]

Should be sorted now

[pistonbroke]

So you've changed the shocks, but not the top mounts?

 

That'd be my next port of call. Get some from Keron on here, or borrow some.

 

You're looking at your coilovers which you've just replaced as being the problem. There's no way 2 different shocks would produce the same noise, there must be another component which is faulty, namely the top mount.

[TTRickeh]

I have changed the top mounts as the Tein Flex's I bought came with some. The design is the same on both coilovers so I thought it might've just been common to the Tein design but obviously there are plenty of people whose Teins make no noise. I am assuming that the knocking is the wheel bearing but there is another light scraping metal to metal noise that sounds the same as when I wiggle the spring hat in the top mount. If new hubs with good bearings don't fix it, I think i'll just buy a different Supra

[TTRickeh]

Adjusted the Flex's today to within the specs Tein give and there's a massive difference in the way the car drives! I think there wasn't enough tension in the spring before which caused excessive movement in the spring hat. I was barely getting any traction 2nd turbo in 2nd gear but i've got plenty now. There's less noise coming from the suspension as well compared to when I first installed them. I think i'm going to just have to wait and see if new hubs/bearings solves the noise. I'll report back incase anyone else is having similar issues.