ok so , whenever i turn the front wheels theres like a "cracking" noise coming from the coilovers, the noise thats made when metal sticks an skips on metal

i have megan racing street series lp coilovers that are only about a year old

i no its coming from the coilover because i jacked up the car, removed the wheels, and had my gf turn the wheel back an forth while i watched/listened an i saw the springs werent turning with the entire coilover, but they were sticking and skipping at the top spring seat producing the infamous "cracking" noise which i at first thought was ball joints but it wasnt, and the tie rod ends look fine although one is a little loose so im replacing them anyway with some megan components. but those are still not whats making all the noise, its the springs.

so i have a few questions:

A) what is all supposed to be turning when i turn the wheels? and what is supposed to stay stationary?

B) what do u guys think is a good fix?

C) could it maybe be a spring tension problem? if so how do i correct it?

i havnt removed them and taken them apart yet, frist of all im pretty sure your not supposed to remove the springs, and second of all i just havnt had the time.

but i am going to remove them and thuroughly clean them and see if that makes a difference, otherwise im kinda in the dark on this one so any help is appreciated!

 

if you jack the car up.. you just unloaded all the weight... and it will not make a noise..

add the new slip on collars to the bottom and top and grease lightly if needed.

during driving... the coil spring doesn't move in a circular motion... the piston rod rotates when you turn the wheels while driving.

 

no it still made the noise when i jacked it up, i thought the same thing though an the only difference was that it made the noise on the other side too, when its on the ground though it only does it on the left, it does it very minutely on the right side

the noise is coming from were the spring is seated at the top of the coilover assembly

and when the wheel turns the whole assembly does move and i belive it is supposed to pivot a certain amount at the pillowball joint, and i think what is happening is that something is seized that shouldnt be due to either salt, or some sort of debris, or probably both (im in wisconsin) so i think taking it out an cleanin it up an like you said greasing it will take care of the problem

but i just dont want to take the spring assembly apart an mess somthing up. so if i do end up haveing to remove the spring, is there nething i should do to make sure all my spring rates an sitffnesses arnt all out of whack?

and these arnt slip on coilovers, you can still get the whole threaded adjustment piece to replace the old ones? or what do u mean by the new slip on collars?

wow i sound really noobish... lol

 

hahah its ok.


what I would do.

-wash them up like a little dirty baby

-measure from the top most section on the spring ( same points on both) to the bottom locking collar

-Mark that location with a grease pencil

don't worry man.. if you're race you're suppose to adjust the rates anyway depending on where you are racing.... its good experience.

 

aight ill do that, thanks bro.

an the whole changing rates thing i dont really know were to even start for that, being mainly mechanic i can install, or fix NEthing you need from bikes to mining equipment, an pretty soon airplanes, haha but as soon as it comes to fine tuning engines an suspension is were im still learning

 

well you always preload them to start.. meaning.. when off the car.. the springs should not just be spinning.

what you do is crank the collars clockwise a little at a time. measure both sides.. and drive the car. when it feels good to your situation you stop...

basically clockwise.. stiffer spring rate. counter-clockwise softer rate.

 

o awsome, sounds good

 

so this last weekend i took my suspension off, cleaned it all up, put it back on, evened out the spring rates and tightened them up a little bit, then put it all back on, and lowered the car, all after changing out my rear main seal, throwout bearing, and output shaft seal, and doing oil changes, it seemed to have taked care of the cracking sounds, but it sounds like its already coming back, so im gonna have to get ahold of megan racing an see what they say about it.

i also found that on the drivers side front, at the pillowball joint the entire strut assembly would rotate at that axis, but the passenger side would not. i cleaned both of them up, and lubed up the pillowballs with some dry film lube, which seemed to loosen them up a little bit and let them pivot easier. there was also alot of debris an salt in there when i cleaned it all out.

also i have noticed that something sounds loosesomewhere in the drivers side front area, at first i thought it was my tension rods, but those are all tight, and all the suspension parts are tightand i cant seem to find the source of the noise. im going to have to get it up on a drive on lift and see what i can find since i cant fit under a car thats only a couple inches off the ground haha