Rep Power: 305

heres my problem...

i just installed my coilovers (B&G S3) yesterday and got an alignment today. well when i drive it and turn the steering wheel from lock to lock, the front suspension pops and creaks.

I had to get the OEM upper mounts assembled onto the B&Gs because it didnt come with any. i have an '02 civic. i brought the car to the shop that assembled the coilovers for me and they said the bearings are probably old and worn out. i said it wasnt possible because they were fine before the install and have been only used for a couple thousand miles. the guy tells me to come back tomorrow so he can take a look at it.

heres my question. what do you think the problem is and do you think it can be solved without removing the coilovers. i just got an alignment today and it cost me $120 and i dont feel like spending that much money again for another alignment. thanks for your help.

 
Rep Power: 295

ill start with u got ripped for that alignment..
i got popping too, nothing im too concerned bout, it happens to a lot of ppl there are answer, just search it. lol 120 USD for an alignment.. thats still got me laughing

 
Rep Power: 317

for 120 bucks u coulda got a lifetime alignment at firestone

 
Rep Power: 0

i have that problem too... don't know how to fix it...
lubricant doesn't seem to be helpful either
let me know if you find a solution
(btw, i'm on tein basic)

 
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happened to me too dropped on ground controls, back end sounds like an old matress

 
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happened to me too...i spray some WD40 every once in awhile....but mine's not consistant i've gone the last few weeks w/o hearing nething but sometime's it'll randomly creek...grr...

 
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Hey,

Since you're experiencing those noises, I would think the shop will take it apart and inspect it to make sure everything was installed properly, free of charge. If the mechanic does agree to this, I would tell him to grease the upper and lower spring contact areas, and the upper mount and bearing. Hopefully this helps.

As for alignment, again... since the mechanic will have to take it apart to inspect it, he should just throw it back on the alignment rack and adjust the front settings for you free of charge, if it needs to be adjusted. I would think no adjustments will be necessary, but if there is, it will be very minor.

Keep us posted!

 
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Yea 120 for alignement is quite expensive. I pay about 60 bucks and get all my cambers and such in the green. No RED!!! And my car is pretty damn low.

As for the sounds...I have them too...but usually only when I go up and down driveways. Sometimes its not ur suspension sometimes its the body panels flexing. When your so low you can three wheel up and down driveways, thats when I make the most noise. Otherwise on normal streets u should be pretty quite unless something is wrong.

 
Rep Power: 305

ok, as for the $120 i paid for the alignment at Just Tires...
it cost $70 to get an alignment for a regular car (not dropped). if your car is lowered it cost $30 more. that brings the total up to $100. i got them to mount 2 front tires on my car because my toe was really really off so i drove in with 2 steelies in the front and 2 alloys in th rear. thats why it cost $120 total. i trust their work and if i had to, i'd pay that much anyways.

any who... as for the suspension creaking, i brought it back to the shop that assembled my coilovers. they put it on the lift and inspected it, etc. they said when they tried to turn the steering wheel when the wheels were off the ground, there was no creaking. i'm sure they assembled it right. the only explaination they gave me was that the coilovers were not supposed to go that low. i got B&G S3 coilovers and they say it can lower from 1'' to 3''. i dropped the full 3'' in the front, so i dont get why "it wasnt supposed to go that low." but he also said that they springs have almost no preload on them. that makes sense to me because when i installed my coilovers i noticed the same thing but didnt think anything of it. basically he said that because theres no preload on the springs, the springs twist with the car when i turn the steering wheel causing it to creak and pop. he said its more of an annoyance than anything. as long as its safe to drive the car i suppose.

i'm gonna give B&G a call tomorrow and see what they have to say about the situation. i'll let you guys know whats up...

 
Rep Power: 0

Sounds pretty good so far... atleast your know it's "safe" to drive, and that it wasn't installed wront.

As far as dropping 3", I thought the B&G's could drop up to 4" max? I'm not 100% sure, but by reading post from the past by people with B&G's... some have them dropped lower than 3". I may be wrong... but 3" shouldn't be too low for the B&G's. I also read that the lower you go, even with full Coilovers, the ride with get a lil' harsh and somewhat bumpy, due to the shock having less travel.

Suspension experts, please comment and correct what I may have said wrong.

 
Rep Power: 305

the B&Gs only drop up to 3''. most higher end coilovers dont drop past that for some reason (e.g. tein, etc...). the car still rides smooth even tho its dropped a full 3'' in front. my friend has tein ss (adjustable dampening) on his '02 civic and these ride very similar to them. i had Hayame V2s on before these and dropped them a little more than 3'' in front and 2.75 in the rear. those rode very harshly, but i think it had to the do with the quality and how the suspension was designed in the first place. for the B&Gs, its kinda weird. to drop the car, you dont have to compress the spring. what i mean is, normally (and logically) if you want your car to sit lower, you want to compress your spring right? well, when i did that on these coilovers, my car got higher. i eventually found out that you dont compress the spring at all for the B&Gs to lower them. i dont know if you follow me, but its the best that i can explain it.

 
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i have that similar creaking noise that no one can figure it out why
i'm only lowered like 1.5" with tein basic
i tried to bounce the car when parked but there's no squeaking noise
doesn't sound like it's coming from the suspension... not sure where it's from

 
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yup my teins do the same thing, but mine clicks on the right driver and creaks on the left front, and have never found out why it does it nor the fix

 
Rep Power: 812

creaking noise... lube the rear sway bushings. Mine had bad creak when the car was alot newer with stock suspension and that fixed it. Dealer did it under warranty.

 
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bro, i had this problem with my celica. It was slammed... that noise you're talking about is of the dead coils rubbing against each other. Its nothing serious. Raise it a li'l bit if you want. I use to drive with my music blasting all the time so i would never notice it. Its the best way to ignore these noises. ahaha,
By the way, are these true coilovers? if not wut kinda shocks/struts are you on?

 
Rep Power: 314

wd40 fixes all squeeks. everytime i hear a squeek in my rear, i take a "whole can" of wd40 and go on a spraying spree and drive like around the block and wala! As for the creeking in the front.. i have b&g, like a quarter inch from the bottom all around and when u turn the wheel, it creaks or clunks cuz of that handle on the coilovers. like if u look through your spokes in ur wheels at the top and u see a bolt that looks like an oval, spray that with wd40 and it should stop. i do that and i dont hear any clunking or squeeking in the front. did u use the 01 upper mounts in the front also?

 
Rep Power: 314

actually, now that i think of it, i think its the camber kit bolt that you see, its like right at the top when u look through the spokes above the brakes. try that.

 
Rep Power: 374

I've had b&gs for almost 2 years and 30k and no noises like that , ever - and I installed them myself. I have more than a 3" drop on my front so its not being that low thats causing a problem. It sounds like the suspension itself is fine. if its a loud POP or SNAP that you can almost feel, its the sway bar binding up. Take a look at the endlinks, mounts, and brackets and check those out. g/l

 
Rep Power: 305

the B&Gs are true coilovers.


i still dont know what the problem is. i used the stock top mounts off my '02. do you think its because i need to use '01 top mounts? when i called B&G in the past, they never said anything regarding that.

 
Rep Power: 812

i always thought you needed 01 upper mounts if you didn't have an 01, unless your suspension comes with them.

 
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i think 01 and check your tire pressure if u got squeeking in the rear. i found that out the hard way, someone over inflated one tire and now its bald and i think it was squeeking cuz it felt every bump on the road.

 
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can some one post pictures of where to exactly spray the WD40? what bushings or camber bolts? i think tomorrow i'ma go under the car and have someone push the rear up and down so i can hear where the creaking is coming from then spray it.

 
Rep Power: 314

here a pic i could find in members rides and i circle where to spray. the bolt that isn't shown which u can see through the top spokes on ur car is a must to spray and i wrote bolt not in pic pointing to it. i believe its where the camber kit connects. have fun spraying. if u see a bolt, spray it!

oh DO NOT FORGET TO SPRAY- the bolts in your trunk at the top that are holding it to the car. i find that helps very well too. you can just pull the carpet up in the trunk and spray.

 
Rep Power: 278

Nice, thx for the pic.

 
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ok, i called B&G today and of course, they dont know exactly what the problem is themselves. however, i asked if it could be due to me using the'02 upper mounts instead of the '01 mounts, and the representative said that could be the problem. so i guess i'll have to get the '01 upper mounts if i want the creaking to stop. i'll probably do this when i get rims or something so i have to get another alignment. everything is costing too much right now...

 
Rep Power: 812

it always does. even when I just threw on some $100 springs with a friends help, I still ended up paying $150 for alignment and camber kit install, and another $150 for the camber kit. Thats $400 just for springs, still got stock shocks.

 
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where are you going to get the 01 upper mount?
i might need one too

(i'm in chicago too)

 
Rep Power: 314

www.hondaautomotiveparts.com

 
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i'm probably gonna get mine from the dealership or something. i think tein makes their own upper mount for their coilovers. i'm not sure if oem will fit your tein basics, so i'd check with tein about their upper mounts first.

 
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the tein upper mount doesn't work with basic.. i already checked...
i have to use the oem one.. i think mine is the 02 one.. since i bought it used from another member here with a 02...