Blown Strut?
 

Lately, I've been noticing my rear suspension making a squeaking noise going over large speed bumps and not really giving it much thought.

1 or 2 months has passed since then, and the squeaking is getting worse.

So I finally took a look at it today, and I'm no expert or anything, but i'm pretty sure oil should not be leaking from the strut.

Me and MelJ deduced in chat that it's prolly a blown strut and is a good excuse to buy some brand spanking new tokikos

Thought I'd post just to get a definitive answer on whether it is the strut or not.

Strut picture:
Attachment 103246

Video: (click)
http://i1099.photobucket.com/albums/...h_DSCF1347.jpg

Re: Blown Strut?
 

me too bud, we might be tokikos brothers next summer. tokikos sounds like a mexican dish...yummmm

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Is a stock suspension really supposed to be that bouncy?

Re: Blown Strut?
 

take some lube spray (like silicone or teflon or lithium grease.....or even wd40) and spray ur bushings and all rubber components. im betting its ur upper rod (where ur ABS wire is attached)

a strut being blown doesnt make that noise....

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Yea if it's from the rear its most certainally a bushing. Mine was doing it for a while too, I sprayed every rubber piece back there and the sound got a lot better. After a while the grease worked its way in there and the sound is gone. (A lil' off topic) but if it starts coming from the front be warned, it could be a ball joint. I ignored the noise and my ball joint broke after a few weeks of driving with it making that noise when I was 17 !! Luckilly I was going very slow.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Most stock cars are....

Hmm, but i'm still worried about that oil there....

Will do some greasing in the morning, its 12:30am =.=

Re: Blown Strut?
 

That's a shock. Not a strut.
Just saying.

That is a dead shock. Once the fluid leaks out it's a goner.

In all cases of shock failures they don't squeek but bushings sure as hell do.

Nathan

Re: Blown Strut?
 

It's been a while since I've had a stock suspension :sweet:

Re: Blown Strut?
 

I think mine are like that too but they don't make any sounds, and ride just fine?

Re: Blown Strut?
 

can't tell from the vid, mine is hard to even push it down with the eibach/AGX/progress sway...
is the car more bouncy than before, or maybe harsh on the bumps? Or more understeery? If so, the rear shock could be starting to weaken and really be blown.
If these symptoms, change them.
They don't blow straight away, but keep an eye and decide if you want to do more on the suspension. What mileage were you again?

Re: Blown Strut?
 

I don't really feel more bouncy than usual...
If so, I think it's only from that rear driver side.

I'm only on 63k mileage,
Will lube my bushings once i sober up :)

Re: Blown Strut?
 

the stock rear shocks are sooo weak, even when they are good. when we took mine off, we didnt even need a spring compressor to take it apart. the spring just fell off with no tension on it lol. yours def is leaking tho. but it wouldnt make sounds. thats prolly a dry rear sway bar bushing that needs lube. and yeah stockers were very bouncy. i bottomed out more times than i care to admit. tokicos ftw, nice and stiff with hardly any bounce. and no more scraping up the car over bumps.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

I dont think my 05 stock suspension is very good anymore since it makes a pop sound when braking...i heard thats bad suspension or something like that

Re: Blown Strut?
 

i just looked at my front tokicos and there is all sorts of rubber pieces on top cut up and falling off lol. hoping thats not too important. i can also see a good amount of the shiny piston which im guessing is bad. :lol: they still work fine.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

If it's coming from the front, I believe it's a common problem with the top mount bearing

...or so 30 seconds of searching has told me

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Stock rear suspension on a 7thgen is VERY bouncy. I noticed it since I drove off the dealer's lot when I bought my 03 new.

i would suggest put some weight in your trunk and see how it rides. You can put a 50 lbs sandbag in your trunk in the space behind your spare tire.

I have a 50 lbs sandbag and Bilstein shocks on stock springs in the back, and Tokico in the front. Slightly stiff over speed bumps but it wont bounce and the car feels smooth and solid on the road, unlike the stock suspension where it was a pain to drive over speed bumps and the rear end constantly moving up and down on even normal roads.

I can also tell you that the stock 8thgen civic my cousin has a much improved rear suspension tuning.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

y would u add more weight to ur rear? thats so it makes ur car slower, handle like crap (more crap i should say, since stock handles like crap). you would have more force going down u would bottom out easiler

if u want to keep stock height, change ur struts to blues and/or get stiffer springs. tein H tech is a good alternative to stock. its better than the HFP (honda factory performance) lowering kits.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

If you don't want to spend the money. Don't change the shock until it fails. If it still rides fine I don't see the need to buy a new one. I know everyone is saying that it's blown but I don't see a need to change it. Mine is like that too and it rides fine...

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Yes the car is slower but rides better. As far as bottoming out, 50 lbs is like adding a 5 year old kid in your car so its not that much more. I used to have two 50 lbs sandbag in the trunk until i figured out that I can put one in the spare tire well and didn't want the other one taking up trunk space. As for handling, the other way I look at it is the extra weight helps by improving front/rear weight distribution and possibly lowering the car's center of gravity (by adding weight located low in the car).

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Only reason I asked is because It's been 6 years since I've had a stock suspension. I really didn't remember how it rode.. lol

Re: Blown Strut?
 

I already have a 20~30lb sub in the rear, doesnt really make a difference


I don't plan to change it out unless i absolutely have to,
I mean, it's only 1 out of 4


Lubed up the bushings, waiting for lube to set in

Re: Blown Strut?
 

yea but adding 50lbs in the rear is actually putting more than 50lbs. because the weight is further out which amplifies it. unless u put it right next to ur struts. plus more mass gets pushed up and down.


adding sandbags may be a temp solution but it will blow out stock struts that much quicker. face it, our stock rear suspension is one of the weakest parts about our 7thgens.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Any luck, Kenny?

Re: Blown Strut?
 

WD40'ing everywhere seemed to kill off some of the rat quantities in my trunk area...

But there are still some in there...
But I can live with the noise...

However, I'm starting to hear some on the passenger rear too...
I'll just wait till both rears go before replacing everything

Re: Blown Strut?
 

oh, my
you with rears, Mac with the front, and GB with tiny pieces of stuff falling
Who is next for suspension rework? :D
Well, i think i could not live with a bouncy rear. Shaking it is not for me :D:D

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Oh, god...
I was making fun of everybody, but seems my KYB AGX are starting to get tired...
after 42k miles and almost 6 years with hard cornering in track and autoX, plus a heavy trunk moving from TN to QC, mine are "shaking" with a strong cross-wind on the hwy at set 2 of 4 of the poor KYB's...
Seems that i will need to bump the shocks to 3 and get it swapped after my trip back to TN...
Yeah, keep making fun of the others and it will blow back on your own face :D:D
Will need to start thinking on what to put next, after the TB/WP...
Me shucks! :lol:

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Karma is a B***h :P

Re: Blown Strut?
 

FML, My passenger side suspension is giving out too....

When these civics start to go......they go with a shitstorm...
My brake lights burned out yesterday too

And for those who dont know, my SRS light has been on for months, and my window motor's been going out

Just too many problems for my plate...

Re: Blown Strut?
 

Eh, the brake light bulbs are a cakewalk. I don't see how the suspension is going that badly though. My PoS Corolla with almost 160k is still on the stock suspension. It doesn't bounce badly, but I'd think living where you live at, you'd be much better off than we would. Our roads here are god awful.

Re: Blown Strut?
 

sux doods, on a side not of bad news i weighed myself on a friend's scale it said 146...WTF!... i've been back at the gym for a month, i most have been at 140. that means i droped from 163 to 140. i'm hoping that scale is f'ed cause gaining back 23 pounds is going to take a while @_o