help needed, front suspension Q...

t32er · Jul 1, 2011

guys had the car lowered on sunday, looks good, not to low so good on bumps but no where near has high as oem
Pyro and his friend did most of the work fitting, mor so his mate
im a little worried about the top nut though, i had a look at how tight it was due to a steering issue it has collected since sunday, a clink a clont and its really really light

i popped a 21mm socket on the top and the nut and strut turnt all the way around...
this has caused an alarm...
i have spoken with a mech man who didnt know the answer but said it makes sence for it to do it as there is less tension as the spring is shorter

i think there a 20mm drop on the oem LCR shocks
can some one plzzzzzzz help

Slimy · Jul 1, 2011

You're worried about it turning all the way round? Unless you counterhold the strut that nut will carry on turning until the end of time!!

You can't rely on any spring to provide enough force to keep the strut from turning. The vinyl in the strut nut will ensure the strut starts turning before the nut is tight. The strut nut needs to be torqued up while the strut itself is held with an allen socket through the centre. Personally I gave it a couple of blasts with an air gun and it sat fine.

t32er · Jul 1, 2011

sorry i have just edited the post a little
the nut was done up with an air gun, when i used a 21mm swan neck spanner and a T45 (what ever sixe it was) it was tight and i didnt tighten it any more than it is as it didnt move BUT when its just the socket it spins the lot
the old suspension didnt do this

Pyro · Jul 1, 2011

im pretty sure mine spins mate ill try check it at some point but im 100% sure that its normal as my nova and pug both did it coz it scared me at first lol i dont know if it happened before the lowering tho as i never checked it

but when you twist the nut it's only the inner piston spinning inside the damper not the whole strut is the noise defo from the front as 'im still a bit worried that you had no rear rubbers on the bottom its just odd

any know if the rear springs have bottom rubber mounts?

t32er · Jul 1, 2011

yea its deffo the front mate, i get more clicks and clonks at lower speed and turning and a loud ping on full lock left to straighten up
another thing i have noticed, the steering wheel is wonky BUT straight is never in the same place??? 1 min its 1:00 then its 2:00 after going round a bend... its odd and bothering me

it was propper tight before

t32er · Jul 1, 2011

just checked a mk4 site and they had a good how to on the rear springs, only has a rubber cap on the top, bare spring at the bottom so the rear is all good

Pyro · Jul 1, 2011

get you moobies under there and check all the nuts and bolts are tight mate if you remember my noise my metal clunking grinding one! after both new joints it was still there found out that one of my wishbone bolts had come loose and was clucking at low speeds when turning reversing going over bumps ect ect and remember i we said you need a new tie-rod end bolt coz we had to heat that mofo up

but double check its all done up mate they should e but you never know i know my wishbone was done up but obviously not tight enough coz it came loose

you will need a 17, 18 and 9 mm socket and spanner

you saw what we took out etc so go back round also if you can narrow it down to one side then while up in the air get both wheels up and sit in the wing and get mike to turn the wheels slowly side to side and shake the strut to try and make it make a sound

thats what we did in a car park after driving round it for about 10 mins in a circul lol was a lucky find tho chris was tuning the wheels while i looked under the car and rested my hand on the wishbone only to find i could feel the noise :-o

lol if your stuck calll me

Pyro · Jul 1, 2011

t32er said:
just checked a mk4 site and they had a good how to on the rear springs, only has a rubber cap on the top, bare spring at the bottom so the rear is all good

ok cool was just odd there was no grooves or nothing :think:

sambryant · Jul 1, 2011

Terry get your tracking done first, my tracking was miles out and making all kind of noises. After tracking everything felt and sounded perfect.

Pyro · Jul 2, 2011

any heavy sus work will throw the tracking out like fook as you've seen even removing my drive shaft has fooked mine

try and blag the place you had it done at a few weeks ago saying that its gone all tits up

alex 80 · Jul 2, 2011

Defo getting tracking checked should sort out your noises and make the car drive loads better. you may need to pull streering wheel off and line it up straight.

you doing oxford dub club weds? will try and hed over although mine is looking rather rough at the mo been turned in to parts hauler.

Slimy · Jul 2, 2011

t32er said:
sorry i have just edited the post a little
the nut was done up with an air gun, when i used a 21mm swan neck spanner and a T45 (what ever sixe it was) it was tight and i didnt tighten it any more than it is as it didnt move BUT when its just the socket it spins the lot
the old suspension didnt do this

OK, based on that information I would actually regard the old suspension to be at fault. On a working suspension setup that nut should turn. It's got a bearing inside the top mount to help it turn when steering, and the piston inside the shock absorber should freely move to allow it to work right.

If you've got pings and clicks while turning the wheel, I suspect the top mounts and the bearings need to be replaced. They should really be done when the suspension is changed, I didn't and had to go back in there a month or two later because I'd got fed up with the notchy steering. Also check the spring cups top and bottom, there is a little indent where the end of the spring should sit and it's all too easy to misalign the spring. Again, that is from bitter experience!

tyrer · Jul 2, 2011

After we did my spings I had to have it tracked, it was well out mate. I was really worried also because my Traction Control started cutting in on long right turns at any pace.

Tracking sorted the steering wheel - its about 2mm out now but not noticable

And then Gaz cleaned all the rust out the traction sensor, I was advised by Awesome that tyre pressure + lowering can also do this so I pumped them up a little and its been fine ever since.

Haha I know what you mean about the rear springs, I was thinking ''they're going to fall out''

If the top mount nut spins when you have the allen key in then that needs a new nut IMO. Mine doesnt spin and the threads might be old/damaged on yours. As a rule you should always re tighten stuff days/week after as driving will put some pressure back on.

My steering got HEAVIER not lighter also man.

Slimy · Jul 2, 2011

tyrer said:
If the top mount nut spins when you have the allen key in then that needs a new nut IMO. Mine doesnt spin and the threads might be old/damaged on yours.

With an allen key in yes, it should tighten up which it sounds like it did. When the OP used just a socket it turned, which it will do.

Pyro · Jul 2, 2011

i air gunned it myself

t32er · Jul 2, 2011

been out with a better fitting swan neck and Torque, its as tight as a ducks arse, it dont move a mm. unless i do it without the tourqu in there of corse.
im going under the car later on to check all the nuts are tight (im sure they are) then tomora im guna go see if i can get it tracked, down side is i doubt i will get on the ramp at my normal place and i cant afford maritire at the moment, i dont know any where else with a flat ramp near me... Alex80, any ideas? i normal go to phills tyres but i striggled b4 the lowering????
and yea i will be up there on wed, i have a guy who should be sorting the chip on my screen meeting up there to in his Leon, might actually have a few Leons up there wed

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