Suspension problems

[redlava]

The last few weeks i have noticed a clunking sound coming from the rear driver side area whenever I went over a bump. At first I thought it was something loose in the back moving around because I have a big flashlight and some other things in the spare tire storage area. I took all of that stuff out and I still hear it along with some squeeks. Not sure where the squeeks are coming from, I thought it was the seat but I can't get it to squeek when I bounce up and down while not driving.So I think I may have a loose shock mount or strut mount and hopefully not a bad shock or strut. For all I know it is just that rear driver side so far. I have Hotchkis springs for about a 1 year and 3 months. I have an appiontment with Sears on Friday to get some new tires. Hopefully they will take a look at it for me and be able to fix it without costing me a leg to go along with the arm I am already paying for the tires.Anybody else have similar things happen?

[Raven]

It only takes a few minutes to open up the back and remove the panels to check the bolts on the the struts and torque them down. It's worth a try to save paying someone to do it.

[redlava]

Yeah I totally don't know how to do that. And knowing me I would probably break the ruttin' thing if I tried. If it costs me a few bucks, whatever, just as long as it gets done right. I am just hoping that it is a loose bolt.

[Mavrik]

do you have a rear sway bar? Non-stock I mean? If so check and make sure the two bolts are tight... that can clunk.

[redlava]

Nope the only thing that is non stock about my suspension are the springs.

[ragingfish]

How long have you had the springs on?

[redlava]

1 year 3 months.

[ragingfish]

Hmm, that's a pretty long time.I was gonna suggest the rear springs may not have been reassembled properly and as the car is bouncing, the spring could be rotating on its base...but if it's been over a year, the likelihood of that is prolly slim to none. And I think slim got a new job...

[redlava]

I checked the bottom mounts this morning and I didn't see anything that was loose. I would check the top mounts but I din't know how to access them. So hopefully it is just a bad bushing or loose bolts and not something more serious.

[redlava]

Well got my tires put on for $650. About $70 dollars cheaper in Iowa City than it was in Omaha. The spring was very loose in the back which what was making all of the squeeking and other noises. I overheard one of the techs say that they could spin it around in circles. The bad news is that the struts on the back are damaged. I assume from the lowering springs putting more stress on them. Hopefully this won't continue to happen every couple of years or my OEM springs will be going back on. When I get back to Omaha I will get a second opinion from Midas or some other place and they can show me exactly what the damage is with the struts and have them replaced if necessary.

[Raven]

It's unlikely that the struts are damaged. They see lowering springs and say hey those springs wrecked your struts. I don't think so. I drive on the worst roads that you could imagine and with over 125,000 miles I have yet to damage a strut with my Teins.

[redlava]

I have to take it in tomorrow to fix another alignment issue that they made worse today so i will have them show me exactly what is wrong with the struts. I find it a little hard to believe that they can be messed up as well. Especially when I can't feel anything is wrong with the way it rides now that they have fixed the spring.They were really busy today, but they must have worked on my car with a blindfold on or something.

[harryyiii]

My son hit a pothole in his 95 Neon. He complained about a rattling in the rear of the car. He drove 15 miles home. When I checked, the top of the stur, where the seal is, was completely blown off, and the rod was just rattling around in the strut outer case. Shock oil was all over the fenderwell. I was surprised that the whole suspension didn't collapse. Although the Neon is 6" shorter than the Vibe, it has only 1" less clearance. With lowered springs, it has less clearance. Lowering springs reduce travel, increasing the chance of bottoming out. I hope this didn't happen, but if it did, the strut was not that difficult to replace.

[redlava]

Well something is really humped with my rear springs. The tech at Sears showed me what the problem was. They raised my car up and you can spin both of the rear springs around in circles with your hand and they could be moved back and fourth and up and down quite easily. When it is on the ground they seem to be solid. The tech said he has never seen that before.At this point in time I am not sure what the hell has happened. If the wrong size of springs were sent to me by horsepowerfreaks.com, if Tires Plus installed them wrong, or if the springs or struts are just broken and they just started doing this. It is hard for me to believe that Tires Plus would not notice this when they installed them and let me know. I have just e-mailed both Hotchkis and horsepowerfreaks about this and I went to the Tires Plus that installed the springs for some answers. The tech at Tires Plus will not be there until Monday morning and I am sure that the places I emailed will not get back to me until after that.Looks like I might have to get new rear struts and probably put my OEM springs back on. And chances are I will not get a refund on the goods or services from anywhere. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

[Mavrik]

Sometimes if you get the wrong size spring for your strut, the spring can be moved, turned or even become unmounted if the vehicle is raised off the ground. I know my TEIN ones do not do this. You could get a noise from yours if they are like this and become unmounted or moved when you hit a bump. However unmounting a spring is very dangerious when driving, it can blow a tire.

[redlava]

The squeeking was caused by the rubber gasket that fits between the strut housing and the spring. It had come dislodged and the spring was rubbing everytime I went over a bump. I dn't hear it anymore, but it is probably just a matter of time before it does it again.

[redlava]

Well after a couple of weeks of shopping around and getting quotes for repair it looks like what has happened to my springs is normal. I just got back from a shop and they put it on the lift to check out the problem. Luckily I got a guy who has had springs on his car before and what he said made sense. He told me that because the springs are and inch and a half shorter but the struts are the same, the strut will extend to it's full length when off the ground and will cause the springs to be loose. Just as long as they are seated properly when the car is on the ground there shouldn't be a problem.I am inclined to believe him because I don't feel any difference in the ride quality and I don't hear any sounds anymore. So there shouldn't be a problem if there are no symptoms. So I think I will leave everything the way it is for now and just make sure that whom ever rotates my tires and such makes sure the springs are seated properly when they are done. And have the alignment checked often.