I have replaced the dampers with new ones (old ones leaked), carefully aligning the holes in the top spring cups with the bottom of the struts and made sure the rubber bits were in the right places etc... I'm reasonably happy with the way the strut assemblies went together, but it still goes clunk from somewhere.
Is it possible for the assembly to look right and be wrong??

It's not all the time either. It happens at any speed, when turning in any direction and happens quite infrequently, however, mostly on rougher roads.

I'm now very confused.

Is it droplinks on the front or CV joints maybe? I would have thought that CVs would clunk all the time. They looked OK a couple of weeks ago when the clutch was done. Is there an easy check for these?

dnb,
When I first reported my 'clonk' to Subaru, they checked the car over and replaced an inner CV. It was easy to see it was knac'd, as the drive shaft moved as if no bearing was left in the joint !

I assume (!) that they checked the others, so my clonk is not that...
I have contacted powerflex about replacing the drop links, and I'll let you know what they say / results..
Does the clonk have any adverse effect on the handling, cos mine doesn't seem to (except my confidence !)

Mark

Doesn't seem to affect performance or handling - it's just annoying!! I'll probably just replace the droplinks anyway, as it should make the ARBs feel a bit better, and see if the noise goes away...

With you on the 'annoying' !
I've asked powerflex if it is wise to swap JUST the front drop links - I'm interested in whether this strains other parts, or affects front/back balance etc. I'll let you know via this thread on their reply (hopefully tomorrow).

I did phone Demon tweeks yesterday to get a price for Droplinks, but they didn't have the part no. on their system. They said they could get them from powerflex, but I will probably go direct.

It sounds like you've gained some better handling and good vibes by replacing the shocks anyhow, so I wouldn't let that clonk upset you too much - revel in your money well spent !

Mark

Hi, not tryin to be funny-m8, but you have checked your jack and stuff in the boot yeh?, my clunk's gone away (my97) since putting the jack back in the space the correct way round. BUT, iv'e also done the back brakes 2, so it might have been associated wi them, still
(think it was the jack though;)

cheers
B.

Cheers, I've tried it with the car completely empty - even taken the spare out !

The jack was the wrong way round (2 months ago!)....

No offence taken at your suggestion though.. All ideas taken ....

Imprezive - yes, I checked the jack. I always hope for simple solutions!!

It's the front that is clonking, not the back.

Hi,

Are you sure the top bolt on the dampers in very tight? I had a clonk... still there a little bit but it practically went away after giving the bolt a couple more turns. It still isn't spot on tho... the suspension would also appear to drop slightly on the side with the clonk after stopping. This has since been cured too by applying a bit more elbow grease to the bolt. Gonna give it a bit more on the weekend to for good luck.

Tony.

dnb

Is the clonk both sides?

I found with the dampers on my STI 5 I had to re make the damper a couple of times to get everything lined up. It seemed very easy to get the top mount slightly out of line when putting it all together.

Paul

Yes, it seems to knock both sides. Fortunately, the sound doesn't appear to be coming from the centre.

I put the damper assembly together off the car (been caught out with this one before...) so it would be easier to get things lined up. My spring compressors aren't that good, so I used some long sash clamps on the spring cups as well (safety first!!) when I put the top mount on. It is possible that this distorted the spring cups and stopped the top mount sitting properly.

It didn't knock this morning (except the usual brake releasing thing), so there is hope that it has sorted out. Will check the top bolts tonight. Just hope it stays quiet for it's MOT tonight...

I had the same problem with the fronts and the spring compressor. There weren't enough coils on the springs to pull it all together leaving enough of the damper shaft to get the top mounts and the ball joint on. In the end I put the compressor over the top mount as well. Did the trick, but ever so slight risky, they popped off a couple of times. Hope all stays quiet for you

Paul

droplinks cloking are a common fault, another thing we have found, in front of the rear wheels, there is a trangular plate with three bolts, make sure these are tight.

If you don't use an allen key style socket to "lock" in the top bolt, they will make noises (use a socket to over the bolt, and place the allen key through the hole)

dnb, how did you go on with the MOT / clunk ?
Mine was MOT'd in the week, clonk had been getting worse... N/S/Lower Ball Joint !

It now clonks no more !

Seeing as I'd justified the cash, I'm having Eibachs + Alignment on Thursday at TSL :)
Mark

They declared everything to be in good order. (Especially after the mechanic took it out for the brake test ;))


Glad you got yours fixed. Mine still clonks occasionally, but no one can quite find out where.

I'm afraid that it was clonking almost continually before anyone managed to track it down. I had it up on jacks over a pit 3 weeks ago and didn't find any problems with the ball joint, so I guess it must have developed a) bloody quickly or b) the standard wheel wobble test for a mini doesn't work at all on a scoob....

Good Luck,
Mark
PS _ I have tried to order powerflex drop links from scooby sport, but I'm waiting for them to call me about stock.....

Have fun with the eibachs and alignment. I'm waiting until I get my rear dampers changed before I do the alignment.

I am tempted to look at reseating the springs to see if that makes any difference. Must get some better spring compressors, and try to not demolish a CV joint boot this time...

I'll examine the ball joints carefully as well while it's dismantled. Thanks once again for the pointer. BTW where can I get new ball joints cheaply?

Subaru dealer charged me 50 quid.... I just paid the man I'm afraid !

Mark

my p1 is clonking on the offside front..moved the spring and it went away but has now come back again