New noise

[nsk040]

Edit: Videos all here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZA8korBJSJ8-KJOBXqLGQ

Another noise identification exercise. Pardon the lengthy timeline, but hopefully it’s helpful in diagnosing. A few months ago ZHPizza found a loose nut on the top of one of my front shocks. An impact wrench tightened this up ~1/4 of a turn. Not the perfect solution as you can’t counter hold with an allen key, but it completely eliminated a very annoying noise from the front end. Good day.

Over the long new year’s weekend I double-checked the 3 nuts on the top of each rear shock in the trunk b/c I was curious. The two outer nuts are 10ft/lbs….and the central nut on the shock is 17 ft/lbs. All these felt tight. Took the car out for a long drive on Monday and there were no noises.

It got very cold Monday night – coldest it’s been yet this year – and Tuesday morning driving to work I heard some pretty loud cracks (maybe better described as one 2x4 board being slapped against another) coming from the back end. My parking garage ramp has some ripples in it (for lack of a better word) that get the shocks oscillating, which used to always create the noise I hated on the front end that ZHPizza fixed. This time, I got a really loud vibration from the back end. I do have this on video with good audio, but need to create a youtube account to upload. This vibration sound was basically the 2x4 cracks in very quick succession.

Tuesday night I re-tighten all the nuts on the top of the rear shocks again. Probably tightened them a bit beyond spec but not materially so. The noise has gone away on the parking ramp, however it still is there on certain types of surfaces. Single bumps (i.e. a speedbump) don’t reliably produce the noise, but generally rough roads (where the shock is oscillating) can occasionally.

I’m totally mystified by this. If I had mistakenly loosened the nuts over the weekend rather than confirming that they were tight, that would have been apparent on Monday. The problem only became evident once it got cold on Tuesday. And having re-tightened everything Tuesday night, the problem has largely gone away but there are still certain road surfaces that can produce the noise. Given the very modest torque specs for the 3 nuts in question, I have trouble believing these were ever loose.


These are the shock mounts that I have: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-jt-design-parts/performance-rear-shock-mounts-rsm/jtd909/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIq8Dwz8u-2AIV2AOBCh1ulgJNEAQYASABEgIWgfD_BwE

[slater]

what kind of shocks in the rear, and how old are they?

[nsk040]

what kind of shocks in the rear, and how old are they?

Bilstein HDs. Installed ~6 months ago. Basically did the BMWCurves refresh but with Bilsteins.

[fredo]

Years ago, I owned a 1992 Ford Tempo. On very cold days, the suspension made some funny noises. The car was fine at all other times. I’m curious to know if your noise continues after the temperature goes up.

[slater]

Bilstein HDs. Installed ~6 months ago. Basically did the BMWCurves refresh but with Bilsteins.

ahh. based on fredo's post above, it sounds like you might have accidentally installed ford tempo shocks.


ha.....


i would recommend removing the rear shocks, test compressing them and listen to what happens. also, check the top mounts off the car and see if there might actually be a problem with the mounts themselves.

[fredo]

:rofl :rofl

[Oli77]

I concur with Fredo, it was 0 degrees out here the other day and it has been miserably cold this week.
Definitely hear strange suspension noises I never heard before, like something is loose in the front.
All my suspension was refreshed last year. Everything is tight.
Waiting for warmer days...

[slater]

Weird. I have never had odd suspension noises due to cold weather... and our temperature sweep is 30*C to -30*C.


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[slater]

la double post

[ZHPizza]

I concur with Fredo, it was 0 degrees out here the other day and it has been miserably cold this week.
Definitely hear strange suspension noises I never heard before, like something is loose in the front.
All my suspension was refreshed last year. Everything is tight.
Waiting for warmer days...I'm getting a noise that sounds like a loose threaded connection...you know like someone playing a washboard? I've been all through the front end and can't find a loose anything.

[slater]

I'm getting a noise that sounds like a loose threaded connection...you know like someone playing a washboard? I've been all through the front end and can't find a loose anything.

it's your car telling you It's Time To Move To Canada... the noise will disappear as soon as you cross the border.

[ZHPizza]

it's your car telling you It's Time To Move To Canada... the noise will disappear as soon as you cross the border.Gonna need a better sales pitch in January dude. Something with igloos.

[slater]

Gonna need a better sales pitch in January dude. Something with igloos.

dude... it's waaaarm up here right now. i got da windahs open...


remember we talked about BC a while back? yeah, it's warmer there than it is in charlotte right now... ;)

[anandoc]

dude... it's waaaarm up here right now. i got da windahs open...

remember we talked about BC a while back? yeah, it's warmer there than it is in charlotte right now... ;)

I'll just leave this here...

https://i.imgur.com/WdzUzs1.png

[san]

I'll just leave this here...

https://i.imgur.com/WdzUzs1.png

No surprises there considering this is how it’s in MI (Detroit) right now -

31704


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[ZHPizza]

dude... it's waaaarm up here right now. i got da windahs open...


remember we talked about BC a while back? yeah, it's warmer there than it is in charlotte right now... ;)

Lol dope I'm on the way

@bmwcurves meet us in Vancouver

[nsk040]

I'm getting a noise that sounds like a loose threaded connection...you know like someone playing a washboard? I've been all through the front end and can't find a loose anything.

Is this the noise you're getting? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSXNR9brmlk Not my video but pretty similar to the noise I was getting that you fixed...

[ZHPizza]

Is this the noise you're getting? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSXNR9brmlk Not my video but pretty similar to the noise I was getting that you fixed...

definitely maybe....and I forgot to check those strut top nuts before I put the car up on the rack....man I hope that's it

[BMWCurves]

Lol dope I'm on the way

@bmwcurves meet us in Vancouver

Meet me half way in Seattle...


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[nsk040]

I created a youtube channel with videos of the noise. Video #3 is the best one with good audio of the rapid vibration. Vehicle speed is ~30mph in videos 2 and 3.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZA8korBJSJ8-KJOBXqLGQ

Is it possible that 6 month old shock mounts have already gone bad?

Can I drop the shocks out at the back and reinstall (looks like it's 3 bolts on top and 1 on the bottom) w/o losing the alignment?

[slater]

I created a youtube channel with videos of the noise. Video #3 is the best one with good audio of the rapid vibration. Vehicle speed is ~30mph in videos 2 and 3.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkZA8korBJSJ8-KJOBXqLGQ

Is it possible that 6 month old shock mounts have already gone bad?

Can I drop the shocks out at the back and reinstall (looks like it's 3 bolts on top and 1 on the bottom) w/o losing the alignment?

very strange... sounds just like that previous video you posted, though.

yes, you can absolutely R+R the shocks without affecting the alignment. i would start there - doubt they have gone bad, but i would check the top mount stack off the car (still connected to the shock at first) to see if there is play there. then disassemble and check the top mount stack order of washers, etc. it's entirely possible the top mounts konked out early, too.

[nsk040]

Slater - I assume you mean pull out the top of the the shock to inspect mount, gasket, etc. but leave the bottom connected to the wheel carrier so as not to impact alignment? Or can I totally remove shock from car with no impact to alignment?

Higher-quality shock mounts (linked in my first post) failing after only 6 months seems like a pretty low probability but I'll check.

Can someone confirm the order of the mount, gasket, and reinforcement plate? I'm thinking mount and gasket are fed up from below with gasket sandwiched b/w mount and chassis, and then just reinforcement plate and nuts (2 outside, 1 central) are what go on from the top?

[Sockethead]

They look like a similar design to the RE mounts. On those, if you don't have them tightened properly, they'll make noise. Also, the RE mounts can be mounted either way...

[nsk040]

The central nut on top, as well as the two outside nuts are all tight. Is there something else inside (i.e. not accessible from the top w/o dropping the shock out) that could be loose or is it likely that the mount itself is broken?

Hope this isn't a subframe issue...but from my understanding those are incredibly rare of '04s and beyond.

[Sockethead]

I'm not that familiar with that particular design so I can't really say. How about calling the folks that made it? (760) 644-2682

[nsk040]

Latest diagnosis from the shop is that it's a blown shock. Odd, as the shocks were new 6 months ago. Tech was in the back seat, seats down, watching the top of the shock - he seemed pretty confident in the diagnosis. New shock ordered...

Have you guys heard of shock failures creating noise? It seems that every shock failure thread I can find relates to leaking, not noise.