Nearside rear wheel arch area. a clonking noise that seem to increase with more wieght in the car. Have tried removing everything from the boot including jack and spare but all that did was make the noise less prominent because of reduced wieght. anyone like to point me in a direction as to what might be causing this?

thanks

 

Known problem, speak to you dealer about getting it sorted on warranty. It's either the top mounts or the strut ! As a quick fix to ease it for a short while, jack up the rear, remove wheel and push the rubber boot up to expose the strut and spray with either WD40 or white lithium grease.

 

i've started to notice the same noise on my 04 sti - to the garage it is then!

 

yup ... rear mounts ... see the dealer


same on my 03sti

 

Hey, I've always wanted a banging noise.

Why not put it on ebay and see if you can get a few quid for it?

 

Had mine checked recently, dealer said it was the droplinks

John.

 

I've got a weird clunking noise when hitting bumps mid corner mainly right handers, but this noise is definately from the front end. Any ideas?

 

Mine goes in Friday to have struts and top mounts replaced for second time!

 

New strut fixed mine

 

Just had my MY54 STi back today after having the top mounts replaced and now I've no unwanted noise from the rear

 

These upside down stuts all seem to do it at some point, even 54 reg's do it with the replacement (fixed) dampers.
I've had the odd knock-03 sti, but the car handles very well and I've never seen it as a problem to be honest.
As mentioned strut tops and dampers are normally changed, but in some cases the noise comes back even worse.

dipster

 

I have exactly the same problem with my 03 STi, despite the car having 2 new rear struts AND top mounts fitted by Cheam Motors recently. The knocking sound is DISTINCTLY from the nearside rear. At the time Cheam said my spoiler was loose. The spoiler is now not loose and still the irritating noise over every bump, and especially drainhole cover, souns like a 'slapping' noise from the tyre but louder.

 

i did the below and it is now more than 20 days and the noise did not come back



this is the link from USA
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/sho...0&page=28&pp=25

this is something i found in the forum i will try it today if that does not help
i have no choice but to install eibach pro street coilovers and end the knocking sound i hope once and for all

I've found that the latest band-aid fix helps. It can also help you identify whether it's the strut or the tophat:

1) jack up the rear of the car
2) Pull up the accordian strut boot
3) spray the chrome portion of the exposed strut with either a synth spray grease or WD-40
4) lower car
5) rejoice at the lack of clunks

This fix was posted by another member so I don't want to take credit. If the clunking goes away, it's the strut. If it does not, it might be the tophat. I'm willing to bet that 90% of the clunks are struts. The reality is that if you just jacked up the car in the course of doing the tophat, most times the strut will settle and stop clunking for a while so it seems as if it might be the hat.

So far after applying this fix, mine hasn't made any noise in over a week (crosses fingers; knocks on wood). Before I did it, it was so loud, I couldn't even turn up the stereo loud enough to avoid it. I still have a set of Spec C takeoffs on order for when the fix no longer works.

 

so assuming the noise is either the strut or the top mount is there any other side effect other than the noise? e.g. is it effecting handling or tyres etc.

i just need to priortise how quickly i need to get to the garage taking into account my busy schedule

 

Mine is just a noise now and again m8, the suspension is fine.

The noise is supposed to be down to the clearance between the top metal bush on the strut and the strut piston, and the angle that the suspension works at causes a side loading on the strut. So any play in this bush will cause a clunk.
In fact I have also read that this suspension setup (upside down) will always clunk because of the side loading inherent in the rear suspension design.

This is just stuff that I've read on the American forums who have alot of experiance with this noise.

Dipster

 

I found that removing the jack and tool kit from it's usual place (in the lining of the boot on the nearside) makes most of the noise go away. There is still occasional clunking over some bumps but it is now even on both sides. The noise is now no more than I would expect given the stiffness of the standard STi suspension.

 

cheers guys - booked in for next week

 

Thanks NicHines, I will try that tomorrow! Otherwise the car's booked into Cheam for a road test next week!

 

I've noticed that it is much more pronounced when cornering (at low speeds!) - which fits in with what davedipster says, as this would cause slight distortion of the suspension. And mine is mostly on the nearside too. I've got it scheduled for a look by Donalds next week.


M