Front Suspension Noises

[Terabite]

Hi Guys,

I need some expert opinions on this matter. I have heard from several car techies ( so called) that the Honda’s have a front suspension issues, is this true.

I drive an EG8 & have noticed that I hear some noises from the front right wheel side.. I just got the wheels aligned last week, the guy who did the job said nothing was unusual…

Any ideas???

thanks

Edited March 19, 2007 by Terabite

[The Don]

suspension issues are common in SL thanks to the bad roads,

If you could tell us what kind of a noise you hear maybe we can be of more assistance,

suspension noises or noises coming from that general could be one of the following,

worn bushes

worn steering, rack ends ball joints etc

engine mounts

CV joints

and a few others, some noises especially ones associated with bushes are really difficult to diagnose without taking the suspension system apart (as I once found out as one of my lower arm bushes had gone bust but from the outside it looked ok)

The Don

[nira74]

  The Don said:

and a few others, some noises especially ones associated with bushes are really difficult to diagnose without taking the suspension system apart (as I once found out as one of my lower arm bushes had gone bust but from the outside it looked ok)

The Don

Yeah,

And the downside with most new Jap cars these days is that you cannot simply replace the lower arm bushes, you have to buy the complete lower arms at about 20k a piece......

(I've seen this in Hondas and Nissans.... not sure about Totyota though ....)

Another very annoying source of noise from the front end can be caused due to worn out brake caliper pins.... this problem is common on Nissans.

Edited March 19, 2007 by nira74

[Duncan]

A bit more info on the problem would be helpful before an answer can be given.

[Elvis_Pil]

  nira74 said:

Yeah,

And the downside with most new Jap cars these days is that you cannot simply replace the lower arm bushes, you have to buy the complete lower arms at about 20k a piece......

(I've seen this in Hondas and Nissans.... not sure about Totyota though ....)

I'm not sure about the eg's but this is not the case in the ek's- barings & bushes can be changed separtely

  Terabite said:

Hi Guys,

I need some expert opinions on this matter. I have heard from several car techies ( so called) that the Honda's have a front suspension issues, is this true.

I drive an EG8 & have noticed that I hear some noises from the front right wheel side.. I just got the wheels aligned last week, the guy who did the job said nothing was unusual…

Any ideas???

thanks

eg's & ek's have fixed cambers.. which can be a b*tch when the cars get old as you cannot align them properly

[Terabite]

Thanks guys, well first of all the noise comes from the front right side wheel. I notices that the noise heard only when I am on a bumpy road or when I go over a pot hole.. the noise sounds more or less like “ Dahg dahg”…I hope you get what I mean.

I checked with my local repairman , according to him,

CV joints – OK

Engine Mounts - OK

Bushes - OK

Steering Rack - OK

Shock - OK

Disk Brakes – Pins etc – OK

Help on this would be a life saver

Edited March 20, 2007 by Terabite

[gunat]

This may be a long shot, but if it isn't the ball joints/Rack ends...take a look at your brake calipers- there's a rubber boot that insulates the moving parts of the unit. If this rubber wears out, you *can possibly* have noise.

[Terabite]

thank you all for your input

[nira74]

  Terabite said:

Thanks guys, well first of all the noise comes from the front right side wheel. I notices that the noise heard only when I am on a bumpy road or when I go over a pot hole.. the noise sounds more or less like “ Dahg dahg”…I hope you get what I mean.

I checked with my local repairman , according to him,

CV joints – OK

Engine Mounts - OK

Bushes - OK

Steering Rack - OK

Shock - OK

Disk Brakes – Pins etc – OK

Help on this would be a life saver

You can also check whether the Bumper stops (above the shocks) are OK - but if these were faulty the noise would be heard only when you hit a big enough pot hole to make the shock compress fully.

But also from the way you describe it...... you can also check the rubber knobs that hold the bonnet up. Sometimes if one of these wear out the bonnet vibrates and you can feel as if it were the front wheel or something.

[Terabite]

  nira74 said:

You can also check whether the Bumper stops (above the shocks) are OK - but if these were faulty the noise would be heard only when you hit a big enough pot hole to make the shock compress fully.

But also from the way you describe it...... you can also check the rubber knobs that hold the bonnet up. Sometimes if one of these wear out the bonnet vibrates and you can feel as if it were the front wheel or something.

thanks mate for the input, i will check that out too

[TurboSeavy]

  nira74 said:

Yeah,

And the downside with most new Jap cars these days is that you cannot simply replace the lower arm bushes, you have to buy the complete lower arms at about 20k a piece......

(I've seen this in Hondas and Nissans.... not sure about Totyota though ....)

Another very annoying source of noise from the front end can be caused due to worn out brake caliper pins.... this problem is common on Nissans.

Hey nira, you will only have to replace the entire lower arm only if you are chasing after genuine parts. Even the genuine Japanese bush will tare off in a matter of months thanks to the SL road system. What I do is get the lower arm bushes replaced. You can't get the genuine bush but there are many Thai, and even SL made ones that will do the job for about 6 months, and its back to the replacements again.

[footy]

  Terabite said:

Hi Guys,

I need some expert opinions on this matter. I have heard from several car techies ( so called) that the Honda’s have a front suspension issues, is this true.

I drive an EG8 & have noticed that I hear some noises from the front right wheel side.. I just got the wheels aligned last week, the guy who did the job said nothing was unusual…

Any ideas???

thanks

I drive a RD1 CRV, which is Civic based. This model has an issue (which I am experiencing now), where the slabilizer bar link wears prematurely, rusulting in a "clunk" when ever a wheel goes into a pot hole or over a bump. If this is the problem, you will not hear a noise when both whells go over the same bump (e.g a speed bump), as the stabilizer bar goes not get twisted in that situation.

I have already got the replacement parts from Stafford, but not been able to install it yet (I have this thing about trying to do everything myself...).

Maybe your Civic has the same problem?

Ashraf

[Elvis_Pil]

  footy said:

I drive a RD1 CRV, which is Civic based. This model has an issue (which I am experiencing now), where the slabilizer bar link wears prematurely, rusulting in a "clunk" when ever a wheel goes into a pot hole or over a bump. If this is the problem, you will not hear a noise when both whells go over the same bump (e.g a speed bump), as the stabilizer bar goes not get twisted in that situation.

I have already got the replacement parts from Stafford, but not been able to install it yet (I have this thing about trying to do everything myself...).

Maybe your Civic has the same problem?

Ashraf

Interesting. do you mean one or both stabilizer links wearing out?? and whats the remedy to fixing this and what are the parts needed/that you got?

[Terabite]

  footy said:

I drive a RD1 CRV, which is Civic based. This model has an issue (which I am experiencing now), where the slabilizer bar link wears prematurely, rusulting in a "clunk" when ever a wheel goes into a pot hole or over a bump. If this is the problem, you will not hear a noise when both whells go over the same bump (e.g a speed bump), as the stabilizer bar goes not get twisted in that situation.

I have already got the replacement parts from Stafford, but not been able to install it yet (I have this thing about trying to do everything myself...).

Maybe your Civic has the same problem?

Ashraf

oh... thanks for the input ... should get that checked out... do you have anybody that you can recomend me to take my ride to ??? Pls. mail me

thanks

[footy]

Pilawoos,

In my case, it sounds like it is just the left side, but I bought the parts for both sides to be safe. The part in question is the Stabilizer Link Assembly (p/n 51320-S04-003) on the CRV. No idea whether the Civic has the same part. I should also mention that I have not installed the parts yet, so I do not know for sure whether this will fix the problem, but according to what I read on the web, this is a known issue with the 1st gen CRV.

Terabite,

Sorry I have no-one specific I could recommend. I tend to try and do stuff myself unless it needs special tools etc. With the present problem, I could not exert enough leverage to free the part, so I will probably take it in to the agents one of these days.

[Gear_Head]

Hey guys,

Since we are on the subject, maybe you guys can help me too.

My Toyota Corolla (NZE121) has a noise coming when there is significant movement in the front suspension (like when you go over a speed bump). I had a mechanic check the CVs, boots, mounts, lower arms, nothing was wrong.

Then I noticed that my coil springs were not the normal type. It was a different type spring than that comes in a normal corolla (suppose to be the sports version as I was told by the previous owner- its red colored). The lower three rings are touching each other, and my mechanic said that the noise is coming because these hit each other when there is movement. Can this happen?

Any comments on this is greatly appreciated.. cheers..

[Elvis_Pil]

These are possibly after market coils.. dont think Toyota ever put red coils in any of their cars. Also possible that they are the wrong size. Your low profile tires will not help this problem. On corrola's stock is good.

Also get your shocks tested.

[SHANNON]

Hi ppl... need sum advise on the same subject.

even my March k11 (front) gives a noise when going on a bumpy road or over a hump.

At the service centre I checked the rack ends and noticed that the (sumwhere next to the place it fits the wheel) grease nipple on the rack-end has cracked open.

a friend of mine advised that i'd have to replace both rack-ends. Is this necessary? if so any idea how much it mite cost?