they can look secure and not be. grab the inside fender with the hood open on the side that is clunking and pull up and push down hard 4 or 5 times quickly.

you will be able to feel the "slop" if that is the problem.

you won't be able to tell from just looking at it.

 

I checked the nuts with a wrench and they were unmovable. I also pushed down on the car to simulate a bump/pothole but it made no noise.

It only happens when the car is actually moving and the left wheel hits an uneven surface.

Also if a strut is blown wouldnt i have zero rebounding from the shocks ? My car still reacts to each and every bump without boucning up and down weightlessly.

 

you have to push and pull with a lot of force to re-produce the effect of driving over a bump or pothole.

What you are describing I have delt with before and am talking from experience.

Good luck and let us know what the problem ends up being.

 

where are the strut bolts on the top hat located ?

Do i need to remove the springs to access it ?

 

it's the main bolt on top of the piston of the strut. you might think it's tight, but if you compress the spring you will be able to get it back into the groove, if it hasn't damaged the top hat too much and tighten it down.

It is an easy thing to overlook, I did it the first time I swapped springs.

The good thing is it's an easy fix, even if you have to replace the top hat they aren't that expensive.

 

omg the top nut with all the oil lubricant was loose the whole time. I cant believe how something so little was overlooked. Man i feel good .. whooott!!!!

thanks for all the help/replies guys. Couldnt have done it without you guys

 

glad you got it taken care of!

 

got a ?

I don't think i'll be thread jacking since tcva solved the problem, and i diden't whant to make another knocking sound thread cus iv seen a bunch. anyway,
How far down does the nut under the plastic cover have to be on the bolt?

Im asking this cus when i try to turn the nut it feels like theres rubber under the nut. Like when you twist a exhaust rubber hanger, and you let go and it twists back.( best way i can explain it) the nut does that, and I can't turn it
anymore.

forgot to say that i only hear the noise when i go over speed bumps. or when i stop on a hill and the weight of the car goes to the back.

 

i heard the noise whenever my car went over any uneven surface .

i didnt get any sounds when i stopped on a hill.

 

I also hear it when i go slow thru a pot hole.

When you turned the nut a little, and you let go of it did it come back to where it was before you turned it?
mine does that.

 

naw. mine just tightened up. Maybe your nut is damaged

 

i got my s-techs on two weeks ago and a few minutes after i left the shop i started hearing the knocking noise in my left wheel well. Its weird.

 

i think a loose bolt is the problem, i just dont know how to tighten it. how do i get to the bolt? can i do it without taking it to a shop

 

nothin

 

BUMP!

dude i have the same exact problem. pulling out of my driveway (a small hill) i hear this knock when the driveway meets the road but, i also hear it when i hit speed bumps (and that's slow). bumps in the road are no problem it's wierd, it only happens at slow speeds and it sounds like clunk or knock (thick)metal on (thick)metal (not a 'ping' noise).

**anybody have a picture of this "top" nut that was tighten to fix dudes issue? i want to see if perhaps mine is loose to because ALL (3) of my strut bolts are tighter that a mug.

FYI I took it to the dealer and it didn't do it for them POS.

 

i have been installing springs on tc's for the past year and have never heard this happen but i will suggest to tighten a bit more you might need a airgun to do it quicker but it is the top nut on the top mount use a 3/4" socket or 19mm and tighten it a ratchet wont do the job cause it will need a faster tool to spin or it will just spin the strut rod

 

check if you lost any lug nuts... my buddy had a knocking sound on his wrx and he somehow lost 5 lug nuts in total on all his wheels.

 

i tightened mine with a rachet today cause my drivers side one was LOOSE. i guess ill find out if its fixed monday when i go over some speed bumps

 

say goodbay to the shock

 

^^x2. Also, do you have a CAI? When I put mine in, I had the same problem when I would accelerate. The intake was moving and bumping part of the frame. It just needed to be re-positioned and insulated.