wierd clunk after suspension upgrade

[s13tsilvia]

After installing the new suspension and taking it out for a spin on the weekend i noticed the front right has a clunking sound coming from it every now and again when hitting bumps etc on normal flat road no noise, i can actually feel it through the wheel, its like something is loose in the front driver side suspension ?
When i got home i jacked the front right side up and wiggled the wheel up and down and side to side, all good no play at all. i also checked all bolts etc. All done up tight.

I had a thought that maybe the lower rubber grommet that fits under the upper coil top bracket thingy may have come out and isnt sitting in the whole correctly, maybe allowing the shocker rod to wiggle around instead of being held in securely?? when going over bumps causing the clunk.

I havent had a front end alignment done yet either, was waiting until after 500 odd k's etc which it has now done.

Anyone got any ideas or had this before?

[explorer.dave]

G'day mate,
l'm also experiencing the same symptoms, twice now, first was easy, replaced bush, now much noisier front right. Can't do much about this at present as l'm overseas working, l have some GoPro footage that captures the noise and next step was to mount the camera some where inside the wheel arch and try to capture suspension travel.
But first, if you want some assistance you need to;
Tell everyone what type of suspension you fitted,
Year model / make.
Standard or upgraded tyres / wheels / offsets.
Any other info that may be related.

This will help getting the ball rolling for assistance, you will find that members are pretty keen to assist. l will post some footage later of the noise only.

Dave

[macca002]

Did you retorque the bolts holding the upper control arm together? I had a clunk and hit everywhere with some lanolin until the noise went away. It was one of them bolts. Was super freaking tight, but a smidge more and it was sorted.

[s13tsilvia]

i have a glxr ml dual cab, i fitted dobinson springs and shockers, running 32" mud tyres, standard rims so not sure what offsets they are.

[explorer.dave]

i have a glxr ml dual cab, i fitted dobinson springs and shockers, running 32" mud tyres, standard rims so not sure what offsets they are.

Interesting, l also have Dobinson suspension, 32" s, no offset, MN dual cab, only difference l can see is you would have 17" rims for the GLXR, mine 16" GLX+ .

l also have to admit that l'm a mechanical idiot, so hopefully the brains trust on this forum will be able to diagnose the fault, l would start with Macca's suggestion above. By the way, mine was purchased / fitted by retailer so l have some-where to go when l return home.

Dave.

[fraz91]

Did you retorque the bolts holding the upper control arm together? I had a clunk and hit everywhere with some lanolin until the noise went away. It was one of them bolts. Was super freaking tight, but a smidge more and it was sorted.

This is the most common cause of clunking in the front end. We normally recommend that all bushes (UCA, Lower Strut Eye, leaf spring etc.) are tightened once the vehicle has been removed from any jack stands or jacks, as this helps prevent pre-load in the bushes which can accelerate bush wear and also throw the heights out slightly.

[s13tsilvia]

i will recheck them all this weekend and let everyone know how it goes

[latham]

l have had new suspension upgrade and have a clunk noise rhs front only when going over bumps.Any ideas?

[psaunders]

Oddly enough I have it in the rear with my GLX with ultimate. It's only going down hill and over a bump that it happens.. Might try and get a recording of it today.

[mattz]

Try the things mentioned in this thread first.
Otherwise a couple of members have found joy from replacing the UCA bolts with new ones.

[triton_guru]

Might sound extreme but how high have you lifted the car? if you lift it too high the upper control arm will hit every time you go over a bump which is what i have found, being dobinson you wouldnt think it would be lifted high enough to cause that but you never know, another place to check is the bottom of the strut where it connects to the lower control arm ive bent one of those bolts before lol makes a similar sort of noise. good luck let usknow how you go