Front strut "BANG" when braking hard

[WestSlide240]

hey so when i brake hard in my 89 fastback s13 sohc i hear a loud bang or pop in my front suspension....I have KYB AGX struts and sportline 2'' lowering springs, any help would be great!!! Thanks

[Razi]

Check the bushings up front.
The tension rod bushings might be busted.
Also, double check the tightness on all the bolts.

[stratmatt777]

Check the bushings up front.
The tension rod bushings might be busted.
Also, double check the tightness on all the bolts.

The bang or clunk under heavy braking is EXACTLY the problem I'm having!
So it is not the strut bearings? What a relief!

Also I know for a fact that this bushing on the right one (the frotn one) is cracked a little.

Energy Suspension or Prothan Bushings? Are there different materials or hardness or just one choice?
I'm looking at Energy Suspension 7.18106R Master Set for Nissan 240Xs.

Thanks!

[Razi]

Energy Suspension is a popular choice for a lot of people.

If you're thinking about redoing all the bushings in the rear with polyurethane, I wouldn't recommend it. Just doing the tension rods shouldn't be too bad though.
The bushings are supposed to twist as the suspension moves, but a hard bushing will resist that and bind, and your suspension won't move as smoothly as it should.

[krash]

I have the same issue, but in my case it is the "strut bearing"

[WestSlide240]

Found out my problem when we pulled my ka24e out yesterday....The frame has a tear in it right by the right side headlight underneath. the frame seperated as well. so i used a come-a-long to straighten it and get it back into place and then hammered the tear back flush with the rest of the frame. waiting on my buddy to come weld it up for me. I might post pics.

[asoomal]

Are you talking about the rad support?

[WestSlide240]

yup, i tried welding it back but the metal is so thin it just melts like butter. another problem is the studs where the right side sway bar mounts to the frame, both studs broke off so my sway bar isnt connected at all on the right side....and theres a inner nut thats welded to the inside of the frame with the bolts broken off into them, so after my swap im gonna roll it into the shop put it on the lift and then drill out the old bolts and bam! problem solved. check your sway bar and all bushings up front!!

[WestSlide240]

yup, i tried welding it back but the metal is so thin it just melts like butter. another problem is the studs where the right side sway bar mounts to the frame, both studs broke off so my sway bar isnt connected at all on the right side....and theres a inner nut thats welded to the inside of the frame with the bolts broken off into them, so after my swap im gonna roll it into the shop put it on the lift and then drill out the old bolts and bam! problem solved. check your sway bar and all bushings up front!!

[stratmatt777]

Energy Suspension is a popular choice for a lot of people.

If you're thinking about redoing all the bushings in the rear with polyurethane, I wouldn't recommend it. Just doing the tension rods shouldn't be too bad though.
The bushings are supposed to twist as the suspension moves, but a hard bushing will resist that and bind, and your suspension won't move as smoothly as it should.

Wow, thanks, Razi! I intended to buy the kit days ago, but hadn't gotten around to it. You saved me a big mistake!

So this twisting is probably related to the way the rear suspension toes-in the wheels for stability under trailing throttle?

So should I buy polyurethane for the front end suspension or will I then have mismatched handling front and rear (oversteer I would assume?)?

In my gut I "know" that it is probably my strut bearings that are the problem, but I was hoping that replacing the cracked rubber bushing on the tension rods might be the cause of my clunk since it occurs under braking and under acceleration.

I have an additional clunk from the rear end when I reverse out of a parking spot with the front wheels turned to full lock. My parkign brake was boken for 4 years (!) and I was parking the car in reverse... so I'm thinking that doing that on inclined surfaces repeatedly may have killed the rear diff bushing...

Now that I have started paying more attention I realize that the steering is not quite as quick as it was (possibly the bushings attaching the steering rack?).

As of today and yesterday, I notice when I accelerate hard while turning right onto a freeway on-ramp it feels like the car is "losing its line" very slightly, feeling like it is drifting a little wide and there is a numb feeling in the steering- like there is slop. From the rear end.

All of these handling issues are new (or I didn't notice due to the gradual nuature). The car is a '93 non-SE non-HICAS hatch with only 140,000 miles. I've never had to do anything to this car except a clutch pressure plate (did clutch too of course) at 137,000 and a thermostat 4 years ago. I love these cars!

What kit do you recommend?
I'm on a serious budget and under-employed so maybe I'll just start with the tension rod bushings and see if it improves. Do you recommend rubber ones from the dealer?
In the event that I have to do the strut bearings (bushings?) do you recommend dealer or is KYB or some shock company good enough quality?

Thanks for your help!!!

I'm also going to post a thread "Where do you buy LSDs? Canada?" (I'm in Seattle)

[stratmatt777]

Tension Rods! In a quick search I found a post from 2006 where the guy describes exactly what is going on with the front end on my car during the accelerating turn onto the on-ramp.

"the tension rod on my S14 were completely blown the drivers side would clunk under braking. during steering the car would travel to much in the front like there was no traction(very scary to drive at high speed). the new rods have alleviated all of these problems."