dome24 Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I lifted my 97 Impreza Brighton coupe with Monroe SensaTrac Struts for a 99 Legacy with the stock brighton coils, and had it aligned and now its knocking really bad, like it was before i replaced the old leaking and broken struts, do i need to replace the upper strut mount with the bearing when i change the struts, or is it something that wears out? Are the old coils just to weak to give the proper tension for the bigger strut? the alignment came back pretty good, it was way off when i took it in but now im kinda scared to drive it. It is in the teens here so i dont' know if the cold is causing malfunctions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishy Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I'm not sure about subarus but a lot of GMs eat up the rubber in their rear strut mounts and it sounds like someone beating two pieces of hardwood together in your trunk every time you hit little bumps and stuff. If that is the case in your car then I wouldn't think it would be unsafe to drive. Just noisy. Check all of your strut mounting hardware for tightness and then worry about it when you have the opportunity to work on it.:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjo Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 First i'd check your CV joints, if the boots are ripped (upper or lower) get those fixed ASAP. Next i'd check the very top large strut bolt, mine came loose a while back, and evey time that side suspension went 'down' a bit it would clunk, because the bolt was like.. 4 turns off of being seated (eek!) you could also be pissing off your swaybar, mine hates the taller suspension, and makes a 'pop'ing noise sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbchux Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 don't know if this could be the same, but when we replace the shocks on my dad's grand caravan, we didn't compress the springs enough, and with the cars weight on it, the top nut on the shock would have about 1/2" of play in it. we took them out, got better spring compressors, and tightened it down tighter, noise completely gone... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezapar Posted January 22, 2006 Share Posted January 22, 2006 I lifted my 97 Impreza Brighton coupe with Monroe SensaTrac Struts for a 99 Legacy with the stock brighton coils, and had it aligned and now its knocking really bad, like it was before i replaced the old leaking and broken struts, do i need to replace the upper strut mount with the bearing when i change the struts, or is it something that wears out? Are the old coils just to weak to give the proper tension for the bigger strut? the alignment came back pretty good, it was way off when i took it in but now im kinda scared to drive it. It is in the teens here so i dont' know if the cold is causing malfunctions. Most likely cause of the knock. . . The new struts may be a bit bigger in circumference. Pull a tire off and go take a look with a light. You'll probably find that the struts are rubbing on the inner wall. Look for the shiny spot. You're gonna have to pull both assemblies off and pund the shiny spot in with a BFH. How do I know this? It happened to me too. And. . . I don't believe that legacy struts will lift your car much at all if any. Legacy Outback struts do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dome24 Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 First i'd check your CV joints, if the boots are ripped (upper or lower) get those fixed ASAP. Next i'd check the very top large strut bolt, mine came loose a while back, and evey time that side suspension went 'down' a bit it would clunk, because the bolt was like.. 4 turns off of being seated (eek!)you could also be pissing off your swaybar, mine hates the taller suspension, and makes a 'pop'ing noise sometimes. Could you mean the ball joints not the CV's? I just replaced the front cv's last week and the rears are fine. but the ball joints were alittle sloppy but not broken. My center bolt was moving after the first time i tried to install the coils on the drivers rear, so i knew something was wrong, took out the whole assembly and realized the top of the coil plate wasn't strait and figured that was the problem, recompressed the springs, spun the top plate where i thought it should be, put it all bac togehtor and no noise when i push strait down on the trunk but when im driving i get knocks from all the wheels. i can;t tell if the center bolt moves cause im driving but it is loud. Ive got the center bolt as tight as it would go with the spirng compressed, or at least the threads are bottomed out. How do i know if its my sway bar? can i adjust it somehow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dome24 Posted January 22, 2006 Author Share Posted January 22, 2006 Most likely cause of the knock. . . The new struts may be a bit bigger in circumference. Pull a tire off and go take a look with a light. You'll probably find that the struts are rubbing on the inner wall. Look for the shiny spot. You're gonna have to pull both assemblies off and pund the shiny spot in with a BFH. How do I know this? It happened to me too. And. . . I don't believe that legacy struts will lift your car much at all if any. Legacy Outback struts do that. I asked for outback shocks at NAPA and these are the ones i got,the reciept says 99 Legacy 2.2. at first glance i seemed to get an inch or two of lift, nothing crazy just mild. the strut body was defiently longer than what came off and the diameter was the same im pretty sure cause the coil fit in the base cup perfectly. Maybe after i drive it a little ill pull off and see if i can see any shiny spots. Is it safe to drive, it handles good and tracks strait just knocks like mad when i hit a bump. could it just be the top plate bearing gone bad? i need to figure this out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosDiosDeVerde86 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 my main question here is why you did this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dome24 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 my main question here is why you did this. Why not? Why lift a OB sport? Why do you ask a question like that on a message board like this? I needed new shocks anyways and i thought id be alittle differeent. Ive been serious offroading for years but i wanted just a fun car for the less techincal dirt road driving. I need to figure out where this noise is cause even city roads with snow is knocking like mad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eikari Posted May 11, 2006 Share Posted May 11, 2006 My rear strut on the right is knocking bad when i drive over a bump. Have checked the nuts on the upper strut mount and they seem to be tightened properly. Could it be that the top nut on the shock is loose? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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