Front suspension clunking

[elwesso]

Whenever going over small bumps I can hear some clunking... Its more/less from the drivers side but its kinda hard to tell if it is/isnt coming from other places...

Anyway, I did some diagnosis, and I remember a post of Heath's that said that sometimes the center strut nut comes loose... Sure enough there is about a MM of play when I move the front, and I can hear a smaller version of what I normally hear...

When it try and tighten, the nut just turns, it wont screw down tight... It feels as if the threads on the shock stud is stripped.... I tried tightening while its just on the ground, but maybe I need to raise just that one side, to maybe lift it up enough to tighten down...

My instincts tell me Im going to need to rent a spring compressor, and retap the threads on the shock stud... Maybe the "defect free" warranty from tokico might cover this, as its something fairly recent.....

Its not noticeale really when going over bumps, its more over undulations (like pulling into my driveway) or just small bumps that relaly arent harsh....

It is starting to get annoying and if I keep messing with the nut I figure it will get worse......

[navysnail]

is it at the end of the threaded portion, and is the nut hard to turn?

[elwesso]

No there is still quite a lot of threads left (all of them are very similar without taking measurements)... And the nut is very easy to turn..

[navysnail]

it sounds like its striped, did you torqe it to specs when you installed them?

can you back the nut off? if not, its gona be hard to get in there and cut it

[elwesso]

I didnt install it, but I paid the guys extra to torque **everything** to spec and gave them a copy of the Q FSM.....

Dont remember trying to back the nut off.....

[navysnail]

yeah try to get that nut off, and you will only need a spring compressor if you have to remove the shock and springs, you can rent one from autozone i belive, they are easy to use, just make sure you tighten them evenly

[PalmerWMD]

Is it s clicking clunk or a clunky click?

That would be typical of worn upper links.

Fred..

[elwesso]

Upper links are new within 5000 miles... They're lifespan is about 30k

Its definetly from the center nut on the front suspension..... I know that...

[elwesso]

Fred could you describe the difference between a clicky clunk and a clunky click.....

[navysnail]

clicky like a timing chain i guess and a clunky as in a deeper "thump" clunk, like one you can feel in your seat

[elwesso]

I just talked with Alan (nismofreak) and he seems to think that when Im spinning the nut, its spinning the whole shaft.....

I will dig into there in a few days, and tighten it down.. Hoping i dont even have to take it off the car!!! If that doesnt work, I will send an email to alex at SWA and see if we can get the strut replaced

[DAEDALUS]

I totally agree--it's the whole shaft. LOL No reason to replace the whole strut, they all turn like that. Did you replace all the bushings?

[HeavyDuty]

Yup, only an impact gun can spin faster than the piston in the strut.

[Jeff Williams]

I think the strut has a place, at the tip, for a vice-grip, or crescent wrench. Use a boxed-end wrench to spin the nut, and a crescent to hold the strut shaft still. It is very simple.

[squeefoo]

Yup, only an impact gun can spin faster than the piston in the strut.

Stole my thunder. There is a special tool for holding the ends of the shaft, crescent/vise grip always seem to slip and round the end, and a special offset box end to reach down in there. Use a rattle gun, make sure it's turning the proper way, though you'll be okay if it's on the ground.My Dads Q had a similar insistent rattle and it was the sway bar to end link stud/nut. Probably from that last set of crop circles.

[DAEDALUS]

I think the strut has a place, at the tip, for a vice-grip, or crescent wrench. Use a boxed-end wrench to spin the nut, and a crescent to hold the strut shaft still. It is very simple.

Not easy doing it on the car though.