Rattle/knock front suspension

[Knighty 29]

 

Hi guys,

 

 

Just looking to see if anyone has witnessed similar.

 

 

I've had the teins flex As installed for a couple of months now and I'm getting a knock/rattle when i go over some light bumps, more noticeable when on a corrugated surface, and sometimes a clonk when coming down from a speedbump. Cannot remember whether i had this noise before the install or whether it came after. Could it even be a characteristic of the car? (Doubt it)

 

 

I've checked over all bolts and and ensured the top nut on the struts are torqued correctly. Everything is perfect and tight.

 

 

For reference drop links are standard items that came new on the car.

 

 

Could it be droplinks? Or is there anything else i should look at?

 

 

Thanks

 

Sam

 

 

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[will300 812]

Have you check the preload spindle, i.e. Is the spring loose?

[Mark-in-Stoke 488]

Had very similar, mine went to two garages before the third garage TunedUK identified it as the droplink, all had checked and ok'd the said droplink, Feckin ninja droplink!

[Knighty 29]

Have you check the preload spindle, i.e. Is the spring loose?

 

Checked that a little, not sure how tight it was supposed to be but i couldn't move the spring all that much when the car was in the air. I did tighten it a little further (less than a quarter of a turn) to be sure though.

 

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[Knighty 29]

Had very similar, mine went to two garages before the third garage TunedUK identified it as the droplink, all had checked and ok'd the said droplink, Feckin ninja droplink!

 

Ninja droplinks you say? I did check droplinks and all the dust boots looked intact and everything was tight and the joints moving freely. Were yours similar?

 

I was wondering whether it was more to do with the use of stock droplinks and them being too long.

 

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[Deacon 1357]

Have you checked the stop drop links aren't catching something? A lot of coilovers come with shorter drop links to stop any catching.

[Mark-in-Stoke 488]

1 hour ago, Knighty said:

 

Ninja droplinks you say? I did check droplinks and all the dust boots looked intact and everything was tight and the joints moving freely. Were yours similar?

 

I was wondering whether it was more to do with the use of stock droplinks and them being too long.

 

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The dust boot on the drop link (not a standard droplink) finally showed a small split which lead to further investigation, but as Jeff said are you sure the originals aren't catching anything?

[Knighty 29]

Have you checked the stop drop links aren't catching something? A lot of coilovers come with shorter drop links to stop any catching.

 

I have to be honest, i didn't check, but i did wonder this myself. Do most people run with shorter droplinks?

 

I've been looking at the whiteline arb and drop link kit

 

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[Knighty 29]

1 hour ago, Knighty said:  

Ninja droplinks you say? I did check droplinks and all the dust boots looked intact and everything was tight and the joints moving freely. Were yours similar?

 

I was wondering whether it was more to do with the use of stock droplinks and them being too long.

 

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The dust boot on the drop link (not a standard droplink) finally showed a small split which lead to further investigation, but as Jeff said are you sure the originals aren't catching anything?

 

It's definitely possible I'd guess. Though I'd have thought I might have noticed some marks or something, but then again i wasn't looking​. It sounds plausible. I'm also pretty low, about 40 - 45mm lowered.

 

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[Deacon 1357]

I'd say there's a reasonable chance you may be catching something. I'd jack it up, take the wheel off and have a really good look especially if you are about 40mm+ lowered.

[Mark-in-Stoke 488]

With the drop links been a weak point on our cars, I'd say get a pair of shorter ones, get them fitted, if it cures the knock "great" if not you have a spare set.

If I'd done this I would have saved a whole lot of time, money and effort.

[Knighty 29]

I'd say there's a reasonable chance you may be catching something. I'd jack it up, take the wheel off and have a really good look especially if you are about 40mm+ lowered.

 

Okay, thanks for that, I'll take a look!

 

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[Knighty 29]

With the drop links been a weak point on our cars, I'd say get a pair of shorter ones, get them fitted, if it cures the knock "great" if not you have a spare set.

 

Was also coming to this conclusion tbh.

 

Any point in getting the ARB while I'm at it or no in your opinion?

 

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[Deacon 1357]

6 minutes ago, Knighty said:

 

Was also coming to this conclusion tbh.

 

Any point in getting the ARB while I'm at it or no in your opinion?

 

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I've got the whiteline front and rear arb kit. It does stiffen the ride up quite a bit just to warn you. Also, you'd want either both front and rear or just rear as front alone will add understeer.

[DanJ 374]

If you can't see any witness marks where the drop links are hitting anything check the drop links are tight in the ARB and the strut. My right front drop link came loose at the ARB and made a similar noise under similar symptoms to what you've described.

[DanJ 374]

I also had to shorten the Whiteline drop links by about 10mm by facing 5mm off each end of link in a lathe.

[Knighty 29]

If you can't see any witness marks where the drop links are hitting anything check the drop links are tight in the ARB and the strut. My right front drop link came loose at the ARB and made a similar noise under similar symptoms to what you've described.

 

Thanks Dan, did check both those and couldn't move them at all, all seemed tight. The noise does seem worse on the drivers side, but that could be because I'm sat on that side and can hear it more. Also noticed the camber seems to be slightly more negative on the drivers side compared to the passenger side,

 

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[DanJ 374]

I've got a spare set of shorter non adjustable drop links if you want to try those and see if they fix it then.

[Knighty 29]

I've got a spare set of shorter non adjustable drop links if you want to try those and see if they fix it then.

 

That'd be really useful actually mate if you don't mind. Will you be at japfest next weekend? Could pick them up from there if you are? How much shorter are they?

 

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[DanJ 374]

Not a problem, they're sat under my desk at work gathering dust.

 

They're 210mm centre to centre, not sure how much shorter that is than stock though, other than they're definitely shorter.

 

I'm not at Japfest but should be able to leave them with someone who is today, will let you know.

[Knighty 29]

Not a problem, they're sat under my desk at work gathering dust.

 

They're 210mm centre to centre, not sure how much shorter that is than stock though, other than they're definitely shorter.

 

I'm not at Japfest but should be able to leave them with someone who is today, will let you know.

 

That's brilliant mate, thankyou very much. Really appreciate it.

 

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[LarmiqGt 49]

i've got the exact same problem again with my flex A's last time it was because the securing nut on the drop links (above and below the gold bit on the whitelines) purely weren't tight enough. turns out i was just being a bit too scared about it. now though it seems they are tight but something else is slowly making more of a rattle at low speeds. ARGHH!!

[Knighty 29]

On 23/04/2017 at 8:52 PM, LarmiqGt said:

i've got the exact same problem again with my flex A's last time it was because the securing nut on the drop links (above and below the gold bit on the whitelines) purely weren't tight enough. turns out i was just being a bit too scared about it. now though it seems they are tight but something else is slowly making more of a rattle at low speeds. ARGHH!!

I feel your pain. The noise I feel is slowly driving me insane... I spend my life listening for it at the minute, trying to find the culprit. 

I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it soon enough, and there'll be that ever so sweet satisfaction! 

[Nimz 70]

Sorry to bump an old thread but did you ever fix this @Knighty? Having exactly the same issue and the Toyota dealer couldn't find the issue unsurprisingly

[Lauren 2259]

I had a very slight knocking/clonking on mine, that I noticed when going over speedbumps. Turned out that where top of the damper unit screws into the top plate, the thread had been stripped (it only has a very small thread) and there was a slight amount of movement. This was after 50K miles. I had the top plates replaced and that sorted it when I had the suspension serviced by TEIN.