jono300

iTrader: (8)

Going to get the car looked at soon but just wonder if anyone can throw anymore ideas on what else could be the cause off the noise comming from the passenger side rear shock area on my blobeye ?? have had it checked over on the ramps and the shockers are fine no leaks nothing. if I press down on the boot area I can get the car to make the noise but for some reason it is s not as loud doing this as it does when driving the car. the noise can only be described as more off a clunking almost as if say a boot lid had not been put down right and metal was banging off the catch, does it more so on upon cornering but will do it on the straights but not all the time.kinda deep noise as opposed to metallic.

Been advised to remove the rear seats to check the top bolt on the mount to make sure its tight as been advised if this was loose it would cause the shockers to rattle, is this something that is common to happen ie top bolt requiring tightning or does it point to something more sinsiter / expensive ??!!

anyone had exactly the same symptons on there blobeye / anyone ever had to tighten this top mount ??

NINJA ED

iTrader: (2)

I beleive the blobs are quite bad for rear suspension. Ours has already had new shocks by previous owner think they were done about 33,000 mls. You could try tightening top mount bolts but i doubt it will make a difference m8

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay thanks for that mate, funny enough mine is just turned 32k !! yep appreciatte that they are prone to shockers going early just wondered if there was anything else that it could have been, will try the top mount bolt but as you say doubt it will make a difference !!!

anyone any ideas to have the shock replaced and does it require 4 wheel alignment etc once replaced ??

darrenj1970

i have an 05 wrx and had the same noise . had new shocks fitted and after a a cpl of moths i had the noise back . i phoned the garage up and they said when they took the shock off the air bag box is fitted there aswell and was hanging there and that could have been the cause of the noise . i am going to pull the seats out when its not to wet and check it out .

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay cheers mate not so good eh ??!!

Hopefully no " moths " in there unless they escaped from my wallet that is ??!!

you say air bag box in there, is it a sensor or something - bit confused ??

let me know the outcome off your investiagtion if you will as would be very interested to here what it is ???? does your do it on both sides or just the passenger side ?? if you push the suspension up and down at the back with the boot open can you here the noise ??

p.s welcome aboard scoobynet see its your first post !!

jono300

iTrader: (8)

http://www.subaru-impreza.org/forum/...nger-side.html

Noise the same as this guys from the sound off it !!

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

Before you fork out for new dampers, for around £100 Subaru specialists such as http://www.bradfordonline.co.uk/info/6191/ can rebuild the shocks. If you're going down the coilover route, then I wouldn't bother, however if you're sticking to shocks and springs, this could be a cost effective option. Even cheaper is pulling up the dust boots and liberally applying Lithium grease.

darrenj1970

thats it . the garage said the sensor was glued there and he said he just restuck it there . i will check tomorrow with them as i use the garage all the time for my vans there .

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay yep sounds fine may just try the grease method first !!

if the shocks are removed / sent away and rebuilt is it simply a case of refitting them bit confused where 4 wheel alignment would be required ???

is it the original subaru shocks that are at faulty for going early ie. if changing to non subaru shocks would this delay the problem from happening again ??

will certainly get try your tip on the dust boots first thou !! - thanks again for the info.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Yep that would be great mate if you could let me know as like I say would be interested to here what they say. is this sensor something that can be got to easily enough or is it a strip down off the suspension area ??

PM me if you find out, would again appreciatte that.

john

SirFozzalot

This is a very common occurance on newage scoobs unfortunately.

It's the strut moving that's causing the clunking generally.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Okay showing my ignorance on teh suject here again !! but would getting the shocks rebuilt fix this problem also would I require 4 wheel alignment if shocks were removed / refitted ??

lastly,is getting the shocks rebuilt the cheapest option off stopping the struts knocking / grease applied under the caps likely work in this case ??

SirFozzalot

Getting the shocks rebuilt is only a temporary fix as far as I'm aware. Might work for a few months but generally I've heard the clunking returns.

SirFozzalot

As for the alignment, I would get it done after removing the shocks.

jono300

iTrader: (8)

Any idea what you would be talking to replace both rear shockers then and again is there a different make off shocker that would stop this thing happening again ??

4 wheel alignment - expensive ??

SirFozzalot

There are a few different options when changing the suspension. OEM direct replacement, coil overs, etc. Best off speaking to your local tuner for options and costs.

I was recently told about patent parts now available for replacement and they were around £350 + fitting for the rear pair. Original Subaru STi parts are more than that each I believe.

As for alignment, I think I paid around £80 last time I had it done.

SirFozzalot

Something to check to see if it is the strut knocking is to get the rear of the car in the air and stable. Then pull and push the wheel (like you would when checking the wheel bearings) but on the top and bottom of the wheel rather than side to side. Its likely the wheel will move slightly similar to if a bearing was knackered but it will only move top and bottom and not side to side. If it moves top and bottom then I would say it's the common strut problem.

AWG

iTrader: (6)

Mine have just started knocking @ 50k! Going to try coil overs, few people have recommended BC?

kewe

iTrader: (4)

Seems reasonable for a replacement pair oem?:-

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m10b0s2713...03_on_Excl_STi

s70rjw

iTrader: (2)

The knocking generally starts when the grease used by Subaru to lubricate the inverted damper within the strut dries out and becomes waxy. Unless the new shock is adequately greased with a longer lasting grease, the problem will return. The shock is still performing its role, it is merely moving within the housing unlubricated. I had mine rebuilt last week and they are once again silent. First set replaced under warranty at 11k. 5 years later, they began knocking again

Buttons

I have exactly the same problem, I shall try to re grease it and see what happens.

scooby1929

iTrader: (1)

I did this yesterday and there is considerable movement. What do you recommend now?? I previously stripped them down and removed all the old grease and then regreased

Turbo Tone

iTrader: (2)

I am pretty new to the Subaru world but had the same problem on my blob eye. If you go to the Scoobypedia website there is a guide to stripping and rebuilding the rear shocks. I did this about 5 months ago and touch wood no problems since.

If you do a bit of digging on here you will find its a fairly common problem.

Also check out YouTube. There's a good video guide on there.

Hope that helps

Markyscoob

My Hawkeye rear shocks also had fairly dry grease on them, they weren't knocking yet but they're boxed up in the loft now as I put BC coilovers on.

Newage cars are renowned for it. The Rear mount Subaru use is specifically designed to isolate the noises and BC copy it for theirs. The coilovers actually use a conical rear spring that is O.E. diameter at the top. BC mounts are interchangeable for Subaru ones.

The inverted dampers on mine with 36,000miles are showing just slight wear in the chrome surface of the damper body. It's the nature of the inverted design where the damper rod is inside the lower body and the whole strut is actually only held together by the 14mm nut underneath! Eek.

You do have to get them off to do it, it is not rocket science but you can **** the rear cambers up if you don't remember or mark the bolts when you remove them. The back springs and top bolt don't even need a compressor if you have access to an air gun.

Fronts do, mind- ouch.

I've regreased mine but they are for the 05+STi so no good to sell on.

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

I regreased my rears the other day (Bug STI Wagon).

Subaru's OE grease is pretty feeble

Firstly here's the cartridge removed from the damper sleeve and strut



The bump stop end is fixed to the bottom of the strut body (inverted)

Close up of the grease on there



Here's a pic of where NOT to grease



No point as the bump stop A hardly moves and damper rod B would lose its grease on movement.

The damaper body has the strut casing sliding over it, which has an O ring removing all traces on the first compression

In fact, here's what happens when the damper body is greased - it collects road grime and knackers up the seal

The 4" inner chamber of the strut housing between the outer grease seal and the O ring on the lower bushing is the only place requiring grease and without a grease fitting there is no way to insure that this chamber can be filled with enough grease to insure that the damper body stays in contact with it.



The only real way to make sure this bushing surface is kept greased is to fit a nipple and then PACK grease in with a gun

scooby1929

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for that bonesetter but we bit confused. Our you saying only to fill the shock body with grease? What type of grease did you use? Would aerospace grease be okay? When filling with the gun how do you know how much to pump it or just fill it to the max

bonesetter

iTrader: (9)

It's the 'space' at the top of the strut casing which needs greasing, and it needs filling with grease, and then, when assembled, the gun attatching and pumped until a packed feel can be felt. This way as the damper moves the bushing is assured its grease. That's why the nipple goes where it does



I know it's a bit involved, but really was an alright job. Ensure you get a dremel or wire brush at the least to the 14mm nut which fixes the cartridge to the bottom of the casing as old paint and road grime can act as loctite. The bottom (top) of the cartridge plunger is keyed to enable the nut can be turned, but if you're not careful and this right first off (clean the thread) you risk rounding this...


.

scooby1929

iTrader: (1)

okay mate thanks alot. Will have a go

P555GAZ

I had this done on front about a year ago and it stop. But it seems to be doing it again but it sounds like it s back now off to garage tomorrow to get check out

Dave Hedgehog

iTrader: (1)

I'm looking at whether KYB 2004 Spec "normal way up" Struts can be retrofitted to Blobeyes without any hassle. If anyone can confirm that they've done this, and/or that 2003-2004 spec non inverted shocks are a perfect match for 2004-2005 top mounts (top hats) I'd be very grateful.

It looks like KYB inverted shocks in both Excel-G and Ultra SR spec will be available at some point this year, but really I want to solve the problem and fit tried and trusted shocks to my '05 blob.